Our Statement on Racial Injustice and Violence in the US

Standing for justice and human, civil rights.

We are saddened. We are shaken — like all of our neighbors here in the U.S. and around the world — to our foundation.

We mourn the loss of Mr. George Floyd, and the countless others whose lives have been taken over the long history of deadly, systemic racism and injustice. We grieve with his family and friends, with the wider nation, and especially with our community of black and brown Concern staff members and supporters whose pain has multiplied in recent days.

Our team of 4,000 people across the globe — the overwhelming majority of whom are people of color — work every day driven by a vision of a world free from poverty, fear, and oppression; where everyone has access to the opportunities they need to live a long, healthy, and creative life; and where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.

Our focus has always been on the world’s vulnerable, the most marginalized, the hardest to reach. But we have never labored under the illusion that the inequities and suffering we seek to address do not exist here at home.

Still, the last several days in the U.S. have shown us that fear and oppression are more rampant, and that the denial of dignity and respect is more of a daily reality than we had allowed ourselves to believe.

As humanitarians, we are challenged to respond. We are driven by compassion, but we know that true change is only possible through action. We stand with our friends and neighbors in the exercise of free speech and assembly, and we call on our elected leaders and public safety agencies to safeguard the lives and basic civil and human rights of all.