Let's come together to reflect on human rights. My thoughts on the Floyd case.

For days now, the whole world has been following the protests taking place in the United States with a great deal of concern. Just like everyone else, I, too, have been deeply questioning the images reaching us from a country that I love and respect but that also embodies some profound contradictions that never cease to surprise me. Unfortunately, the attention that such events attract and their inevitable politicisation can eventually cause us to lose sight of the crux of the matter.

The point that we must be absolutely clear on here is that racism, in any form, cannot be tolerated anywhere in the world. It is important that none of us turn a blind eye or look away in the face of racist incidents, and this is what the people of Minneapolis have demonstrated with their video footage, documenting those frightening 8 minutes and 46 seconds that cost George Floyd his life. His calls for help and his tragic uttering of the words "I can't breathe" should also be taking our breath away and forcing us to question what drives a man to abuse another just because his skin is a different colour. I have been wondering this for years, having spent a large part of my life in Africa, working for a company that had employees of every colour and ethnicity. I still can't find any answers.

Speaking out and not lowering our guard in the face of human rights violations must continue to be defining characteristics of our democracies, even when they prove themselves to be imperfect. Peacefully protesting against racism and abuses of power is a sacrosanct right we have as citizens, and we must also defend it against those who, by turning protest into revolt and looting, become the greatest enemies of anyone protesting in favour of a better world.

Companies like the one I run can play their part by asserting, as part of their missions, that they are committed to defending the dignity of all human beings and following through with this commitment in their actions. The Eni statement on respect for human rights focuses on the company's responsibility to contribute to the well-being of both people and communities in the countries in which it operates. Everyone must play their part in combatting the plague that is racism and companies cannot, must not and in our case certainly do not intend to back down or lower their guard.

Like everyone else, I hope that the crisis unfolding in the United States will soon come to a positive conclusion and provide an opportunity for a thorough analysis of conscience on all sides. Indeed, as the first African-American president in the history of the United States, Barack Obama, recently acknowledged, "This wave of protest is representative of a genuine and legitimate frustration in the face of decades of failure to reform the way in which the police, and indeed our criminal justice system in general, operate."

Only by fighting injustice and campaigning for both the equality of every individual and respect for individual human rights can we defeat this scourge that has exploded across the Atlantic in recent days but is also to be found in many equally concerning forms here in Europe as well. The important thing is not to look away or walk on by when someone shouts "I can't breathe" and asks us for help regardless of the colour of their skin.

#togetherwerise