World Leaders React to Derek Chauvin's Murder, Manslaughter Convictions

The killing of Black man George Floyd in Minneapolis last May resonated beyond American borders and spurred protests across the world about racial inequality and the actions of law enforcement.

The British prime minister Boris Johnson was among world leaders who responded to the guilty verdicts handed down to the former police officer Derek Chauvin

After Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, Johnson tweeted: "I was appalled by the death of George Floyd and welcome this verdict.

"My thoughts tonight are with George Floyd's family and friends," he added.

The leader of the opposition Labour Party in the U.K., Sir Keir Starmer, who was once head of Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), tweeted an article of the verdict and added a single word message: "Justice."

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, added that the verdict "by itself this won't heal the pain of their loss, which reverberated around the world."

The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau tweeted his support for the verdict, writing: "In the US today, we saw accountability for the murder of George Floyd. But make no mistake, systemic racism and anti-Black racism still exist.

"And they exist in Canada, too. Our work must and will continue," he added.

The prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Timothy Harris, tweeted that the verdict, "demonstrates that #BlackLivesMatter and that no one is above the law.

"May the legacy be one of learning and reform," he added.

The U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet gave her view of the verdict, describing how "the evidence in this case was crystal clear," and said that "any other result would have been a travesty of justice."

In a statement, Bachelet added that racial justice and equality needed, "the full and equal participation of people of African descent in ways which transform their interactions with police and in all aspects of their lives".

"If they are not, the verdict in this case will just be a passing moment when the stars aligned for justice, rather than a true turning point", she added.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's video address that followed the verdict was tweeted on Wednesday with the message he gave the nation. "The guilty verdict does not bring back George Floyd. But through the family's pain, they are finding purpose so George's legacy will not be just about his death, but about what we must do in his memory," Biden said.

In a later public address, President Biden said: "It was a murder in the full light of day and it ripped the blinders off for the whole world to see the systemic racism [here]."

He added: "This is a time for this country to come together, tonight, as Americans—we can never be a safe harbor for hate in America."