The United Nations human rights chief on Tuesday urged all protesters in the United States to avoid violence and destruction in the wake of the grand jury's decision on the Ferguson county shooting, and urged US authorities to examine race-related issues in its law enforcement and justice systems.

The decision of the US grand jury to not charge Caucasian police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of unarmed African American teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri in August this year led to violent protests in the country, including looting and arson.

"People have the right to express their dismay and their disagreement with the grand jury's verdict, but not to cause harm to others, or to their property, in the process," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a statement.

The UN human rights chief declined to comment on whether or not the verdict is in contravention of international human rights law, due to the absence of details of the evidence presented before the grand jury.

However, the senior official expressed his deep concerns over the "disproportionate number of young African Americans who die in encounters with police officers, as well as the disproportionate number of African Americans in US prisons, and the disproportionate number of African Americans on Death Row."

Moreover, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein pointed out that among some sectors of the population in the US, there was a "deep and festering lack of confidence in the fairness of the justice and law enforcement systems."

"I urge the US authorities to conduct in-depth examinations into how race-related issues are affecting law enforcement and the administration of justice, both at the federal and state levels," he said.

He noted that concerns about institutionalized discrimination in the US have repeatedly been raised by respected national bodies and by UN bodies monitoring the implementation of international human rights treaties.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein also brought up another recent incident wherein a 12-year-old African American boy Tamir Rice was shot dead by police in Cleveland, Ohio because he was holding a replica gun.

The UN official stressed that any use of firearms by police must be in accordance with the UN's basic principles on the use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials. The human rights chief highlighted that in any situation, the intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.

Hundreds of people reportedly gathering outside the Ferguson police station on Monday night reacted with anger and dismay when they learned Wilson would not be indicted.