Colin Kaepernick has been presented Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award for his protest of racial injustice.

Former teammate Eric Reid presented the award to Kaepernick in Amsterdam.

In his acceptance speech, the award-winner described police killings of African-Americans and Latinos in the United States as "lawful lynchings."

"Racialized oppression and dehumanization is woven into the very fabric of our nation -- the effects of which can be seen in the lawful lynching of black and brown people by the police, and the mass incarceration of black and brown lives in the prison industrial complex," Kaepernick said.

Kaepernick began to take a knee during the national anthem in 2016.

"How can you stand for the national anthem of a nation that preaches and propagates, 'freedom and justice for all,' that is so unjust to so many of the people living there?" he said at Saturday's award ceremony.

Kaepernick has remained unsigned since becoming a free agent in 2017.

Previous recipients of the award include anti-apartheid campaigner and South African President Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who campaigned for girls' right to education even after surviving being shot by Taliban militants.