UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Committee Against Torture says police shootings of black suspects in the U.S. and a failure to hold police accountable violates an international treaty banning torture.
The U.N. leveled its charges in a report that also condemned racial profiling and the militarization of police activities in the U.S., and came just days after a grand jury in Missouri rejected any charges against Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, who had shot 18-year-old, 290-pound Michael Brown, in August.
In a section titled “Excessive use of force and police brutality,” the U.N. report cited “the frequent and recurrent police shootings or fatal pursuits of unarmed black individuals” and “difficulties to hold police officers and their employers accountable for abuses.”
A grand jury in Missouri had been given the option of five different charges to consider against Wilson, but rejected them all. The prosecutor explained that the evidence showed Brown was the aggressor, reaching into Wilson’s police vehicle to try to grab his service weapon, and shortly later, after retreating, turned around and was charging at the officer when he was shot.
The U.S. delegation had argued that more than 330 police officers have been prosecuted and 20 investigations into systematic misconduct by police department have been opened in the last five years.
But the panel said information on the full number of alleged incidents and the outcome of investigations is lacking.
The report recommends setting up an independent authority “with no institutional or hierarchical connection between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators” to look into charges of alleged police brutality and excessive use of force.
The parents, Michael Brown Sr. and Lesley McSpadden, said their goal was “not only to achieve justice in Ferguson, but to unite governments around the world against the human rights violations that result from racial profiling and police violence.”
The U.N. committee does not mention Brown or incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, specifically. Citing cases in Miami Beach and Illinois, the panel said it is “appalled” at the number of deaths from the police use of Tasers.
The U.N. report also said, “Notwithstanding the state party’s statement that under U.S. law, acts of torture are prohibited by various statutes and may be prosecuted in a variety of ways, the committee regrets that a specific offense of torture has not been introduced yet at the federal level. The committee is of the view that the introduction of such offense, in full conformity with article 1 of the Convention, would strengthen the human rights protection framework in the state party.”
It also called on the U.S. to fall into line with its determinations.
“The committee also regrets that the state party maintains a restrictive interpretation of the provisions of the Convention and does not intend to withdraw any of its interpretive understandings lodged at the time of ratification. In particular, the concept of ‘prolonged mental harm’ introduces a subjective non-measurable element which undermines the application of the treaty. While noting the delegations’ explanations on this matter … the committee recalls that under international law, reservations that are contrary to the object and purpose of a treaty are impermissible.”
“The state party should criminalize torture at the federal level, in full conformity with article 1 of the Convention, and ensure that penalties for torture are commensurate with the gravity of this crime,” the report said.
Committee member Alessio Bruni said the Ferguson events are a “tragedy,” but the organization does respect the decision not to prosecute, according to a report from CNN.
Bruni spoke at a news conference about the report.
Large sections of the report concern Guantanamo Bay, where the U.S. is holding those suspected of international terrorism.
The parents’ appearance before the U.N. was the result of a 13-page position paper written by Saint Louis University Law School assistant professor Justin Hansford with the support of left-leaning advocacy groups, Hands Up United, the Organization for Black Struggle and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment.
The committee includes so-called independent legal experts from countries such as the Republic of Georgia and communist China. The panel’s two members from the U.S. recused themselves from hearing the case.
Hansford’s position paper called for, among other things, the arrest of Wilson, the resignation of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson and an apology from Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon for alleged intimidation and excessive police force against those seeking to protest the Brown shooting.
The document further calls on the U.N. to demand that Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice conduct “a nationwide investigation of systematic police brutality and harassment in brown and black communities, and youth in particular.”
