28-03-2024 08:15 PM Jerusalem Timing

UN Panel Slams US over Police Brutality, Torture

UN Panel Slams US over Police Brutality, Torture

A UN report has deeply criticized the US for or violating the terms of an international anti-torture treaty.

A UN report has deeply criticized the US for or violating the terms of an international anti-torture treaty. The panel took Washington to task for police brutality, military interrogations, and capital punishment protocols.

The report's findings are the "concluding observations" of hearings during the "Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment," which took place in Geneva, starting in early November.US police

The report was released on Friday, just days after the contentious decision of a Missouri grand jury not to indict a white officer accused of shooting Michael Brown, an unarmed black teen. The decision triggered a wave of protests nationwide.

The UN watchdog expressed “deep concern at the frequent and recurrent police shootings or fatal pursuits of unarmed black individuals.” Though the report did not specifically mention the events in Ferguson, Mike Brown’s parents met with the committee to discuss their son’s case in Geneva earlier this month.

The 10-person panel, which periodically reviews the records of the 156 countries which ratified the Convention Against Torture – a non-binding international human rights treaty – cited mounting concerns over “racial profiling by police and immigration offices and growing militarization of policing activities,”RT reported.

“We recommend that all instances of police brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement officers are investigated promptly, effectively and impartially by an independent mechanism,” said panel member Alessio Bruni at a news conference in Geneva.

US activists welcomed the findings as a call to action for the federal government.