United States: UN experts urge action to address lives stolen by systemic racist police violence in Chicago

GENEVA (3 June 2024) – UN experts* today called for further action to remedy racialised police violence and misconduct within Chicago’s law enforcement and criminal justice system against people of African and Latino descent in the United States.

“Chicago has a long history of law enforcement officials reportedly using torture to extract confessions to serious crimes,” the UN experts said. “These heinous alleged human rights violations appear to a significant extent to be rooted in systemic racism and have disproportionately affected people of African and Latin American descent.”

The experts stressed the devastating impact of these practices on individuals and communities. “Many people of African and Latin American descent, some of whom were children at the time, were reportedly arrested without reasonable cause and tortured to sign confessions to very serious crimes, including homicide,” they said.

“These confessions, as well as broader systemic racism and police misconduct in Chicago’s criminal justice system, have reportedly resulted in many wrongful convictions and wrongful incarcerations of individuals, often for extremely long periods of time and without adequate access to healthcare, including for older persons and survivors of torture,” the experts said.

“Lives have been stolen, with a significant ripple effect within communities,” they said.

Chicago has taken steps to address reported human rights violations, including a public apology and the establishment of the Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, to acknowledge and remedy and prevent police torture and misconduct. While welcoming these important initiatives, the experts expressed concern that efforts to address abuses have been piecemeal and far too slow in implementation. They expressed their concern that individuals affected remain incarcerated or unable to rebuild their lives due to systemic barriers that prevent their access to procedures to be establish their innocence and access full redress and remedies.

The experts also expressed concern that reports indicate that such alleged human rights violations have taken place largely with impunity. “The individuals implicated in these human rights violations have not been held accountable,” the experts said.

“A just society must address past wrongs and put in place all measures to prevent recurrence,” the experts said.

The experts urged relevant federal, state and local officials to take immediate and comprehensive action to fully address and remedy the situation in Chicago.

The UN experts have been in contact with the Government of the United States of America to address these allegations and clarify its obligations under international law.

*The experts Ms. Ashwini K.P Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance; Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; Barbara G. Reynolds (Chair), Bina D’Costa, Miriam Ekiudoko, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the context of Law Enforcement; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons

Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

The International Independent Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in the Context of Law Enforcement was established in July 2021 by the Human Rights Council to make recommendations, inter alia, on the concrete steps needed to ensure access to justice, accountability and redress for excessive use of force and other human rights violations by law enforcement officials against Africans and people of African descent.