Chicago authorities have taken “certain steps” in response to reports of human rights violations. UN experts call for an end to ‘racist violence’ by Chicago police Human Rights
UN experts on Monday called for further action to end police violence against African and Latino Americans in Chicago.
“Chicago has a long history of using torture to extract confessions to crimes,” UN experts said. “Such heinous human rights abuses, disproportionately affecting people of African and Latin American descent, appear to be rooted in systemic racism.”
The experts pointed to the devastating impact of the practice on individuals and communities. “People of African and Latino descent, some as children, have reportedly been arrested without probable cause and tortured to extract confessions to serious crimes, including murder,” the statement said.
Such confessions, as well as broader systemic racism and police misconduct in the Chicago criminal justice system, the experts noted, have resulted in numerous unjust convictions and wrongful incarceration, often for extremely long periods of time and without adequate access to health care, including for the elderly and torture victims.”
The rule of law must right past wrongs and take all measures to prevent them repetitions
Chicago officials have taken steps to address reports of human rights abuses, including a public apology and the creation of a Commission to Investigate Torture and Assist Victims of Torture. While welcoming the measures, experts expressed concern that efforts to combat abuse were piecemeal and progressing too slowly. Often, victims remain incarcerated or unable to return to normal life due to systemic barriers that prevent them from accessing legal processes that would help establish their innocence and give them access to full redress and remedies.
Experts also expressed concern over reports that alleged human rights abuses in Chicago occurred largely with impunity. “Those involved in human rights violations have not been brought to justice,” the experts said. “A state governed by the rule of law must correct past mistakes and take all measures to prevent their repetition.”
Experts have called on relevant federal, state and local authorities to take immediate and comprehensive action to permanently correct the situation in Chicago.
UN experts (special rapporteurs) are part of the so-called Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. They work on a voluntary basis, are not UN employees and do not receive a salary for their work. UN experts are independent of any government or organization.