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.