Michael Brown’s parents to address UN Committee Against Torture

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr., parents of Michael Brown, arrived in Switzerland on Monday to address the United Nations Committee Against Torture.

A report to be presented by Brown’s parents and local activists claims that the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by a Ferguson police officer, as well as the heavy-handed tactics police used against protesters after the shooting, violated the U.N.’s anti-torture convention. The report also calls for the arrest of officer Darren Wilson, the resignation of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, the placement of the Ferguson police department under federal receivership and improvement in accountability for police shootings and racial profiling.

The report, authored by human rights activists such as Justin Hansford, a St. Louis University law professor, outlined these steps “to address the torture and/or cruel inhuman and degrading treatment” of protesters and of victims of police shootings.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the U.N. Committee will hear several groups from the U.S. before they publish their findings on November 28.

The U.S. Human Rights Network, a nonprofit coalition, is sponsoring Brown’s parents.

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