Michael Brown's parents addressed the United Nations Committee Against Torture this week in Switzerland to bring attention to the August shooting death of their unarmed son by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
In a prepared statement, Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. discussed human rights and accused the police of using "excessive force on peaceful protestors" during rallies after officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9.
"We need the world to know what’s going on in
Ferguson and we need justice," McSpadden told CNN. "We need answers and we need action. And we have to bring it to the U.N. so they can expose it to the rest of the world, what’s going on in small-town Ferguson."
The case has drawn international attention and sparked a racial divide because Wilson, the officer, is white and Brown was black. A grand jury is still weighing whether Wilson should be indicted for the fatal shooting.
Michael Brown's parents urged the U.N. committee to recommend that Wilson be arrested and Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson resign.
The statement also asked that the Ferguson Police Department be held accountable for "systematically targeting and harassing residents of color in a predatory and degrading manner." Protesters arrested during demonstrations should be granted amnesty as well, they said.
A half-world away, back in Ferguson, Missouri, residents are bracing for the grand jury decision.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon threatened to activate the National Guard if violence erupts after the decision is announced, he said in a news conference this week. "Violence will not be tolerated," but people will be allowed to "express themselves peacefully, without being threatened by individuals intent on creating violence and disorder,"
Nixon said, according to National Public Radio.