The parents of Michael Brown , a Missouri teen killed by police , testified before a U.N. committee Tuesday because they want the world to know `` what 's going on in Ferguson . '' Lesley McSpadden and Michael Brown Sr. spoke to the United Nations Committee Against Torture -- which also works against cruel or degrading treatment or punishment by government authorities . `` We need the world to know what 's going on in Ferguson and we need justice , '' McSpadden told CNN in Geneva , Switzerland . Gov . Jay Nixon : Protest violence ' can not be repeated ' `` 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 . '' Accounts differ as to what led to the August shooting of Brown , an unarmed black 18-year-old , by a white police officer . What happened when Michael Brown met Officer Darren Wilson . While their testimony to the committee took place behind closed doors , the delegation that organized their trip said the couple would read from a statement submitted by the Brown family and organizations called HandsUpUnited , the Organization for Black Struggle , and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment . The document says Brown 's killing and force used by police officers during protests that followed the killing `` represent violations of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel , Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment . '' Read the full statement . It requests that the U.N. panel recommend the immediate arrest of Officer Darren Wilson , who killed Brown , as well as an end to `` racial profiling and racially-biased police harassment across the jurisdictions surrounding Ferguson . '' Ferguson authorities have repeatedly denied similar accusations in the past . The statement also calls for recommendations that would apply to the entire United States , including that the attorney general and Department of Justice `` must conduct a nationwide investigation of systematic police brutality and harassment in black and brown communities , and youth in particular . Methodology and findings of this investigation must be made publicly available . '' Gun sales spike as Ferguson area braces for grand jury decision . Attorneys : Time for 'global intervention ' In a statement , the Browns ' attorney 's office said the couple planned to `` testify on behalf of many supporters who join in the appeal for global intervention in the way policing currently functions in America . '' Their trip to Geneva marked the first time out of the United States for the couple , CNN affiliate KSDK reported . `` We 've been received very well , '' McSpadden told CNN . `` They 've given us a lot of love and support since we 've been here . Everything seems to be positive . It 's a great experience . '' Michael Brown Sr. said he and his wife were offering `` an outlook on what 's going on in the United States and all over the world with the police , police brutality , no justice . '' Speaking of what life has been like since the killing , he said , `` It 's a situation where I 'm surprised we have n't even lost our mind yet over this . But we 're being strong . Hopefully , justice will prevail . '' The trip came as the parents , and many people throughout the United States , brace for the results of grand jury deliberations -- which will determine whether Wilson , 28 , is indicted . The trip was organized by the U.S. Human Rights Network , which is based in New York and Atlanta , KSDK reported . `` Traditionally , if you look at the history of the Convention Against Torture , this is the correct location for claims of police violence , '' St. Louis University Assistant Professor Justin Hansford , one of the co-authors of the brief , told KSDK . The Committee Against Torture `` is the body of 10 independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel , Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State parties , '' the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says on its website .
The Browns ' statement to the U.N. Committee Against Torture calls for the family 's arrest . ` ` We ' ve been doing very well , '' Brown 's mother says of the trip to Geneva . ` ` I ' m sure we have n't even lost our mind , '' Brown 's father says . ` ` We need answers and we need action , '' Brown 's mother says .