Austria has officially transformed Adolf Hitler's birthplace into a police station in a landmark effort to prevent the historic building from becoming a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis. After years of political debate, legal battles, and public controversy, the government completed the €23 million project in Braunau am Inn, replacing the building's dark legacy with a symbol of democracy, law, and public security.

The former birthplace of Hitler has now become a district police headquarters, while the memorial stone reading "Never Again Fascism" remains outside the building. Authorities say the move is intended to strip the property of its symbolic value for extremist groups. However, Holocaust survivor organizations remain divided, arguing that the building should instead have served as a permanent educational memorial.

Austria converts Hitler's birthplace into police station | Nazi legacy erased? | Wion 

UN&nbsp;human rights experts have called for major reforms of the US&nbsp;criminal justice system to combat systemic racism, citing testimonies that jailed Black women had been shackled during childbirth while male inmates were forced to work in "plantation-style" conditions.

In a report published on Thursday (Sep 28), three UN-appointed experts said they had found practices in US&nbsp;prisons that amounted to "an affront to human dignity" in visits in April and May.

The US&nbsp;diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said it was committed to ensuring the safety and security of incarcerated individuals as well as employees and the public.

One such practice is restraining and shackling women prisoners during childbirth, the report said.

The experts "heard, first hand, unbearable direct testimonies of pregnant women shackled during labour, who due to the chaining, lost their babies", it said. Asked to give details, a U.N. rights spokesperson referred to "several" cases and confirmed they all involved Black women.

The experts also collected direct testimonies of conditions at a Louisiana prison where it said thousands of mostly Black male prisoners were "forced to labour in the fields (even picking cotton) under the watch of white 'freemen' on horseback, in conditions very similar to those of 150 years ago".

It described the stories from the so-called 'Angola' facility as "shocking" and said they amounted to "contemporary forms of slavery". It also voiced alarm at the widespread use of solitary confinement, which it said appeared to be applied disproportionately to inmates of African descent.

One Black man told the experts he had been kept in isolation for 11 years without interruption, the report said. "Our findings point to the critical need for comprehensive reform," said one of the experts, Juan Mendez.

US&nbsp;prison conditions have been a concern for decades and rights groups have long called for facilities with the worst records to be reformed or shut down.

The investigation was set up by the U.N. Human Rights Council, of which the United States is a voting member, in 2021 after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died after his neck was pinned to the ground by a police officer.

The report was based on testimonies from 133 individuals in five U.S. cities as well as those collected from five detention centres. It contained a list of 30 recommendations for US&nbsp;authorities, including a call for a new commission on reparations for people of African descent.

You can&nbsp;now write for&nbsp;wionews.com&nbsp;and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

UN human rights experts have called for major reforms of the US criminal justice system to combat systemic racism, citing testimonies that jailed Black women had been shackled during childbirth while male inmates were forced to work in "plantation-style" conditions.

UN human rights experts have called for major reforms of the US criminal justice system to combat systemic racism, citing testimonies that jailed Black women had been shackled during childbirth while male inmates were forced to work in "plantation-style" conditions. In a report published on Thursday (Sep 28), three UN-appointed experts said they had found practices in US prisons that amounted to "an affront to human dignity" in visits in April and May. The US diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said it was committed to ensuring the safety and security of incarcerated individuals as well as employees and the public. One such practice is restraining and shackling women prisoners during childbirth, the report said. The experts "heard, first hand, unbearable direct testimonies of pregnant women shackled during labour, who due to the chaining, lost their babies", it said. Asked to give details, a U.N. rights spokesperson referred to "several" cases and confirmed they all involved Black women. The experts also collected direct testimonies of conditions at a Louisiana prison where it said thousands of mostly Black male prisoners were "forced to labour in the fields (even picking cotton) under the watch of white 'freemen' on horseback, in conditions very similar to those of 150 years ago". It described the stories from the so-called 'Angola' facility as "shocking" and said they amounted to "contemporary forms of slavery". It also voiced alarm at the widespread use of solitary confinement, which it said appeared to be applied disproportionately to inmates of African descent. One Black man told the experts he had been kept in isolation for 11 years without interruption, the report said. "Our findings point to the critical need for comprehensive reform," said one of the experts, Juan Mendez. US prison conditions have been a concern for decades and rights groups have long called for facilities with the worst records to be reformed or shut down. The investigation was set up by the U.N. Human Rights Council, of which the United States is a voting member, in 2021 after the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died after his neck was pinned to the ground by a police officer. The report was based on testimonies from 133 individuals in five U.S. cities as well as those collected from five detention centres. It contained a list of 30 recommendations for US authorities, including a call for a new commission on reparations for people of African descent. You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

'Black women inmates chained': US jail practices slammed by UN experts as racist, affront to dignity

human-dignity

Human Dignity, News on Human Dignity, stories on Human Dignity, articles on Human Dignity, Human Dignity stories at Wion, Human Dignity news, Human Dignity latest news