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UN:
"NGO
SHADOW
REPORT" PROBES
U.S. HUMAN RIGHTS
ABUSES
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UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com/
- 5 July 2006 - [GENEVA]
An "NGO
SHADOW REPORT"
of 142 U.S.-based
nonprofit organizations
and NGOs was assembled
for the United Nation's
Human Rights Committee
as part of its review of
U.S. human rights abuses
later this month.
The
465-page report is one
of the most
comprehensive review of
human rights violations
in the United States
ever compiled.
The
U.N. review is a routine
procedure that occurs
every four years for
countries that have
ratified the
International Covenant
on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR).
The
ICCPR is one of two
treaties that together
are the equivalent to an
international "Bill
of Rights." The
U.S. signed and ratified
the treaty in 1992, but
the U.S. review - its
second - is more than
seven years late due to
the State Department's
delay in submitting its
own official report.
Last
year, the U.N. warned
that it would commence
reviewing the U.S.
without the official
report if it were
delayed any longer. The
State Department
submitted its official
report on October 21,
2005.
The
"shadow
report" is a
rebuttal to the official
U.S. report. Among the
issues it documents are:
*
Immigration: The
physical abuse and poor
detention conditions
many non-citizens face
when they attempt to
enter the U.S., the
failure of U.S.
immigration law to
adequately protect
refugees, asylum seekers
and immigrant families
and respect their right
to due process, and
discrimination against
migrant workers;
*
Hurricane Katrina: The
racially discriminatory
evacuation of New
Orleans during Hurricane
Katrina and
discriminatory policies
in the hurricane's
aftermath that have
restricted residents'
right to vote, ability
to participate in the
rebuilding process and
access to basic
necessities;
*
Juvenile Justice: The
sentencing of youth and
teens to life in prison
without the possibility
of parole;
*
Prison conditions within
the United States, such
as shackling women
prisoners during
childbirth, limitations
on prisoners' access to
courts, lack of access
to adequate health care,
rape and discrimination
against minorities that
violate international
human rights standards.
In
the "shadow
report," the groups
underscore the common
theme that binds these
human rights violations
together: an unstated
policy of "U.S.
exceptionalism."
Before ratifying the
treaty, Congress
attached various
"reservations,
understandings and
declarations,"
limiting the application
of the treaty within the
U.S. The coalition
members point to the
U.S. claimed limitations
on the treaty, the State
Department's reluctance
to participate in the
U.N. process, and the
ongoing human rights
violations in the United
States as a systemic
pattern of ignoring
international human
rights obligations.
On
July 10, members of the
coalition, including the
American Civil Liberties
Union, the American
Friends Service
Committee, Global
Rights, Lawyer's
Committee for Civil
Rights Under Law, the
International Women's
Rights Action Watch,
Minnesota Advocates for
Human Rights, Center for
Reproductive Rights and
Justice Now, among
others, will present
findings from the report
to the committee in
Geneva. On July 17-18,
representatives of the
State Department and
other federal agencies
are expected to answer
questions from the
committee.
Last
May after hearings held
by the U.N.'s Committee
Against Torture -- an
international review
process similar to the
human rights hearing
that will be held in
July -- the Committee
Against Torture demanded
that the U.S. close the
prison at Guantanamo.
The
U.N. Human Rights
Committee is expected to
release its findings on
July 28, 2006.
More
information is available
at http://ushrnetwork.org/page227.cfm;
Contact:
Beth George,
212-584-5000 x313, bgeorge@fenton.com
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