Thread: U.N. Human Rights Experts Chastise U.S.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/ ... URO0.shtml

U.N. Human Rights Experts Chastise U.S.

GENEVA, Jul. 17, 2006
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(AP) The United States must set a better example for the world in areas ranging from its treatment of Latin American migrants to its handling of detainees in the war on terror, U.N. human rights experts said Monday.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee is conducting a periodic review of Washington's adherence to the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The committee is expected to issue conclusions before the end of the month.

Criticism by the panel brings no penalties beyond international scrutiny.

Member Hipolito Solari Yrigoyen, an Argentine lawyer and human rights activist, said he worried about U.S. efforts to deal with illegal migrants from Mexico.

Hundreds of National Guard troops have been deployed along the border in an effort to stop illegal immigration.

"My major concern ... is the level of militarization on the border with Mexico," he said. "Militarization of the border creates a conflict zone."

Panel member Sir Nigel Rodley, a British law professor, criticized the alleged U.S. practice of holding detainees in the war on terror incommunicado for long periods.

Abdelfattah Amor, a senior Tunisian law professor, noted allegations of prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and the U.S. detention center for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The U.S. delegation steered clear of such questions.

"While the U.S. obligations under the covenant do not apply outside of U.S. territory, it is important to recall that there is a body of both domestic and international law that protects individuals outside U.S. territory," said State Department official Matthew Waxman.

About 40 human rights groups sent representatives to meet separately with the committee and monitor proceedings. Amnesty International said it had raised a number of issues, including the death penalty, supermaximum security prisons and life sentences for those who committed crimes as juveniles.

Other questions from the panel concerned racial discrimination, the rights of native Americans and the treatment of African-Americans in the Gulf Coast area before and after Hurricane Katrina.

In May, the top U.N. anti-torture panel recommended the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison, and criticized alleged U.S. use of secret prisons and suspected delivery of prisoners to foreign countries for interrogation.

"My major concern ... is the level of militarization on the border with Mexico," he said. "Militarization of the border creates a conflict zone."

hmmm what do you call it when border patrol are shot at by those on the other side of the border? Isn't that militarization? Seems to me its self defense of both our people on the border and our sovereignty.

The United States must set a better example for the world in areas ranging from its treatment of Latin American migrants to its handling of detainees in the war on terror, U.N. human rights experts said Monday.

You've got to be kidding me. Up to this point, illegal immigrants have received better treatment in the United States than they would have anywhere else in the free world! Let's not forget, the U.N. encourages open border policies. Well, I say the United States has a right to protect her borders from invasion and the country from criminal law breakers that are disrespectful of our traditions, culture, and heritage. I don't know about the rest of you, but for the last two years I've felt the U.N. was almost as dangerous to our way of life as the millions of illegals in our country.

I've felt the U.N. was almost as dangerous to our way of life as the millions of illegals in our country

To be honest I think the U.N. is the most dangerous political body on this planet.

Originally Posted by xanadu

I've felt the U.N. was almost as dangerous to our way of life as the millions of illegals in our country

To be honest I think the U.N. is the most dangerous political body on this planet.

Well, maybe second most dangerous. The first being the US Congess & State Department.

UN OUT OF THE US AND THE US OUT OF THE UN!
or better known as
the UNITED NATIONS of CORRUPTION & GENOCIDE

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-07-18-voa59.cfm

US Defends Human Rights Record at UN
By Lisa Schlein
Geneva
18 July 2006


The United States fended off tough questions by a panel of human rights experts regarding its war on terrorism. During the past two days, the U.N. Human Rights Committee examined numerous issues ranging from U.S. treatment of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to domestic concerns. The committee is trying to determine if the United States is fulfilling its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The 18-member committee of independent experts got right to the point. They questioned the U.S. delegation about a variety of controversial issues, including alleged places of secret detention, about the treatment of hundreds of detainees in Guantanamo Bay, and about reports that the United States used torture.

An expert from Great Britain and former Special U.N. Investigator on Torture, Nigel Rodley was eager to find out whether terror suspects were being kept in secret detention centers. He said he could not accept the argument that the United States was not able to comment on intelligence operations.

"If there is any implication that secret detention ... and prolonged incommunicado detention are not happening, I find it hard to credit, or I would not understand why the International Committee of the Red Cross is seeking access to secret detainees who do not exist," Rodley says. "So, let us assume that they exist. The response seems to be saying that anybody detained is not going to be subject to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment. And so, it seems to imply that secret prolonged incommunicado detention does not violate the prohibition on torture."



Rodley's observations elicited a strong response from the U.S. delegation leader, Matthew Waxman. He said attacks by the al-Qaida terrorist network pose a new kind of threat. Although it presented tough legal challenges, he said the United States believed the fight against terrorism had to be done within the rule of law.

He pointedly disagreed with the suggestion that indefinite detention was inherently inhumane.

"We are relying on the traditional rule in warfare, which is that enemy fighters can be held until the end of the conflict," Waxman says. "The purpose of this rule is obvious - to prevent them from returning to the battlefield. It is true that in any war, captured prisoners are uncertain when they will be released because during the course of the war, it is never clear how long it will last. Second, having said that, the United States also recognizes that this is a unique kind of war. And, we also do not want to be in a position of holding anyone longer than necessary."

Waxman said Washington had gone to great lengths to develop review procedures to examine each detainee case in Guantanamo and elsewhere. He said the United States is actively seeking to release or transfer detainees to their home countries. But, only if it gets assurances they will receive humane treatment on their return.

The United States was also questioned on a wide range of domestic issues, including prisoner treatment, racial profiling, immigration, the death penalty, and the practice of sentencing juveniles to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee will issue its final observations and recommendations at the end of the month.

Kick the UN to the curb! The UN is dangerous. Have no doubt about it.

It is so simple. Withdraw funding from the UN and it will all but disappear. It could not survive without US financial support.

As if criticizing the U.S. is something new.

The United States was also questioned on a wide range of domestic issues, including prisoner treatment, racial profiling, immigration, the death penalty

These people need to look at their own corrupt countries. The UN has no say in our immigration policy. It's the most generous in the world. It amazes me that a bunch of corrupt little dictators want to talk about Human Rights. What a bunch of hypocrites.

Originally Posted by 2ndamendsis

Originally Posted by xanadu

I've felt the U.N. was almost as dangerous to our way of life as the millions of illegals in our country

To be honest I think the U.N. is the most dangerous political body on this planet.

Well, maybe second most dangerous. The first being the US Congess & State Department.

UN OUT OF THE US AND THE US OUT OF THE UN!
or better known as
the UNITED NATIONS of CORRUPTION & GENOCIDE

Boy do i agree with that 1000%