(New York) - The United States should take concrete steps to address serious failings in its human rights record, Human Rights Watch said today. Many of the issues were raised by UN member countries on November 5, 2010, during the United States' first review of its human rights conditions and policies before the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
"The US wasn't defensive in its responses, but it also refused to budge from the status quo," said Antonio Ginatta, US advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. "US officials were often reduced to restating current practices that grossly violate human rights, like the death penalty, poor prison conditions, and sentencing youth offenders to life without parole."
During what is called the Universal Periodic Review, a vast majority of countries expressed their concern about the death penalty and called for a nationwide moratorium. Similarly, countries pointed out problems with mistreatment of migrants and racial disparities in education, access to health care, and the criminal justice system. Many called on the United States to follow through on its promise to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Almost all participating countries also called on the United States to ratify core human rights treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
One senior US official said at the proceedings that the only way to promote American values was to "live them at home." But that doesn't apply to everyone in the United States, Human Rights Watch said. One in ten African American men is incarcerated; about 2,500 youth offenders are serving sentences of life without parole; 40 people have been executed so far this year; 400,000 immigrants are in prison-like detention centers; and 48 people remain imprisoned at Guantanamo facing unfair military commission trials.
The Universal Periodic Review system was established in 2006. The review provides a chance to draw attention to, and make recommendations about, human rights violations in all UN member states. States under review submit written reports concerning the human rights situation in their country and respond to the questions and recommendations put forward by other UN member states. All 192 UN member countries undergo such reviews every four years.
At today's session, more than 55 countries spoke for two minutes each, offering recommendations and asking questions of the delegation. The US took one hour to discuss its record and respond generally to some of the statements. Following its review, the US held a town hall meeting for civil society organizations gathered in both Geneva and Washington, participating through the web. It was a major opportunity for civil society groups to ask questions and further engage with the US government about its rights record. The US is the first country to hold such a session.
The report of the proceedings will be released early next week, and the United States will have until March 2011 to submit its final responses to the recommendations.
"Thankfully the US seems to acknowledge that today's meeting was not the final chapter in the UPR process," Ginatta said. "While today's meeting leaves little room for hope that the government will announce reforms in its final response to the UPR in March, Human Rights Watch and other civil society groups will continue to press the US to fulfill its human rights obligations."
