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Solly Mack

(90,758 posts)
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 05:21 PM Mar 2014

UN Committee Issues Scathing Report U.S. Government's Human Rights Record

Today, the UN Human Rights Committee issued highly critical concluding observations on the United States’ compliance with international human rights requirements. CCR had submitted several detailed reports to the committee in advance of its hearings March 13-14, and much of their substance was reflected in both the committee’s questioning and its conclusions. The committee expressed deep concern over:


* the U.S. “targeted killing” program;

* the lack of progress in the closure of Guantánamo, urging the U.S. to expedite the process of transferring detainees out of the prison, including to Yemen, and reiterating its position that the U.S. must end its practice of indefinite detention without charge or trial;

* the secrecy and lack of accountability around Bush-era abuses, including the limited number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions of contractors and high ranking U.S. officials for killings and torture of detainees;

* the imposition of the death penalty in a racially discriminatory manner and the conditions on death row;

* reports of criminalization of people living on the street for everyday activities such as eating, sleeping, and sitting in particular areas, raising concerns of discrimination and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment;

* the use of prolonged solitary confinement, particularly for at-risk people and those in pretrial detention, urging the abolition of solitary for people under 18 and for people with serious mental illness, and strict limitations on its use, overall; and

* the targeting of Muslims by the NYPD, and racial profiling overall (while underlining its support for recent plans to reform the use of stop and frisk).
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UN Committee Issues Scathing Report U.S. Government's Human Rights Record (Original Post) Solly Mack Mar 2014 OP
Yah, I suppose Romney would be a breath of fresh air for you. MannyGoldstein Mar 2014 #1
I'm very serious about torture - and the lack of accountability. Solly Mack Mar 2014 #3
I was being sarcastic MannyGoldstein Mar 2014 #4
I know. Which is why I said I understood your point. Solly Mack Mar 2014 #6
You should rec in contrition dear Manny n/t Catherina Mar 2014 #8
Oops, good catch MannyGoldstein Mar 2014 #13
Unfortunately SwankyXomb Mar 2014 #25
Come clean on deadly drone activities By Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) and Robert Greenwald Catherina Mar 2014 #2
Oh no, ProSense Mar 2014 #5
which used car G_j Mar 2014 #7
? n/t ProSense Mar 2014 #9
. Rex Mar 2014 #10
Watch out, you're about to be called a racist. JackRiddler Mar 2014 #12
Why? Do you offer SunsetDreams Mar 2014 #15
LOL! bvar22 Mar 2014 #19
just a tire kicker from way back.. G_j Mar 2014 #23
It's a great car... mindwalker_i Mar 2014 #22
thank you G_j Mar 2014 #11
Thank you, G_j. Solly Mack Mar 2014 #14
K&R Hell Hath No Fury Mar 2014 #16
This is the UN Declaration of Humans Rights WHEN CRABS ROAR Mar 2014 #17
Glad to see the UN do this ...the US lacks honest introspect preferring the immoral and inhumane. L0oniX Mar 2014 #18
Oh shit, now the UN's got ODS mindwalker_i Mar 2014 #20
DURec. bvar22 Mar 2014 #21
Thank you Solly Autumn Mar 2014 #24
, blkmusclmachine Mar 2014 #26
Recommend. Jefferson23 Mar 2014 #27
^ Wilms Mar 2014 #28
K&R. (nt) Kurovski Mar 2014 #29
 

MannyGoldstein

(34,589 posts)
1. Yah, I suppose Romney would be a breath of fresh air for you.
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 05:27 PM
Mar 2014

What is it with you people?

Haters gotta hate, I guess.

Regards,

TWM

Solly Mack

(90,758 posts)
3. I'm very serious about torture - and the lack of accountability.
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 05:36 PM
Mar 2014

So much so my sense of humor (and I can find humor in most anything) goes out the window and down the street - where it is run over by a steamroller.

But I take your point.

Solly Mack

(90,758 posts)
6. I know. Which is why I said I understood your point.
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 05:41 PM
Mar 2014

I'm the one in a less than pleasant mood right now.

I apologize. I, too, employ the use of sarcasm. (most of the time)

SwankyXomb

(2,030 posts)
25. Unfortunately
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 07:48 PM
Mar 2014

there are too many people that don't recognize the difference between RealManny and ThirdWayManny, and assume he's just like those other Professional Posters of Nonsense.

Catherina

(35,568 posts)
2. Come clean on deadly drone activities By Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) and Robert Greenwald
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 05:30 PM
Mar 2014
Come clean on deadly drone activities

By Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) and Robert Greenwald - March 27, 2014



Three years ago last week, a U.S. drone strike hit the small town of Datta Khel in Pakistan. Local business owners and leaders were in the midst of a two-day tribal council meeting, called to address a dispute regarding a chromite mine in the area. Local authorities had been notified about the meeting, which is a traditional forum employed to resolve community conflicts. As the second day of the meeting commenced, missiles fell from the sky, ripping into the gathered crowd. Shrapnel and rock ruptured outward from the blasts. A new video on the Datta Khel strike from Brave New Films speaks to the havoc wrought by the attack. Though estimates of casualties and injuries vary, a United Nations report released this month states that more than 40 people died in the Datta Khel strike. Another 14 were wounded. The impact of the attack was substantial – a large number of tribal elders were reportedly killed and wounded - and it devastated Datta Khel, as well as the surrounding communities. Pakistani officials strongly condemned the attack, calling it a violation of human rights.

The precise number of civilian casualties, again, varies depending on the source. The Bureau for Investigative Journalism has positively identified some civilian deaths. The U.N. report states that “the overwhelming majority of those killed or injured” in the Datta Khel strike were reportedly civilians. Despite media coverage and human rights investigations that covered the Datta Khel strike, the American government has not acknowledged that the strike occurred, or provided any other details on the incident. As such, it remains incredibly difficult to confirm numbers, identities, and other details of the victims of the Datta Khel strike – or any other U.S. drone attacks.

...

But this week, the U.S. government did the opposite of that. In fact, it said that it won’t participate in U.N. Human Rights Council negotiations regarding a resolution that seeks greater transparency and accountability in drone strikes. The draft resolution urges States to maintain transparent records on drone strikes, and reportedly encourages independent investigations in incidents where human rights violations have occurred – such as civilian casualties of drone strikes. The resolution will come up for a vote this week, and the U.S. is not expected to support it. That is a mistake.

It’s time for our government to shed some light on its drone practices. Transparency, as uncomfortable as it may sometimes be, is an essential part of our democracy. Americans need the facts – the who, what, when, where, and [most importantly] why – in order to decide if the benefits of these strikes outweigh the negatives. And for the people in other countries, whose lives are so profoundly impacted by America’s drone activities, people like Rafiq ur Rehman and the individuals in Datta Khel, they deserve some closure too.

...

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/homeland-security/201863-come-clean-on-deadly-drone-activities



DU rec

ProSense

(116,464 posts)
5. Oh no,
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 05:39 PM
Mar 2014
CCR applauds the UN and the international community for holding the US accountable to its international obligations and shedding a necessary light on areas where it is falling short. However, we regret the HRC failed to question the U.S. government on the devastation the invasion and occupation of Iraq has brought to both Iraqi civilians and U.S. veterans.

...the UN "defended" the Iraq invasion by failing to call out Bush's illegal war. (Yes, that's absurd.)

Still, some important thing happened recently with respect to Guantanamo and reforming the NSA.

Uruguay agrees to U.S. request to take some Guantanamo inmates
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024698737

The political importance of a terrorist conviction
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024734324

ACLU: President Announces Reforms to Rein in NSA Spying on Americans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024737421

On the death penalty and treatment of the poor, many states have a long way to go.

Last year, Maryland became the 18th state to abolish the death penalty.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/02/us-usa-maryland-deathpenalty-idUSBRE9410TQ20130502


 

JackRiddler

(24,979 posts)
12. Watch out, you're about to be called a racist.
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 05:44 PM
Mar 2014

It's not like there's any other ammo left to defend U.S. foreign policy under the present administration.

bvar22

(39,909 posts)
19. LOL!
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 07:28 PM
Mar 2014

Good one.

I have found little in these threads that have merited a laugh,
but yours did it.

G_j

(40,366 posts)
23. just a tire kicker from way back..
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 07:41 PM
Mar 2014

seriously though, today some people have pissed me off more than any other day in the last decade here at DU.
Most of them were not even here when we were desperately trying to stop shock and awe before it happened.

mindwalker_i

(4,407 posts)
22. It's a great car...
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 07:40 PM
Mar 2014

Single speed, 40 gal/mi. It has a steering wheel, but it's been welded in place so the car goes in only one direction. To further reduce cost, the gas pedal has been replaced with a button that is always on, guaranteeing the car continues to go in its proscribed direction until it is turned off. The ignition switch is hotwired and a cage buit around it so it's impossible to turn off the car. All user-adjustable settings have, in fact, been removed, so the vehicle takes no input.

Solly Mack

(90,758 posts)
14. Thank you, G_j.
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 05:47 PM
Mar 2014

I don't expect much to come from the report. I've been waiting for the release and now it's been released.

 

L0oniX

(31,493 posts)
18. Glad to see the UN do this ...the US lacks honest introspect preferring the immoral and inhumane.
Thu Mar 27, 2014, 07:15 PM
Mar 2014

All in the name of freedom and democracy? G0d bless america ...and fuck everyone else.

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