After chastising the United States (US) on its appalling policing system in which many unarmed black men have been shot to death recently, the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHR) has expressed worry about the nature of the US’s surveillance system.
Representatives from 193 countries raised various human rights abuses at the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Summit in Geneva, Switzerland and US’s ambassador to the council Keith Harper and Mary McLeod were quizzed regarding recent cases of police brutality.
UNHR had already said it is a disturbing trend considering how excessive force is being used against minorities (blacks) by law enforcement agencies, saying the US has “largely failed” to follow up on recommendations made in 2010.
“Chad considers the United States of America to be a country of freedom, but recent events targeting black sectors of society have tarnished its image,” a delegate from Chad, a country in West Africa told the UNHRC.
The UPR is under the mandate of the UNHRC and takes place every four years to scrutinize the human and civil rights practices of each of the UN’s 193 member nations. It was found out that the US has had an appalling human and civil rights violations record recently.
Of major concern to the council members was also the issue of US’s surveillance system which has put the US in a very bad light in the eyes of the international community since the National Security Agency’s whistle-blower, Edward Snowden made a damming revelations in 2013 about the US’s monitoring activities both local and international.
Representatives from Brazil and Kenya took their turn to lash out to the US for using such a system to suppress dissenting views on its soil. Already, a federal appeals court has ruled that the National Security Agency’s program to collect data on phone calls violates the US’s Constitution. This gave delegates more ammunition to use to shoot the US down at the summit which can only be described as ‘Baptism of Fire’ for the US.
Reacting to the criticisms from the UNHR, deputy assistant attorney general with the US Justice Department-David Bitkower said the US government does not collect intelligence to suppress dissent or to give businesses an advantage, and insisted there is “extensive and effective oversight to prevent abuse”.
The US officials also heard criticism over the continued use of the death penalty. Swedish UN representative-Anna Jakenberg Brinck called for a “national moratorium on the death penalty aiming at complete abolition.”
Other countries including France also pushed for “full transparency” in the types of drugs being administered during executions following news that some death row inmates suffered protracted pain and death during their executions.
Human rights activists have that it is not surprising that the world is on the neck of the US on these human and civil rights violations, describing the situation as worrying and urging the US to take immediate steps to end these disasters.
“I’m not surprised that the world’s eyes are focused on police issues in the US. There is an international spotlight that’s been shone on the issues in large part due to the events in Ferguson and the disproportionate police response to even peaceful protesters”, Alba Morales of Human Rights Watch said on the issue.
We said it here that the world was and is still following events in the US in the wake of brutal killings of unarmed black men by police officers. We hope that this ‘Baptism of Fire the US has received on its gross human rights abuses will go a long way to bring the change we all want. Expect us to follow these events closely! We do not forget. We do not forgive. Expect us!
Source: http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-violence-bad-united-nations-involved/
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I think there are better things the UN should be worried about then the united states home troubles lol I mean look at what we do internationaly….*sigh*