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US Faces Criticisms of its Human Rights Record

   VOA News 05 November 2010
   US Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer (file photo)

Photo: AP

   US Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer (file photo)

   The  United  States  faced a barrage of international criticism of its
   human  rights  record  Friday,  in its first-ever scrutiny by the U.N.
   Human Rights Council in Geneva.
   Allies and enemies alike lined up to chide Washington at the 47-member
   Council meeting.
   Russia,  China,  Indonesia, Mexico, Britain, Australia and Switzerland
   were  among  those  that  called on the United States to ban the death
   penalty, promote better religious tolerance, stop racial profiling and
   investigate claims of abuse by its troops abroad.
   U.S.  Assistant  Secretary of State Esther Brimmer told the U.N. forum
   that  it is "our own people to whom we are ultimately accountable" but
   recognized the importance of dialogue with other nations.
   Countries  from  around  the  world also called for Washington to shut
   down the prison in Guantanamo and improve detainee conditions.
   Prior  to  the  open  debate  Friday, the U.S. submitted a report that
   admitted to discrimination against blacks and Hispanics and a "broken"
   immigration  system,  but defended its record on freedom of the press,
   freedom  from  religious  persecution, freedom of workers to organize,
   and  granting  criminal  defendants  their constitutional right to due
   process.
   The  report  said  the United States was "at war" with al-Qaida but it
   would  comply  with  all  domestic  and  international  law  in  armed
   conflicts.
   State Department legal advisor Harold Koh, insisted on Friday that the
   United States "does not and will not torture."
   A shadow 400-page report by rights groups charged that racial, ethnic,
   and gender disparities continue in the United States.
   Michael  Posner,  the  U.S.  assistant  secretary  of  state for human
   rights, acknowledged "imperfections" in the U.S. democracy.
   The   review  comes  just  weeks  after  the  whistle-blowing  website
   Wikileaks  posted  thousands  of classified U.S. military documents on
   the  wars  in  Iraq and Afghanistan. Critics said the leaked documents
   revealed violations of detainees'Â  human rights.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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