Human Rights

(Washington, DC) -- US-based rights groups announced at a press conference today in Washington, DC that they will "join forces" in a US Human Rights Network to address what they see as the "alarming rate of human rights violations in the US" -- saying that "as the US indulges an increasingly unilateralist bent in both domestic and foreign policy, the cost to rights at home and abroad is growing." The groups, which cover such diverse issues as criminal justice, civil rights, immigration and asylum concerns, and economic rights, launched the US Human Rights Network amid growing concern domestically and internationally that the US sees itself as exempt from international human rights laws and standards. They also released a resource guide for organizations, containing strategies and tools for using the international human rights framework in their pursuit of justice. "The demonstrations that we are currently seeing against the US around the world are a reaction to the perception that the US - and particularly the Bush administration - thinks that it is above international law - laws the rest of the world are required to abide by," said Ajamu Baraka, of the US Human Rights Network. "We are here today to say that it is not only the rest of the world that is opposed to this 'exceptionalism' - Americans are also concerned and very much affected by such double-standards." "The rights of ordinary Americans and others residing in the US are being trampled on a daily basis -- in violation of a host of international laws and standards. These include the right to economic security and a decent standard of living, the right of children convicted of crimes not to be executed, the right to a fair trial, the right to seek asylum, and the right to be free from torture and cruel and inhumane treatment, among many others," said Cathy Albisa, of the US Human Rights Network. "How can we take seriously President Bush's claim that the US should be a shining example to the rest of the world when we have so many serious problems here at home?" asked Baraka. One of many cases currently being monitored in the context of increasing repression in the post-September 11 "war on terror" is that of Florida professor Dr Sami Al-Arian -- who has been imprisoned on "terror" charges since 20 February 2003 with no evidence having been produced against him. Laila Al-Arian, Dr Al-Arian's daughter, spoke today about her father's case and the conditions of his imprisonment. The US Human Rights Network will monitor and react to a wide range of human rights violations in the US. For example, according to the Network, in the US today: We are currently facing the most sweeping rollback of civil liberties since the McCarthy era; Discrimination continues to infect social, political and economic institutions. Federal and State governments imprison minorities at rates that are grossly disproportionate to their presence in the overall population -- over 60% of incarcerated people are of Native Indian, Latino or African ancestry; Federal and State governments execute minorities at rates that are grossly disproportionate to their presence in the overall population; The US government takes the land and property of American Indians without due process of law and without compensation; 33 million people live in poverty, with more than 74 million people having had no health insurance for some part of 2001 and 2002; According to the Network, the policy of U.S. "exceptionalism" has also resulted in a shameful record internationally. For example, the US: is the only industrialized nation that has refused to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); has not ratified the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR); has refused to endorse the International Criminal Court; has withdrawn from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; has walked out on the World Conference Against Racism; has cast doubt on its adherence to the Geneva Conventions; is one of only two countries (with Iran) that continues to execute juvenile offenders; is one of only two countries to have not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); has attached reservations to those human rights instruments that it has ratified to undermine their effective use in US courts. Founding members of the Network include the: ACLU, American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International, Center for Economic and Social Rights, Columbia Law School, Deaf and Deaf-Blind Committee on Human Rights, Kensington Welfare Rights Union, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, Urban Justice Center, and the Women's Economic Agenda Project. "We urge all organizations concerned with the devastating impact of violations of social, economic, civil and political rights in the US to join the Network and come to us for information on how they can apply international human rights law to their advocacy work," said Baraka. "Working collectively, we hope to ensure that the US rejoins the community of nations, abiding by the rule of law and respecting human rights." -30- For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Eliane Drakopoulos on tel: 678-371-6291