Larisa Alexandrovna: UN report a 'moral indictment' of US

[kpete]

UN report a 'moral indictment' of US

Larisa Alexandrovna
Published: Thursday August 3, 2006

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has released its final report after a series of hearings in Geneva last week, which RAW STORY has learned amounts to a moral indictment of US treaty violations, as well as what some attendees and delegates described as US hubris, willful disregard for international and domestic law, and contempt for the Committee itself.

Understanding the Hearings

At the hearings, signatory nations to the Conventions against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment (CAT) and the 1992 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)—one of two treaties that make up what is commonly referred to as the International Bill of Rights-- presented reports on their implementation of the agreed-upon standards of the treaties. The Committee holds hearings every four years to review the compliance status of ICCPR signatory member nations.

As part of that review, the official State report is presented along with what is called a “shadow report,” a rebuttal from non-government organizations (NGO), advocacy groups, and citizen representatives. The US “shadow report” was prepared by The Coalition for Human Rights at Home, a coalition of 142 not-for-profit groups.

The shadow report delivered -- a whopping 456 pages -- documents domestic human rights abuses generally go unreported. The report meticulously details over 100 instances of human rights violations, as a response to the official report by the US. The US for its part was seven years late in delivering any sort of report, something it is obligated to do as a signatory of the ICCPR.

more at:
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/UN_report_moral_indictment_of_US_0803.html