Over 50 US human rights groups form Network to address "alarming state of human rights in the US"

(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:

Ø We are currently facing the most sweeping
rollback of civil liberties since the McCarthy era;

Ø Discrimination continues to infect social,
political and economic institutions.

Ø 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;

Ø Federal and State governments execute minorities
at rates that are grossly disproportionate to their
presence in the overall population;

Ø The US government takes the land and property of
American Indians without due process of law and without
compensation;

Ø 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:

Ø is the only industrialized nation that has
refused to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW);

Ø has not ratified the Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR);

Ø has refused to endorse the International
Criminal Court;

Ø has withdrawn from the Anti-Ballistic Missile
Treaty;

Ø has walked out on the World Conference Against
Racism;

Ø has cast doubt on its adherence to the Geneva
Conventions;

Ø is one of only two countries (with Iran) that
continues to execute juvenile offenders;

Ø is one of only two countries to have not
ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(CRC);

Ø 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."

Eliane Drakopoulos