Date: Tue, 11 Apr 1995 09:08:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Franklin Weston Subject: Human Rights report on the US (fwd) -------------------------------------------------------------------- ## Original in: /HRNET/AMERICAS ## author : theearthtime@igc.apc.org ## date : 06.04.95 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Human Rights Report on the US By C. Gerald Fraser Earth Times News Service UNITED NATIONS--The first ever US report to the UN on human rights within America's borders met with deftly phrased praise and criticism from experts on the Human Rights Committee. Eckart Klein, a committee member from Germany, said although explanations by members of the US delegation were "not fully cogent, all were very elaborate." The Clinton Administration sent to the UN a delegation of 22 persons, 20 from Washington and two from the UN Mission, to answer questions on US compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The US ratified the Covenant in 1992, making it "the supreme law of the land, equal with enacted federal statutes." However, Omran El-Shafei of Egypt, said the ratification contained so many US reservations, declarations, and understandings as to make the Covenant "a dead letter." The US view, expressed by Conrad S. Harper, was that US law complied with the Covenant. Harper is the Department of State's Legal Adviser. The US's written report, due in 1993, was dated August 24, 1994. Immediately following the end of last week's two day discussions, Human Rights Watch distributed a news release in which its executive director, Kenneth Roth, deplored the US approach. "It was disappointing," Roth said, "that the US delegation, rather than take advantage of this historic international scrutiny to bolster human rights guarantees for Americans, proceeded as if its task[s] were simply to defend the record of its client." Speaking for another nongovernmental organization, Roger S. Wareham, of the International Association Against Torture, said a critical analysis of the US report "demonstrates the ever-widening gap between US theory and practice" The 15 committee members, largely a collection of lawyers and academics representing big and small nations, were very concerned about capital punishment in the US, especially its application to youths under 18 years of age. The Department of State's John Shattuck responded by saying that retention of the death penalty in general, and for juveniles, "reflected serious, deep, and considered democratic choice on the American public." Shattuck is Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Marco Celli, of Venezuela, said a "full and democratic decision" had not been clearly taken on the death penalty issue. And India's Prafullachandra Bhagwati said that defending capital punishment "as an expression of the democratic majority was an explanation but not a justification." Cecilia Quiroga of Chile added that the democratic majority argument "did not justify decisions of Government which affect individuals rights, such as the right to life." Committee members also raised questions on the sale of guns, the application of the Covenant to the states, the question of excludable aliens, the political status of Washington, DC residents, rights of men and women in prison, "super-max" prisons, scientific experiments on "vulnerable" persons--prisoners and mental patients, and police brutality, Klein called the US's overall response to committee members' questions presented a "Constitution-centric" view. Shattuck told the committee "Civil and political rights in the United States will always be a work in progress." ****************************************************************************** To subscribe to the list, email MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu the one line message 'subscribe queerplanet'. To unsubscribe to the list, email MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu with the one line message 'unsubscribe queerplanet'. To send a message to the entire list "queerplanet", email queerplanet@abacus.oxy.edu *******************************************************************************