A United Nations human rights experts has warned that racism threatens Americans’ basic civil rights.
“African-Americans are subjected to systematic police harassment — and sometimes much worse — often for doing nothing more than walking down the street or gathering in a group,” wrote U.N. special rapporteur Maina Kiai on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, after a recent trip to the U.S. [...]
Kiai published a detailed, 6,500-word summary of his experience, which warns of extreme “racial, social and economic inequality, which are often intertwined.” It also shows how harsh, police state-like conditions in the U.S. are threatening the basic rights of Americans, particularly Americans of color.
His report was mostly ignored by the U.S. media. [...]
He highlighted the double standards of the U.S. justice system. “Wall Street bankers looted billions of dollars through crooked schemes, devastating the finances of millions of Americans and saddling taxpayers with a massive bailout bill,” Kiai wrote.
But no Wall Street executives were punished. “Instead, criminal justice resources go towards enforcing a different type of law and order, targeting primarily African-Americans and other minorities.” [...]
“The outcry for accountability for police shootings is deafening. Given the attention to this issue and its importance, it is incomprehensible that a modern society such as the United States lacks official records that accurately document the number of victims of such shootings, the precise circumstances and the follow-up actions taken,” Kiai said.
The U.N. rights expert also criticized the U.S. government’s time and place restrictions on protests, which he said “not conform with international law.” Almost all major U.S. cities require permits for protests. These violates international law and standards, he said.
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