The Human Rights Council made its first examination of the US since 2015. This year’s review called out the nation’s racism and subsequent violence and made an indictment of Donald Trump’s four year term as president.
Activists highlighted the separation of children from their parents, police violence against Black people and the country’s use of the death penalty.
The half-day session gave the floor to dozens of activists and delegations from major world powers including allies of the United States who voiced concerns about the state of human rights in America.
“What we saw today was unsurprising condemnation by many countries around the world of the United States’ human rights record,” Jamil Dakwar, director of the human rights program at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said at a news conference.
The death of George Floyd in May sparked global protests and put the country’s human rights record back into the spotlight, and the cases of police violence since May have only added to the surmounting evidence of a need for change.
“We’ve heard country after country.. calling and urging the United States to take serious measures to address structural racism and police violence,” Dakwar said.
Several countries, including China and Russia called out the US for racism and police violence. Delegates from Cuba and Venezuela called on the US to provide access to healthcare during the global health pandemic.
Allies of the US called on the country to address barriers to reproductive and sexual healthcare for women and girls. These barriers are often linked to the intersections of race, gender, and socioeconomic status, furthering the point of other delegations to address racism.
In calling out Trump’s administration’s actions that furthered harm to marginalized groups, the voices heard at the review also called on the incoming Biden administration to address these issues at a federal level.
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