As part of a routine process by which the UN assesses the freedom of a country with a letter grade, the grade for the US came out this week. According to the UN, we’ve got a lot of work to do in the freedom department. According to Counter Current News:
A United Nations committee of independent monitors this week released a damningassessment of human rights in the United States, showing an overall dismal performance on issues from Guantanamo Bay detentions to mass surveillance to accountability for past atrocities—earning what the U.S. Human Rights Network called a “failing grade.”
The United Nations Human Rights Committee’s investigation was one of a handful of periodic reviews aimed at evaluating countries that have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights established in 1976. In particular, the assessment measured U.S. implementation of the committee’s recommendations for improving the country’s human rights record.
The experts determined that the U.S. performance in 2014 was “relatively poor,” Vincent Ploton, head of external relations for the Geneva-based Centre for Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), toldCommon Dreams.
The agency delivers grades that range from “A” the “E.” The U.S. score for 2014 was summarized in the following graphic, compiled by CCPR. Ploton explained: “There is only one B1 grade, which means substantial action was taken. C1 means that there was no implementation, and C2 is worse, as it means the information provided by the U.S. was not relevant to the recommendations. D1 means there was no response.”
The U.S. had no A grades, and “the fact that the CIA report was only partially published was likely the reason for the B1 grade,” noted Ploton, referring to the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s investigation of post-9/11 CIA torture.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody. The United States government has been on an all out attack on our human rights for the last century. From the New Deal to the Patriot Act, a number of policy decisions over the years have resulted in the almost socialist police state we see today. Our failing grade should serve as a reminder that we have work to do. It’s up to us to turn the tide in favor of liberty.
Source: Counter Current News
