PV Vancouver Bureau
The US has been accused of human rights abuses, serious infringements of its citizens’ rights and “systematic racial discrimination” in a damning report released by China.
“The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2017“, which uses official US government statistics and other publicly available sources, highlighted the poor US human rights record at home and abroad. The report claims that the situation in the US worsened in 2017, with results showing that Washington is in no position to play the role of a global “human rights judge.”
Its release followed the US State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which branded the governments of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea “morally reprehensible,” saying that they represented a threat to global stability.
However Beijing warned that such “biased reports” were a failed attempt to interfere with the country’s internal affairs and China’s development. China’s report slammed the US for its military interventions in Syria which have led to the bombings of civilian infrastructure, including at least 12 schools, 15 mosques, 15 bridges and a refugee camp. It said the US had attacked Syrian government forces at least four times in recent months, violating the UN charter in a war of aggression.
And it hit out at the growing disparity between rich and poor in the US where a record 40 million people are living in poverty.
The report criticised the US legal system, using data from the US sentencing commission which showed that black men receive 19.1 per cent longer sentences than white men committing similar offences. Beijing said that discrimination in the US also affects women, children and disabled people.
It warned that, despite a promise by former US president Barack Obama, the notorious Guantanamo Bay remains open, with people held for decades without charge and subjected to torture.
“US money politics keeps fermenting and the rich guide the direction of politics. The weak face increasingly harsh restrictions on voting and scandals involving politicians are frequent,” the report concludes. It points to the way a super-rich minority use their wealth to buy their way to power, exemplified by the election of billionaire Donald Trump as president.
