February, 14 2011, 11:04am EDT
![Human Rights Watch (HRW)](https://assets.rbl.ms/50602809/origin.jpg)
US: Public Officials Should Reject Discrimination
WASHINGTON
Many Muslims and undocumented immigrants in the United States face hostility, fear, and resentment. Whether expressed elegantly or with vitriol, in plain words or in code, there are daily expressions of intolerance and prejudice that condemn these and other minority groups, and seek to define "American" in narrow terms that belie the nation's multicultural history. Voices of intolerance that disparage difference and champion discrimination are heard, for example, in debates about the location of Islamic centers,[i] and about the best response to the millions who have lived and worked for decades in the US after arriving here illegally.[ii]
Such voices of intolerance undermine basic human rights principles. Respect for the human dignity of every person, regardless of race, religion, sex, national or social origin, sexual orientation, or other status, is the cornerstone of human rights. Indeed, equality is perhaps the most important principle inspiring and permeating the concept of human rights. The charter document of contemporary human rights, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms without distinction of any kind. The equality of human beings and the concomitant right to be protected against discrimination have subsequently been affirmed in the core human rights treaties[iii] that codify the Universal Declaration and to which the United States is a party.
The principles of nondiscrimination and equality under the law affirmed by human rights have long inspired the United States and are embedded in its constitution and laws. Diversity permeates all aspects of American life. The national fabric has been woven by the Native Americans and immigrants from every continent who have brought their races, ethnicities, religions, cultures, and traditions to the country.
Yet alongside this multi-textured heritage has been a long history of discrimination, xenophobia, distrust, and intolerance. This has been reflected not only in individual private actions, but also in government institutions and laws that favored the majority over oppressed minority populations. The Constitution that proclaims the lofty ideal to "promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty" also permitted slavery, counting for representation only three-fifths of those not "free Persons."[iv]
Government officials, whether elected or appointed, have a particular responsibility under international law not to advocate or engage in discrimination. In recent years, though, elected officials and candidates for office have made statements equating Islam with terrorism.[v] Legislators in Oklahoma sought passage of a discriminatory "Save our State" amendment to the state constitution against Sharia (Islamic law),[vi] and the influential Texas State Board of Education enacted a resolution to limit the mere mention of Islam in world history books.[vii] Legislators from several states have described the immigration issue as one involving "illegal alien invaders"[viii] and criticized the 14th Amendment's guarantee of citizenship to all US-born children as producing "future terrorist"[ix] babies and "anchor babies,"[x] terms that dehumanize children. The DREAM Act, which would have provided a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants brought to the US as minors who attend college or serve in the US military was described by one member of Congress as a benefit that would put them "ahead of every American child who is not a minority."[xi]
Public officials, be they members of executive, legislative, or judicial branches at the federal, state, and local level, should act in accordance with US human rights obligations, including upholding, respecting, and protecting the rights to equality and non-discrimination. Prejudice and hostility toward different racial, ethnic, religious, or other groups should have no part in the exercise of their responsibilities.
E Pluribus Unum, the words on the national seal, mean "out of many, one." They do not mean "out of many, we reject some." Embracing diverse peoples on equal terms is not only a universal human rights goal, it is a national commitment. When US officials sanction or foment intolerance and discrimination they betray both.
[i] The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, "Controversies Over Mosques and Islamic Centers Across the U.S.," September 24, 2010, https://features.pewforum.org/muslim/assets/mosque-map-all-text-10-5.pdf, (accessed February 10, 2011).
[ii] Ted Robbins, "The Man Behind Arizona's Toughest Immigration Laws," National Public Radio, March 12, 2008, https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88125098, (accessed February 10, 2011).
[iii] International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted December 16, 1966, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force March 23, 1976, articles 26, 27 (ratified by the United States on June 8, 1992); International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), adopted December 21, 1965, G.A. Res. 2106 (XX), annex, 20 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 14) at 47, UN Doc A/6014 (1966), 660 U.N.T.S. 195, entered into force January 4, 1969 (ratified by the United States on November 20, 1994).
[iv] US Constitution, article 1, section 2 (this provision was modified by the 14th Amendment (1868)).
[v] For examples, see campaign statement by Lou Ann Zelenick, a 2010 Congressional candidate in Tennessee, quoted in "Zelenik issues statement on proposed Islamic Center," Murfreesboro Post, June 24, 2010, https://www.murfreesboropost.com/zelenik-issues-statement-on-proposed-islamic-center-cms-23606 (accessed February 3, 2011); and statement by Illinois Representative Don Manzullo, who later apologized, quoted in Steve Bryant, "Illinois Rep. Apologizes for Calling Islam a 'Savage Religion,'" NBC Chicago, November 18, 2010, https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/don-manzullo-illinois-congressman-islam-savage-religion-70371487.html (accessed February 11, 2011).
[vi] James C. McKinley, Jr., "Oklahoma Surprise: Islam as an Election Issue," The New York Times, November 15, 2010, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/us/15oklahoma.html (accessed February 3, 2011).
[vii] Associated Press, "Mentions of Islam Unwelcome in Texas Textbooks," The New York Times, September 25, 2010, https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/25/us/25brfs-TEXAS.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=islam&adxnnlx=1296590426-W9s5/ez5Lv3udP7+smtqBA (accessed February 3, 2011).
[viii] Pennsylvania State Representative Daryl Metcalfe, "Invasion PA," https://www.repmetcalfe.com/Immigration.aspx (accessed February 3, 2011).
[ix] See statement by Texas Representative Louie Gohmert in the US House of Representatives, CSPAN, June 24, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dorCLFVpzyo&feature=player_embedded (accessed February 10, 2011).
[x] See statements by Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce and former Virginia Congressperson Virgil Goode, quoted in Nathan O'Neal, "'Anchor Baby' Phrase Has Controversial History," ABC News, July 3, 2010 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/anchor-baby-phrase-controversial-history/story?id=11066543 (accessed February 10, 2011).
[xi] See statements by California Representative Dana Rohrabacher, quoted in Matt O'Brien, "House passes DREAM Act, bill faces tougher fight in Senate," The Mercury News, December 8, 2010, https://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_16807997, and in interview on Radio America, December 9, 2010, https://feeds.radioamerica.org/loudwater/wnd_news/000004734_000_000000003.mp3 (accessed February 3, 2011).
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
LATEST NEWS
House Dems Unveil Sweeping Bill to Protect Worker Rights and Safety
"This bill will help level the playing field and, once again, restore the balance of power between workers and their employers," said Rep. Bobby Scott.
Jul 26, 2024
A group of Democratic U.S. House members on Friday unveiled legislation "aimed at bolstering protections for America's workers and ensuring accountability for employers who flout labor and employment laws."
The Labor Enforcement to Securely (LET'S) Protect Workers Act was introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.)—the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce—and House Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), and Steven Horsford (D-Nev.).
The bill's sponsors said their legislation is based on the premise that "employment laws are a promise to our nation's workers" meant to "secure the most basic rights of work."
"That promise is broken," they contended. "Recent shocking revelations about massive increases in the number of children illegally overworked and trafficked into dangerous jobs—just over 85 years since the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which was enacted to eliminate that very problem—is the latest example of the ways that this promise to America's workers is broken."
Across the U.S., Republican state lawmakers have been advancing legislation to remove restrictions on child labor, despite several high-profile workplace deaths of minors. At the federal level, Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) last year introduced a bill that would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work in the logging industry.
The LET'S Protect Workers Act sponsors highlighted rampant wage theft and overtime violations, workplace injuries, and union-busting by employers who "know that even if a resource-starved Department of Labor catches a violation, the penalties are a mere slap on the wrist."
"People should be able to come home at the end of the day—alive, well, in one piece, and with all the wages they worked hard to earn," the lawmakers asserted. "Children should be in schools, not dangerous workplaces, and workers should be able to organize a union without interference or the threat of retaliation from their employers."
According to House Education and Workforce Committee Democrats, if passed, the LET'S Protect Workers Act would:
- Increase civil monetary penalties for violations of child labor, minimum wage and overtime, worker health and safety, and farmworker protection standards;
- Improve mine safety and reliable funding of black lung benefits through new and increased civil monetary penalties and the option to shut down scofflaw operators;
- Set new penalties for retaliation against workers who exercise their family and medical leave rights;
- Strengthen enforcement of mental health parity requirements for employer-sponsored health plans;
- Close a loophole that allows employers to escape penalties for failing to keep records of workplace injuries if [the Occupational Safety and Health Administration] does not detect the violation within six months; and
- Create new penalties for violations of the National Labor Relations Act, consistent with the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
"Every American should be fairly compensated and be able to return home safely at the end of the day," Scott said in a statement Friday. "Unfortunately, shortcomings in our labor laws enable unethical employers to exploit workers, endanger children, and suppress the right to organize—with little accountability."
"That's why I'm proud to introduce the LET'S Protect Workers Act, which will hold bad actors accountable and strengthen penalties for labor law violations," he added. "This bill will help level the playing field and, once again, restore the balance of power between workers and their employers."
In a joint statement, Dingell, Horsford, Norcross, and Pocan said that "the lack of meaningful enforcement makes it all too easy for bad faith actors to get away with illegally violating workers' rights—from firing workers for organizing a union, to allowing children to work overnight shifts, or jeopardizing workers' safety by ignoring workplace regulations."
"We're proud to join Ranking Member Scott in introducing this bill to crack down on unscrupulous employers and to ensure that workers receive the protections they deserve," the lawmakers added.
Earlier this month, nearly 50 labor organizations led by the AFL-CIO and representing a wide range of U.S. workers urged congressional Democrats to resist Republican efforts to roll back rules enacted by the Biden administration to protect worker rights amid relentless attacks by abusive employers.
Specifically, the labor groups warned that Republicans are trying to use the Congressional Review Act—which was enacted to strengthen oversight of federal rulemaking—to overturn pro-worker rules enacted by the Department of Labor and other government bodies.
Meanwhile, Republicans including former President Donald Trump—the 2024 GOP nominee—have been trying to woo U.S. workers with proposals including a tax exemption for tipped employees panned as a "
hollow promise" by experts and by inviting Teamsters president Sean O'Brien to speak at the Republican National Convention last week.
In response to Republicans' dubious courting of U.S. labor, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas)—who is a co-sponsor of the LET'S Protect Workers Act—recently called for holding what would be a largely symbolic vote on the PRO Act. The bill was revived last year by Scott and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and, if passed, would expand labor protections including the right to organize and collectively bargain.
"If Republicans wanna talk like they're pro-worker, then let's have a vote on the PRO Act next week," Casar
said on social media last week. "Let's see which politicians are for unions and which ones are all talk. Dems are ready to vote, how about you guys?"
Keep ReadingShow Less
Amnesty Urges War Crimes Probe of Landmines in Russian-Occupied Ukraine
"In every region in Ukraine that was formerly occupied by Russia, we have seen evidence of civilians killed and injured by antipersonnel mines left behind by Russian forces," said one researcher.
Jul 26, 2024
Amnesty International on Friday demanded a "prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial investigation" into the use of antipersonnel landmines, "which litter territories in Ukraine formerly and currently occupied by Russian forces."
The Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor says that Ukraine is "severely contaminated" with antipersonnel landmines, which Russia's troops have used since 2014, but particularly since Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
"Landmines have been documented in 11 of Ukraine's 27 regions: Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kyiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, and Zaporizhzhia," according to the monitor's latest update, published in November. "Russian forces have used at least 13 types of antipersonnel mines in Ukraine since February 2022."
Ukraine is a state party to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production, and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on Their Destruction of 1997 but lacks legislation to enforce its implementation. Human Rights Watch last summer gathered evidence of the Ukrainian military's use of the banned mines. Russia is not a party to the treaty.
Patrick Thompson, a Ukraine researcher at Amnesty, said Friday that "in every region in Ukraine that was formerly occupied by Russia, we have seen evidence of civilians killed and injured by antipersonnel mines left behind by Russian forces."
"They are a daily, deadly threat to civilians. Some have been deliberately placed in civilian homes where they maim and kill," Thompson highlighted. "There must be an effective investigation into all such incidents as possible war crimes."
The group shared just one survivor's story of encountering a mine:
In March 2022, Russian forces evicted Oleksandr* (not his real name) and his mother from their flat in Snihurivka, in the region of Mykolaiv. A Russian military unit took over the entire apartment block until it was forced to withdraw following fierce fighting around Snihurivka in November 2022.
After the Russian retreat, Oleksandr returned to the apartment block to assess how badly it had been damaged. Upon entering the basement, he stepped on a disguised PFM-1 antipersonnel mine that had been placed under wooden planks. The mine exploded, Oleksandr fell, and landed on other disguised mines that had apparently, had been deliberately placed to injure or kill anyone entering the building. He lost both his left leg and arm in the incident.
“The deminers working to clear Ukraine of this threat are carrying out painstaking, dangerous work every day," Thompson noted. "While the scale of the problem is undeniably huge, the biggest obstacle to clearing Ukraine of landmines is Russia's ongoing aggression."
Thompson called on the international community to "commit to sustained financial and technical assistance to help Ukraine get rid of a danger that continues to wreck lives and livelihoods," and to continue fighting for an end to the use of the weapons.
"Countries must uphold the ban on the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel mines worldwide," he said. "There must be an end to the use of such indiscriminate weapons."
The most recent report from the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine states that the war has killed at least 11,284 civilians there since 2022 and injured another 22,594—though the actual tallies are believed to be "considerably higher."
"The number of civilian casualties is likely particularly undercounted in cities such as Mariupol (Donetsk region), Lysychansk, Popasna, and Sievierodonetsk (Luhansk region), where there was protracted intensive fighting at the start of the armed attack in 2022," according to the report.
While most of the deaths and injuries in Ukraine are attributed to "explosive weapons with wide area effects," the U.N. report accounts for at least 373 deaths and 855 injuries from "mines and explosive remnants of war."
Keep ReadingShow Less
G20 Nations Take 'Important Step' Toward Fair Taxation of Ultra-Rich
"Our proposal for a common minimum tax on billionaires is now on the map. G20 finance ministers have started to engage with it—and there is no going back," said progressive economist Gabriel Zucman.
Jul 26, 2024
Despite pushback from the United States delegation, finance ministers at a meeting of the G20 countries in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday agreed on the need to develop a global taxation system in which the richest in the world are taxed at a higher rate—potentially unlocking hundreds of billions of dollars annually to help close the international wealth gap.
Ahead of the G20 Summit scheduled for November, which Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government will host, the finance officials met this week to discuss economic issues and ultimately agreed to start a "dialogue on fair and progressive taxation, including of ultra-high-net-worth individuals."
The Lula government pushed for a proposal by progressive economist Gabriel Zucman, who serves as a G20 adviser and is a professor of economics at University of California, Berkeley.
Zucman's proposal calls for a minimum 2% tax on the fortunes of the world's roughly 3,000 wealthiest billionaires, which could raise approximately $250 billion globally per year.
"With full respect to tax sovereignty, we will seek to engage cooperatively to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed," the ministers wrote in a declaration that was viewed by Politico.
"Finally, the richest people are being told they can't game the tax system or avoid paying their fair share. Governments have for too long been complicit in helping the ultra-rich pay little or zero tax."
The agreement to discuss higher taxes for the rich was reached despite objections from Germany and the U.S., whose treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said that "tax policy is very difficult to coordinate globally."
"We don't see a need or really think it's desirable to try to negotiate a global agreement on that," Yellen said at a press conference before the ministers met Thursday evening. "We think that all countries should make sure that their taxation systems are fair and progressive."
Although the agreement only states that countries will discuss the need for the wealthy to pay their fair share to help fight poverty and fund public education and other services, the global anti-poverty group Oxfam International said the meeting represented "serious global progress."
"For the first time in history, the world's largest economies have agreed to cooperate to tax the ultra-rich," said Susana Ruiz, tax policy lead for Oxfam. "Finally, the richest people are being told they can't game the tax system or avoid paying their fair share. Governments have for too long been complicit in helping the ultra-rich pay little or zero tax. Massive fortunes afford the world's ultra-rich outsized influence and power, which they wield to shield, stash, and supersize their wealth, undercutting democracy and widening inequality."
An Oxfam study released ahead of this week's meetingfound that the richest 1% of people in the world increased their fortunes by $42 trillion over the past decade, while taxation fell to "historically" low rates.
Ruiz called on G20 heads of state to "go further than their finance ministers" at the G20 Summit in November "and back concrete coordination: agreeing on a new global standard that taxes the ultra-rich at a rate high enough to close the gap between them and the rest of us."
"Brazil has kickstarted a truly global approach to tax the ultra-rich. But the work is just beginning and international cooperation is crucial," said Ruiz, adding that the task of ensuring the wealthiest people in the world are taxed fairly must not be left up to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)—"the club of mostly rich countries."
Zucman expressed hope that the agreement between the G20 finance ministers marked a "historic" moment, and called it "an important step in the right direction."
"Our proposal for a common minimum tax on billionaires is now on the map. G20 finance ministers have started to engage with it—and there is no going back," said Zucman. "In its declaration, the G20 finance ministers commit to important preliminary steps. They need to do more and commit to a coordinated minimum tax on the super-rich. We know that it is practically doable—we know the solutions exist. And I'm confident, because there is overwhelming popular demand everywhere to get there."
"The status quo, in which the biggest winners from globalization are allowed to enjoy the lowest tax rates, is simply not sustainable," said Zucman.
The findings released this week by Oxfam highlighted polling that "consistently" found people across the world support raising taxes on the richest individuals.
"Eighty percent of Indians, 85% of Brazilians and 69% of people polled across 34 countries in Africa support increasing taxes on the rich," said the group. "Nearly three-quarters of millionaires polled in G20 countries support higher taxes on wealth, and over half think extreme wealth is a 'threat to democracy.'"
The Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT) applauded the agreement and called on the G20 to "go further in [the] fight to tax the rich."
"To take this forward, G20 should support work on this at the Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation currently being negotiated at the United Nations," said Jayati Ghosh, co-chair of the ICRICT.
A U.N. committee is scheduled to submit "terms of reference" regarding a tax convention framework in August, and a final vote on the framework is expected by the end of 2025.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular