United States human rights criticised

Accra (Greater Accra Region) 7 Oct 1998 The Ghana branch of the Amnesty International (AI-Ghana) has criticised the United States for woefully failing to protect the rights of racial and ethnic minorities. She has been criticised for not protecting the right of the poor, immigrants and refugees, among others.

AI-Ghana said for more than a century the rights enshrined in the American Constitution were a mirage to some communities and certain categories of people for largely discriminatory reasons.

A statement signed by the national vice-chairperson of AI-Ghana, Mr F.A. Sackitey, and read at the launch of "USA rights for all campaign" in Accra, the Ghana branch explained that the year-long campaign has focused on the United States because of its strong international influence in issues of democracy and human rights.

The statement said if the AI-Ghana, with the support of the world, succeeds in highlighting and causing significant positive change in human rights violations in the U.S., that country would be able to more effectively influence change in the global human rights situation.

AI-Ghana said the international community has adopted a wide range of human rights standards for the protection of all persons and to provide the criteria against which human rights record of all states can be judged. However, it said, the U.S. which was instrumental in the formulation of these standards, has ironically remained "a perpetrator of a system of consistent pattern of human rights abuses, despite its commendable standards in democratic governance"...

The statement said the U.S. has for some decades now, been living in human rights dispensation where police brutality "is rife.

There is widespread torture and abuse of prisoners with more than 1.7 million people currently in prisons while asylum-seekers are being continuously treated like criminals".

"The world in fact has the urgent and common role to ensure that the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are fully respected and become a reality globally." GRi