HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A SCREENSHOT FOR AFRICAN DESCENDANTS PT. II
By: DaQuan Lawrence
*This was originally posted on the Federation for Afrikan Liberations’ website and on DaQuan Lawrence’s Medium page*
The United States’ Lack of Respect for Human Rights
Simply said, the United States does not respect nor protect the human rights of its political minority populations: especially African descendants. If civil rights are known as “the rights one has by virtue of his or her citizenship within a nation”, human rights are “the rights one obtains at birth, by virtue of being born, regardless of territory, political and religious affiliation, social or economic class, physical appearance, and personal preferences”. This can be a bit confusing because some members of society have elected to differentiate between the two terms, while others consider them identical. Based on legality and legislation that governs nations, human rights are internationally known as soft law, or a set of principles and practices that should be followed, respected, and upheld. However, the lack of required enforcement of these soft law policies often deliberately create grey areas that allow certain individuals, nations, and businesses (corporate entities) to violate human rights more others.
Countless examples can be cited including but not limited to: the numerous amount of deaths due to police violence[1] (a number that continues to grow on a weekly, if not daily basis), housing policies[2] that displace working class, poorer, and minority populations, the closing of public schools due to state and municipal underfunding, which widens the educational achievement gap among working class, poorer, and minority populations, unemployment and underemployment via institutional discrimination that targets the aforementioned populations, and the uber effective mass incarceration and prison system that also targets the populations mentioned above. Oddly, police-civilian conflict is a colorblind phenomenon that is global in scope, and occurs throughout the international community. Yet, in America reports of African descendants being murdered by state enforcement officers has become “acceptable” and almost “expected” as segments of American society have become desensitized and disinterested in the deaths of African descendants, and even commercial industries capitalize on campaigns that call for domestic and international justice.
NATO, US Withdrawal from UN Human Rights Council, and Trump’s Proclamation for “Peace in Africa”
On July 11–12, 2018, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held its 2018 summit in Brussels, Belgium. This meeting was the 29th formal meeting of the heads of state and heads of government of NATO, as the 69-year-old institution convened its member states to discuss how to improve their manipulation of current international capitalist economic systems and to determine their preferred military and political strategies to exploit underdeveloped nations. Without taking too deep of a dive I’ll briefly state that the connections between WWI, WW2, the development of the Bretton Woods system, and the consequent establishment of the World Bank Group, UN and NATO are eerie and peculiar to say the least.Especially considering the fact that underdeveloped nations and populations of “Black” and brown people continue to suffer and experience economic decline, while proponents in Western civilization continue to assert the “success” of these institutions and systems.
Nevertheless, at the 2018 NATO summit press conference, US President, Donald Trump, was cited as vowing to help end “vicious and violent”[3] conflicts on the African continent, and stating that the US was “going to have a military like we never had before”[4]. Moreover, President Trump claimed:
“Africa right now has got problems like few people would even understand. If you saw some of the things that I see through intelligence — what’s going on in Africa — it is so sad, it is so vicious and violent…We want peace for Africa. We want peace all over the world. That’s my number one goal — peace all over the world and we are building up a tremendous military because I really believe through strength you get peace.”
Without discussing the US’ excessive spending on military and national defense expenditures and the lack of a need to “improve the US military”, Trumps’ mis-characterization of African states and their populations as “vicious” and “violent”, and the nature of US military operations on the African continent (which stand to benefit America and NATO member states more than African states), I would like to bring your attention to the obvious: the exclusion of African heads of state, heads of government, military leaders, and economic experts in the NATO summit. How can the US decide to “help” Africa and improve the continents’ political, military, economic, and social conditions without a single African or African thought leader? The inherent objectification of Africans and African descendants is a premier human rights violation, and Trumps’ declaration for peace in Africa sounds like a long list of human rights violations waiting to happen!
Additionally, a couple of weeks’ prior to NATO’s summit, on June 19th, the US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, announced the US’ decision to leave the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)[5] under what many consider false pretenses. Such a decision is an unnecessary reminder of the US’ schizophrenic and/or deplorable human rights record, especially with reference to marginalized underdeveloped nations and populations. Whereas I previously noted that human rights are constantly violated by UN member states, international organizations, multilateral corporations, non-state and paramilitary organizations and individuals alike, Ambassador Haley stated that:
“Human rights abusers continue to serve on, and be elected to, the council…The world’s most inhumane regimes continue to escape its scrutiny, and the council continues politicizing scapegoating of countries with positive human rights records in an attempt to distract from the abusers in its ranks…For too long, the Human Rights Council has been a protector of human rights abusers, and a cesspool of political bias…When a so-called Human Rights Council cannot bring itself to address the massive abuses in Venezuela and Iran, and it welcomes the Democratic Republic of Congo as a new member, the council ceases to be worthy of its name…We have used America’s voice and vote to defend human rights at the UN every day, and we will continue to do so.”
Ambassador Haley also claimed that the UNHRC was responsible for a “disproportionate focus and unending hostility toward Israel”, and cited several resolutions emphasizing abuses by the Israeli government of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Without discussing the obvious contradictions in Haley’s statements about preferential treatment, UN political bias, and the US’ role[6] within the UN’s operations[7] as its largest donor[8], the US’ decision to exit the UNHCR supplements the US’ decision to cut $285 million from the UN’s operating budget for the 2018–2019 fiscal year[9]. More importantly, Haley’s statement reflects the US’ hegemonic influence over the UN, and the US’ ignorance of its own long list of human rights offenses, which is disrespectful to all victims of US human rights abuses. The US was never in the political position to pretend it had a great human rights record, however the current political climate enables such facts to be considered “alternative” and unimportant, as non-European nations continue to be portrayed as the poster children of human rights crimes (we’ll address the International Criminal Court [ICC] in a later post) and Africans and African descendants continue to be manipulated under the illusionary safeguards of democratic principles. The very same democratic principles that enable the political disenfranchisement of American “minorities”, especially members of the African diaspora.
Implications for African Descendants
What does all of this mean for vulnerable populations and members of the African diaspora? What are the day-to-day effects of human rights being denied to certain segments of the American population (or any population)? If the United States has decided that it wants peace in Africa, does not want to be a part of the UN Human Rights Council, and that it wants to ignore the human and civil rights of African descendants, along with working class and poorer populations, then all US citizens have serious issues and the respective populations should be aware and identify immediate solutions. Furthermore, the international community also has a burden to bear because of its reverence of American ideals, and their pursuit of economic, social, and political development that reflects American standards.
Furthermore, human rights violations that occur in non-European nations are always directly and indirectly connected and influenced by European nations because the latter colonized, exploited, pillaged, and indoctrinated the former. Whether we agree or disagree about their culpability, the European system of colonization led to neocolonialism, and European states continue to benefit from their economic and political “interests” and “investments” in African states.
Members of the African diaspora are equally responsible for how we respond to international human rights violations. Despite our political and religious affiliation, economic and social status, geographic location, or ideology, we all need to agree on a uniform code that mandates the respect of cultural, political, social, civil, and economic status of all African descendants.
The bottom line is: if injustice anywhere is truly a threat to justice everywhere, EACH and every political, civil, social, and economic infraction that occurs in America is just as important as those that transpire outside of American borders, and vice-versa. As a result, we must all act accordingly or suffer the consequences.
Citations
[1] Washington Post, “Fatal Force” Data on National Police Killings
[2] NPR, “A ‘Forgotten History’ Of How the U.S. Government Segregated America”
[3] BBC News, “Donald Trump Vows to End Africa’s ‘Vicious’ Conflicts”
[4] BBC News, “Donald Trump Vows to End Africa’s ‘Vicious’ Conflicts”
[5] CNN, “US leaving UN Human Rights Council — ‘a cesspool of political bias’”
[6] “U.S. Funding for the United Nations: More Than Anybody Realizes?” — Council on Foreign Relations
[7] “Funding the United Nations: What Impact Do U.S. Contributions Have on UN Agencies and Programs?” — Council on Foreign Relations
[8] “Fifth Committee Recommends $5.4 Billion Budget for 2016–2017 Biennium as It Concludes Main Part of Seventieth Session”
[9] United States Announces $285M Cut in U.N. 2018 Operating Budget, U.S. News
