US agrees to improve human rights record in first UN assessment, but death penalty remains

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

US agrees to improve human rights record in first UN assessment, but death penalty remains
By Associated Press, Friday, March 18, 3:12 PM

GENEVA — The United States on Friday disavowed torture and pledged to treat terror suspects humanely, but set aside calls to drop the death penalty, as the United Nations carried out its first review of Washington’s human rights record.

As part a groundbreaking commitment to improvement under the Obama administration, the U.S. joined the 47-nation Human Rights Council in 2009. And in doing so, submitted to more international scrutiny.

State Department legal adviser Harold Koh outlined nine key improvement areas Friday, encompassing about 174 of the 228 recommendations the community had urged on Washington in an initial report last November. Nations are held accountable for what they agree to improve.

He said the U.S. would agree to improvements in areas ranging from civil rights to national security to immigration, including intolerance of torture and the humane treatment of suspects at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.





Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-agrees-to-improve-human-rights-record-in-first-un-assessment/2011/03/18/ABtLDDq_story.html

[Heywood J]

1. So the US has agreed not to torture people (again)? Didn't do much good the first time.

Nations are only held accountable for what they agree to improve? So, if Nation X says it doesn't want to improve its record of torturing suspects, it doesn't have to be held accountable for torturing suspects? What a joke.

[SpiralHawk]

2. "But, but, but...torture is in our Bible." - Republicons