Inter-American Commission cites US border wall and Guantanamo as human rights concerns
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
Censored News
Photo by Jay Johnson Castro/San Diego border wall
WASHINGTON -- The construction of the United States border wall is now listed with the treatment of Guantanamo detainees as an international human rights concern by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States.
In a statement released today, the Commission said it "received troubling information about the impact that the construction of a wall in Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border, has on the human rights of area residents, in particular its discriminatory effects."
"The information received indicates that its construction would disproportionally affect people who are poor, with a low level of education, and generally of Mexican descent, as well as indigenous communities on both sides of the border. On another U.S.-related issue, the IACHR continued to receive troubling information during these sessions about the situation of detainees in Guantánamo. As it did on July 28, 2006, through its Resolution 02/06, and on subsequent occasions, the Commission again urges the government to shut down the detention center," the Commission said.
During the hearings, Margo Tamez, Lipan Apache, testified that Homeland Security was seizing her family's land on the south Texas border without proper consultation on consent. Tamez said the border wall would become a barrier to a place of prayer. Others from Texas offered proof of how the border wall targets the poor, while leaving a golf course unscathed on the border as the playground for the rich.
Tamez' testimony reflected the earlier comments of Indigenous Peoples living on the border in their ancestral territories from California to Texas. Indian people on both sides of the border are suffering because of the violations of all federal laws during construction of the border wall.
Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham and founder of O'odham Voice Against the Wall, revealed in statements that O'odham ancestors were dug up by the border wall contractor Boeing in secret, during construction on Tohono O'odham land. Rivas said O'odham cultural areas are being destroyed and looted as the border divides ancestral communities and creates a barrier on the O'odham ancestral ceremonial route.
During the Indigenous Peoples Border Summits of the Americas in 2006 and 2007, Native people from the southern and northern borders, including Tohono O'odham, Yaqui and Mohawks, testified about the harassments and violations being carried out by the US Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The borders became increasingly militarized with poorly trained and over-zealous border agents, now abusing and even murdering people in the border region. On the northern border, Mohawk Nation News publisher Kahentinetha Horn was beaten by border agents in Canada in June and suffered a heart attack in a stresshold that was used by the US military carrying out torture in Abu Ghraib. Mohawk Nation News editor Katenies was also beaten and jailed at the border crossing. The two Mohawk grandmothers have now filed suit against Canada.
US border policies have contributed to the large number of deaths in the desert at the southern border and the profiteering by private corporations now building private prisons, Indigenous Peoples testified at the border summits.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff voided all federal laws -- including those designed to protect Native American remains and cultural items and laws protecting the environment -- to build the border wall. Among the endangered species in Arizona whose wild territories have been violated are the jaguar and Sonoran pronghorn.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held its 133rd regular period of sessions from October 15 to 31, 2008, approving reports on cases and individual petitions, and held 57 hearings and 34 working meetings.
During this period of sessions, the Commission held hearings on human rights violations around the world, addressing the rights of women, persons deprived of liberty, children, Afro-descendents and indigenous peoples. The Commission received the government of Bolivia in a hearing in which the government provided information about the acts of violence that took place during the social conflicts of recent months.
The Commission expressed concern for the situation of children and adolescents in conflict with the law in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The Commission also received with concern information indicating that the State of Colombia's Administrative Department of Security (DAS) conducted intelligence activities against opposition political leaders, national senators, and nongovernmental organizations.
During these sessions, several hearings were held on human rights defenders. The Commission reiterates its call to the States to respect their work and guarantee their rights. The IACHR is preparing a report following up on its Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Americas.
Hearings were also held on citizen insecurity in Venezuela and Mexico. The IACHR is following with particular attention the state of citizen insecurity in the region, as well as the respect for human rights as an essential component of all public policies to address the problem. The IACHR is in the process of preparing a report on citizen insecurity in the region, as part of an agreement signed with UNICEF.
For the statement, audio and video of testimony:
http://www.iachr.org/Comunicados/English/2008/46.08eng.htm
Useful links
Video of the IACHR Chairman’s speech at the opening session
Transcript of the IACHR Chairman’s speech at the opening session
Audio recording of the IACHR Chairman’s speech at the opening session
Audio and video recordings and photos of the public hearings
WASHINGTON -- The construction of the United States border wall is now listed with the treatment of Guantanamo detainees as an international human rights concern by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States.
In a statement released today, the Commission said it "received troubling information about the impact that the construction of a wall in Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border, has on the human rights of area residents, in particular its discriminatory effects."
"The information received indicates that its construction would disproportionally affect people who are poor, with a low level of education, and generally of Mexican descent, as well as indigenous communities on both sides of the border. On another U.S.-related issue, the IACHR continued to receive troubling information during these sessions about the situation of detainees in Guantánamo. As it did on July 28, 2006, through its Resolution 02/06, and on subsequent occasions, the Commission again urges the government to shut down the detention center," the Commission said.
During the hearings, Margo Tamez, Lipan Apache, testified that Homeland Security was seizing her family's land on the south Texas border without proper consultation on consent. Tamez said the border wall would become a barrier to a place of prayer. Others from Texas offered proof of how the border wall targets the poor, while leaving a golf course unscathed on the border as the playground for the rich.
Tamez' testimony reflected the earlier comments of Indigenous Peoples living on the border in their ancestral territories from California to Texas. Indian people on both sides of the border are suffering because of the violations of all federal laws during construction of the border wall.
Ofelia Rivas, Tohono O'odham and founder of O'odham Voice Against the Wall, revealed in statements that O'odham ancestors were dug up by the border wall contractor Boeing in secret, during construction on Tohono O'odham land. Rivas said O'odham cultural areas are being destroyed and looted as the border divides ancestral communities and creates a barrier on the O'odham ancestral ceremonial route.
During the Indigenous Peoples Border Summits of the Americas in 2006 and 2007, Native people from the southern and northern borders, including Tohono O'odham, Yaqui and Mohawks, testified about the harassments and violations being carried out by the US Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The borders became increasingly militarized with poorly trained and over-zealous border agents, now abusing and even murdering people in the border region. On the northern border, Mohawk Nation News publisher Kahentinetha Horn was beaten by border agents in Canada in June and suffered a heart attack in a stresshold that was used by the US military carrying out torture in Abu Ghraib. Mohawk Nation News editor Katenies was also beaten and jailed at the border crossing. The two Mohawk grandmothers have now filed suit against Canada.
US border policies have contributed to the large number of deaths in the desert at the southern border and the profiteering by private corporations now building private prisons, Indigenous Peoples testified at the border summits.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff voided all federal laws -- including those designed to protect Native American remains and cultural items and laws protecting the environment -- to build the border wall. Among the endangered species in Arizona whose wild territories have been violated are the jaguar and Sonoran pronghorn.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights held its 133rd regular period of sessions from October 15 to 31, 2008, approving reports on cases and individual petitions, and held 57 hearings and 34 working meetings.
During this period of sessions, the Commission held hearings on human rights violations around the world, addressing the rights of women, persons deprived of liberty, children, Afro-descendents and indigenous peoples. The Commission received the government of Bolivia in a hearing in which the government provided information about the acts of violence that took place during the social conflicts of recent months.
The Commission expressed concern for the situation of children and adolescents in conflict with the law in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The Commission also received with concern information indicating that the State of Colombia's Administrative Department of Security (DAS) conducted intelligence activities against opposition political leaders, national senators, and nongovernmental organizations.
During these sessions, several hearings were held on human rights defenders. The Commission reiterates its call to the States to respect their work and guarantee their rights. The IACHR is preparing a report following up on its Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Americas.
Hearings were also held on citizen insecurity in Venezuela and Mexico. The IACHR is following with particular attention the state of citizen insecurity in the region, as well as the respect for human rights as an essential component of all public policies to address the problem. The IACHR is in the process of preparing a report on citizen insecurity in the region, as part of an agreement signed with UNICEF.
For the statement, audio and video of testimony:
http://www.iachr.org/Comunicados/English/2008/46.08eng.htm
Useful links
Video of the IACHR Chairman’s speech at the opening session
Transcript of the IACHR Chairman’s speech at the opening session
Audio recording of the IACHR Chairman’s speech at the opening session
Audio and video recordings and photos of the public hearings
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