Zhong Sheng
An unprecedented amount of 69,550 unaccompanied migrant children were held in U.S. government custody between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019, up 42 percent year on year, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
Most of the migrant children in detention suffered from inhumane treatment, exposing America’s flagrant disregard for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and willful violations of human rights.
November 20 of this year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the UNCRC, the first legally binding international convention on protecting the rights of children.
Ironically, the U.S., which claims itself to be a defender of human rights, is the only country in the world that has not ratified the treaty.
On June 2, 2018, an independent expert report on human rights and international solidarity, in accordance with the resolution 35/3 of the UN Human Rights Council, pointed out that the U.S., driven by populism, slandered and smeared the immigrants with racist and xenophobic expressions and forced apart the migrant children and their parents, seriously endangering the life, dignity, liberty and other human rights of immigrants.
The use of immigration detention and family separation as a deterrent runs counter to human rights standards and principles, according to Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warning that the U.S. should immediately halt this practice of separating families.
The U.S., which flouts the UNCRC, has kept a poor record on human rights for a long time. In April last year, the U.S. started to pursue a so-called “zero tolerance” immigration policy, causing at least 2,000 children to be separated from their parents.
As a grave violation of the human rights of the migrants, such practice was strongly condemned by the international community.
Between 2014 and 2018, a total of 4,556 sexual abuse complaints were reported to the Office of Refugee Resettlement—an agency within DHHS in charge of caring for unaccompanied migrant minors, 178 cases of which involved alleged sexual abuse by adult caregivers at U.S. facilities, according to DHHS documents released in February, 2019.
In June, 2019, an illegal child detention center in Texas, the U.S. invited criticism for its harsh conditions. For several weeks, the children there weren’t able to take a shower or wash their hands with soap. They suffered from flu and other diseases and were treated inhumanely.
“So far this year, at least 35,000 asylum seekers have been pushed back to Mexican border areas to wait for their hearings,” said Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in September, adding that the cases of family separation, denial of access to services and humanitarian assistance, and excessive use of force against migrants are also noted.
To her astonishment, many children were detained in U.S. centers for a long time because of identity issues, which she believes seriously violated the human rights of the migrant children.
Protecting children’s rights is protecting the future of human beings, said Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), at a conference that celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
When countries around the world are stepping up efforts to protect children’s rights, the U.S. infringes on children’s rights at will, which seems all the more despicable.
The U.S. is always making a great fuss over human rights, pointing fingers at other countries and criticizing them for violations of human rights based on distorted facts. Never has it asked what contribution itself has made to the cause of human rights in the world.
On the one hand, the U.S. withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council, refused to participate in the UN Global Compact for Migration or ratify important human rights instruments in international law such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
It has not only evaded international rules but also caused many tragedies such as the forced separation of migrant children from their parents.
On the other hand, under the guise of human rights, the U.S. tries to stir up troubles and sow discord in an attempt to interfere in other countries’ internal affairs and create chaos in the international arena.
America’s poor record on human rights revealed its hypocrisy and ruthlessness. For the U.S., the international law is nothing more than an excuse, a Russian lawmaker pointed out, adding that the international law is legitimate to them only when the U.S. intends to seize territories of other countries, overthrow other legitimate governments, or plunder other people’s resources; otherwise, the country can abandon the international law at any time.
If you look at the history of the international law, most of the concepts and ideas were put forward by western thinkers—including American thinkers, said Kishore Mahbubani, a professor from the National University of Singapore.
Mahbubani added that the paradox is that American thinkers have provided the world with some of the best ideas in the international law, while the U.S. has committed some of the most serious violations of the international law.
The professor’s view is worth thinking through for some American politicians. The U.S. turns a blind eye to the human rights disasters happened in its own country, and uses the tool of human rights to maintain American hegemony in the world. Such a hypocritical perspective on human rights will only make itself a laughingstock in the international community.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)
“人权卫士”践踏人权
钟声
11月20日是联合国《儿童权利公约》通过30周年纪念日，但美国卫生和公众服务部近日发布的统计数据却令人寒心。数据显示，2018年10月1日至2019年9月30日间，美国政府共关押约69550名无人陪伴儿童移民，同比增长42%，创近年来新高。儿童移民在被关押期间普遍遭受非人道待遇，凸显美国藐视国际公约、肆意践踏人权的恶劣行径。
联合国《儿童权利公约》是第一部有关保障儿童权利且具有法律约束力的国际公约。然而，颇具讽刺意味的是，自诩为“人权卫士”的美国却是全世界唯一未批准该公约的国家。2018年6月2日，联合国人权与国际团结问题独立专家依照联合国人权理事会第35/3号决议提交报告指出，美国政府奉行民粹主义，使用带有种族主义和仇外色彩的措辞污蔑和诋毁移民，并将儿童与其寻求庇护的父母强行分开，严重危及移民的生命权、尊严和自由权等多项人权。联合国人权官员拉维娜•沙姆达尼警告说：“将拘留和强制拆散家庭作为威慑非正常入境人员的手段，违反了人权标准和原则。美国应立即停止拆散家庭的做法。”
藐视国际公约的美国，长期以来不断曝出践踏人权的丑闻。去年4月，美国开始执行所谓“零容忍”移民政策，导致至少2000名儿童被迫与家人分离。这是对移民人权的严重侵犯，遭到国际社会强烈谴责。美国卫生和公众服务部今年2月的相关报告更是显示，从2014年至2018年，共有4556名非法儿童移民表示曾在难民收容中心遭到过性侵犯，其中至少有178起是工作人员实施的。今年6月，美国得克萨斯州一个非法移民儿童安置站因条件恶劣遭曝光：被关押的孩子数周没有洗过澡，也没有肥皂洗手，而且还出现了流感疫情，受到非人道对待。联合国人权高专巴切莱特今年9月指出，今年以来，至少有3.5万名寻求庇护者被美国赶回墨西哥边境地区，任意遣返造成家庭分离、使移民无法获得人道主义援助、对移民过度使用武力等现象时有发生。令她震惊的是，不少儿童移民仅因身份问题被长期羁押在美国的羁留中心，这一做法严重损害儿童权利，是对人权的最大践踏。
“保障儿童权利就是保护我们的未来。”联合国教科文组织总干事阿祖莱近日在联合国《儿童权利公约》通过30周年纪念日活动上如是说。当世界各国都在加大保障儿童权利力度之时，美国如此践踏儿童权利的行为愈加显得卑劣可耻。
美国总是喜欢拿人权做文章，对其他国家指手画脚、抹黑诬蔑，却从不反躬自省，自己究竟为世界人权事业“贡献”了什么——一方面，退出联合国人权理事会、《移民问题全球契约》制定进程，拒不批准《经济、社会及文化权利国际公约》《儿童权利公约》《残疾人权利公约》等联合国核心人权公约，逃避国际规则约束，制造出大量儿童移民被迫和父母骨肉分离等人间惨剧；另一方面，打着“人权”旗号四处煽风点火、挑拨离间，企图干涉他国内政，在国际上制造混乱。美国在人权问题上劣迹斑斑，其虚伪与冷酷的嘴脸昭然若揭。正如俄罗斯国家杜马议员巴利别克所指出的，对美国来说，国际法不过是借口和遮羞布。如果美国需要，夺取他国领土，推翻合法政府，掠夺他人资源，都是合法的。如果美国不需要，一切都是非法的。美国可以随时抛弃国际法。
“如果你看看国际法的历史，大多数的概念和想法都是由西方思想家——包括美国思想家提出的。最矛盾的一点就是，美国思想家为我们提供了国际法中最精彩的思想，而美国做出了一些最违反国际法的行为。”新加坡国立大学教授马凯硕的评价值得美国一些政客反思。对本国造成的人权灾难装聋作哑、视而不见，对外却将“人权大棒”当做维护美国霸权的工具，美国这种虚伪的人权观，只会让自己沦为国际社会的笑柄。
