In November 2010 the United Nations will conduct the first ever Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Human Rights in the United States.
Review of the integrity of the US justice system will no doubt be the center of such proceedings.
The United Nations has no enforcement power in the matter. However, a true and honest UPR Report of the United States, if issued in November 2010, would not doubt gain international publicity. The United States would be expected to report to the United Nations between 2010 and 2014 on measures that it took to address deficiencies noted in the UPR Report.
Various US Human Rights organizations filed in April 2010 stakeholder's reports.
Human Rights Alert (NGO) filed in April 2010 a report (linked below) with the United Nations, in the center of which were allegations of racketeering in the Los Angeles Courts and large scale false imprisonments in Los Angeles County, California, of which Richard Fine today is the prime example.
REQUESTED ACTION:
Persons of good will are encouraged to take action by signing the online petitions to free Richard Fine, [1] by signing the petition to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations [2], and/or by writing on their own to the United Nations Ambassadors, listed below, and by planning to attend the November 2010 UPR session of the United States (likely site - Geneva).
Joseph Zernik, PhD
http://www.scribd.com/Human_Rights_Alert
http://human-rights-alert.blogspot.com/
LINKS:
[1] Please sign the petition: Free Richard Fine
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/free-fine
[2] Please sign the online petition, addressed to United Nations Ambassadors, listed below.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/calling-upon-the-un-human-rights-council-to-issue-an-honest-and-effectual-2010-report-on-the-us/
____________________
Petition to the United Nations Human Rights Council in re:
November 2010 Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in the United States
November 2010 Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights in the United States
We, the undersigned, who live in the United States and elsewhere, call upon the Human Rights Council of the United Nations to engage in a thorough and review of the justice system in the United States as part of the first ever November 2010 UPR (Universal Periodic Review) of Human Rights in the United States.
We call upon the Human Rights Council to issue in November 2010 an honest report, calling upon the United States to take effective measures to restore integrity of its judiciary and its justice system.
Conditions now prevailing in the United States amount to large scale abuse of the people by the government of the United States. Moreover, such conditions pose risks that are difficult to assess to world peace and welfare.
Such conditions were documented in both state and United States courts, be it civil, criminal, bankruptcy, or family courts.
Reports, which were filed by stakeholders as part of the review process, provided evidence of widespread corruption of the justice system in the United States:
We call upon the Human Rights Council to issue in November 2010 an honest report, calling upon the United States to take effective measures to restore integrity of its judiciary and its justice system.
Conditions now prevailing in the United States amount to large scale abuse of the people by the government of the United States. Moreover, such conditions pose risks that are difficult to assess to world peace and welfare.
Such conditions were documented in both state and United States courts, be it civil, criminal, bankruptcy, or family courts.
Reports, which were filed by stakeholders as part of the review process, provided evidence of widespread corruption of the justice system in the United States:
· Executions continue, at times, as the outcome of judicial proceedings that would be deemed unreasonable by any reasonable person.
· Torture was allowed to become part of the judicial process and the justice system, and confessions extracted through torture were admitted in courts.
· With privatized, for-profit prisons, the United States holds a prisoner population that is entirely out of proportion with any other developed, democratic nation; Minorities were disproportionately imprisoned in numbers that defy logic.
· Large-scale false imprisonment of juvenile was exposed in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, as part of the Kids for Cash scandal, and is yet to be fully corrected; Large-scale false imprisonments were exposed in Los Angeles County, California, as part of the Rampart scandal a decade ago, which the US government is refusing to correct.
· Regardless of United States government promises, detentions in Guantanamo Bay were never brought to an end; Proceedings, which such detainees were subjected to, violate international conventions.
· Attorneys, who represent clients in civil rights matters, or in causes that were not favored by government or by judges, suffered severe retaliation, or even imprisonment.
· Whistleblowers were routinely subjected to harsh retaliations, while the perpetrators – be it government officials, large corporations, or others, suffer no consequence at all.
· Racketeering by judges in the United States was and is prosecuted in some courts, but in other cases, even when exposed with indisputable evidence, the United States government refused to take action.
· Large banks and financial institutions colluded with the judges in looting of homeowners across the United States under the current financial crisis; Even when fraud in the courts by financial institutions and law-firms was exposed and acknowledged by the Courts, such financial institutions and such law-firms suffered no consequences at all.
· Credible evidence was provided of racketeering by judges, attorneys, and judicial officers in receiverships and conservatorships.
· Judges, all the way from state courts to the Supreme Court of the United States, introduced the practice of issuing rulings, orders, and judgments, that were not signed by judges and were not authenticated/attested by the clerks; Such rulings, orders, and judgments could not possibly be deemed valid court records, which required "full faith and credit", but were nevertheless treated as valid court rulings, orders, and judgments.
· Computerized case management and online public access systems were installed in the US and state courts, which effectively deny public access to true and honest court records – to inspect and to copy; Such systems effectively concealed what the courts deemed signatures and stamps that were required to set such records as honest, valid, and effectual court records.
If not for the sake of the safeguard of the Human Rights of the people of the United States, the United Nations should be concerned with disintegration of the frameworks of government in the United States and dysfunctional banking regulation. There simply is no way to establish honest and effectual banking and corporate regulation under current conditions at the United States courts today. Reckless conduct by United States banks and large corporations inflicted harm on workers and investors world-wide. An integrity crisis is at the foundation of the current economic depression, and economic conditions are not likely to improve unless integrity of the United States government is restored.
____________________________________________ WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES?
* "On July 26, 2010, Laurence Tribe, Senior Counsel for the United States Department of Justice, Access to Justice Initiative, delivered an important speech to the Conference of Chief Justices, challenging them to halt the disintegration of our state justice systems before they become indistinguishable from courts of third world nations."Prof Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School (2010), per National Defender Leadership Institute http://www.nlada.net/library/article/national_dojspeechto%20chiefjustice07-26-2010_gideonalert _____________________________
WHAT DID THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA?
* "Innocent people remain in prison"
* "...the LA Superior Court and the DA office, the two other parts of the justice system that the Blue Panel Report recommends must be investigated relative to the integrity of the system, have not produced any response that we know of..."
LAPD Blue Ribbon Review Panel Report (2006)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/24902306/
* "...judges tried and sentenced a staggering number of people for crimes they did not commit."
Prof David Burcham, Dean, Loyola Law School, LA (2000)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29043589/* "This is conduct associated with the most repressive dictators and police states... and judges must share responsibility when innocent people are convicted."
Prof Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Irvine Law School (2000)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/274339
_____________________________
2010 UPR (UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW) OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE UNITED NATIONSApril 19, 2010 Human Rights Alert submission for the 2010 UPR (Universal Periodic Review) of Human Rights in the United States by the United Nations:
a) Press Release:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30200004/
b) Submission:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30147583/
c) Appendix:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/30163613/
d) UPR Tool Kit by the Urban Justice Center:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/29867561/
________________________________
The following nations have already filed UPR Reports voicing their concerns regarding Human Rights in the United States:
a. Algeria
b. Bolivia
c. Brazil
d. Canada
e. Chile
f. Czech Republic
g. Denmark
h. Egypt
i. Germany
j. Italy
k. Mexico
l. Netherlands
m. Philippines
n. Slovenia
o. Sweden
p. United Kingdom
________________________________
Full List of Addressees to which the Petition will be delivered prior to the November 2010 UPR session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
United Nations, UPR Office:
United States Department of State, UPR Office:
Membership of the Human Rights Council
and Other Nations' Missions to the UN
Officers of the Human Rights Council
President
H.E. Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow (Thailand)
H.E. Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow (Thailand)
Vice President and Rapporteur
H.E. Madam Bente Angell-Hansen (Norway)
H.E. Madam Bente Angell-Hansen (Norway)
Vice Presidents
H.E. Mr. Arcanjo Maria Do Nascimento (Angola)
H.E. Mr. Rodolfo Reyes Rodríguez (Cuba)
H.E. Mr. Fedor Rosocha (Slovakia)
H.E. Mr. Arcanjo Maria Do Nascimento (Angola)
H.E. Mr. Rodolfo Reyes Rodríguez (Cuba)
H.E. Mr. Fedor Rosocha (Slovakia)
Membership of the Human Rights Council 19 June 2010-18 June 2011
(When no Term year listed – not a member)
| Nation | Term |
| Algeria H.E. Mr. Youcef Yousfi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 759-9538 | - |
| Angola H.E. Mr. Arcanjo Maria Do Nascimento Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 861-9295, 9438 | 2013 |
| Argentina H.E. Mr. Jorge Arguello, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 980-8395 | 2011 |
| Bahrain H.E. Mr. Tawfeeq Ahmed Almansoor, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 223-6206 | 2011 |
| Bangladesh H.E. Ms. Ismat Jahan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 972-4038 | 2012 |
| Belgium H.E. Mr. Johan C. Verbeke (212) 378-6361, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 681-7618 | 2012 |
| Bolivia Name not found Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 687-4642 | - |
| Brazil H. E. Mrs. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 371-5716 | 2011 |
| Burkina Faso H.E.M. Michel Kafando, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 308-4690 email address not found | 2011 |
| Cameroon H.E. Martin Belinga-Eboutou, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 249-0533 email address not found | 2012 |
| Canada H. E. John McNee, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 848-1195 | - |
| Chile H.E. Sr. Heraldo Munoz, Fax: (917) 322-6890 | - |
| China H.E. Mr. Wang Guangya Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 634-7626 | - |
| Czech Republic H.E. Mr. Martin Palous, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (646) 981-4099 | - |
| Chile H.E. Sr. Heraldo Muñoz, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (917) 322-6890 | 2011 |
| China H.E. Mr. Wang Guangya, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 634-7626 | 2012 |
| Cuba H.E. Mr. Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 779-1697 | 2012 |
| Denmark H.E. Mr. Carsten Staur, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 308-3384 email address not found | - |
| Djibouti H.E.M. Roble Olhaye, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 223-1276 | 2012 |
| Ecuador H.E. . . ., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 935-1835 | 2013 |
| Egypt H.E. Mr. Maged A. Abdelaziz Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 949-5999 | - |
FranceH.E. M. Jean-Maurice Ripert, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 421-6889 email address not found | 2011 |
| Gabon H.E. M. Denis Dangue Réwaka, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 689-5769 email address not found | 2011 |
| Germany H.E. Mr. Thomas Matussek, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 940-0402 email address not found | - |
| Ghana H.E. Mr. Leslie Kojo Christian Ext. 298, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 751-6743 | 2011 |
| Guatemala H.E. Mr. Jorge Skinner-Klée, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 685-8741 | 2013 |
| Hungary H.E. Mr. Gábor Bródi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 755-5395 | 2012 |
| Italy H.E. Cesare Maria RAGAGLINI Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax (212) 486-1036 | - |
| Japan | 2011 |
| Jordan | 2012 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 2012 |
| Libyan Arab Jamahiriya | 2013 |
| Malaysia | 2013 |
| Maldives | 2013 |
| Mauritania | 2013 |
| Mauritius | 2012 |
| Mexico H.E. name not found Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax (212) 688.8862 | 2012 |
| Netherlands H.E. Herman Schaper Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 370-1954 | - |
| Nigeria | 2012 |
| Norway H.E. Madam Bente Angell-Hansen | 2012 |
| Pakistan | 2011 |
| Philippines H.E. Mr. Libran N. Cabactulan Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax:(212)840-8602 | - |
| Poland | 2013 |
| Qatar | 2013 |
| Republic of Korea | 2011 |
| Republic of Moldova | 2013 |
| Russian Federation | 2012 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2012 |
| Senegal | 2012 |
| Slovakia H.E. Mr. Fedor Rosocha | 2011 |
| Slovenia H.E. Sanja Stiglic Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 370-18 24 | |
| Spain | 2013 |
| Sweden H.E. Mr. Marten Grunditz Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 583-2549 | |
| Switzerland | 2013 |
| Thailand H.E. Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow | 2013 |
| Uganda | 2013 |
| Ukraine | 2011 |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland H.E. Mark Lyall Grant became Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Fax: (212) 745-9316 | 2011 |
| United States of America | 2012 |
| Uruguay | 2012 |
| Venezuela Ms. Gabriela del Mar Ramirez Perez Secretary, Network of the NHRIs of the Americas | |
| Zambia | 2011 |
