II. On Human Rights Violations by Law Enforcement and Judicial Departments  
 
The abuse of power by law enforcement and judicial departments in the United States has seriously violated the freedom and rights of its citizens.  
 
Cases in which U.S. law enforcement authorities allegedly violated victims' civil rights increased by 25% from fiscal year 2001 to 2007 over the previous seven years, according to statistics from U.S. Department of Justice ("Police Brutality Cases up 25%; Union Worried Over Dip in Hiring Standards," USA Today, December 18, 2007). The national average among large police departments for excessive-force complaints was 9.5 per 100 full-time officers (The New York Times, November 14, 2007). But the majority of law enforcement officers accused of brutality were not prosecuted. . . . (Cf. The Chicago Police Department's Broken System, University of Chicago, www.law.chicago.edu for specific details). . . . On May 1 when Latino immigrants were campaigning for the rights of illegal immigrants at MacArthur Park in downtown Los Angeles, police officers abused their power by clubbing demonstrators and journalists and shooting them with rubber bullets (The Los Angeles Times, October 9, 2007). . . . According to a report released by the U.S. Department of Justice in October 2007, 47 states and the District of Columbia reported 2,002 arrest-related deaths between 2003 and 2005. Among these, 1,095, or 55%, were killed by gunfire of state or local police (Death in Custody Statistical Tables, U.S. Department of Justice, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs). 
 
The United States of America is the world's largest prison and has the highest inmates/population ratio in the world. A December 5, 2007 report by EFE news agency quoted statistics of U.S. Department of Justice as saying that the number of inmates in U.S. prisons has increased by 500% over the last 30 years. By the end of 2006, there were 2.26 million inmates in U.S. prisons. . . . The U.S. population only accounts for 5% of the world total, but its inmates make up 25% of the world total. There were 751 inmates in every 100,000 U.S. citizens, far higher than the rates in other Western countries (EFE news agency, December 5, 2007). . . . 
 
Abusing inmates is commonplace in U.S. prisons. According to a report released by U.S. Department of Justice in December 2007, an estimated 60,500 inmates. . .experienced one or more incidents of sexual victimization. . . (Sexual Victimization in State and Federal Prisons Reported by Inmates, U.S. Department of Justice, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs). The U.S. government acknowledged in a January 16, 2007, report that suspected illegal immigrants were mistreated in five prisons, breaching the principle of humane custody (The Washington Post, January 17, 2007). The Washington Post reported on December 17, 2007 that juvenile inmates in a West Texas youth prison were sexually assaulted or beaten and denied medical care. Those who reported the crime [suffered violent retribution]. . . . ("Dad Dismissed Prison Reform," The Washington Times, December 17, 2007; see also International Herald Tribune, January 8, 2008). Guards in American prisons regularly use taser guns. According to a 2007 report from Amnesty International, 230 Americans have died from taser guns since 2001. . . . 
 
U.S. prisoners often die from HIV/AIDS infection or inadequate medical service. A report released by the U.S. Department of Justice in September 2007 said there were 22,480 state and federal inmates who were HIV infected or had confirmed AIDS at year end 2005, 5,620 inmates had confirmed AIDS. . . . (HIV in prisons 2005, U.S. Department of Justice, www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs). According to a report by the Los Angeles Times on September 20, 2007, 426 death cases took place in California prisons in 2006 due to belated treatment. . . . On April 14, 2007, 41-year-old diabetic prisoner Rodolfo Ramos died after being left alone and covered in his own feces for a week. Prison officials failed to get medical treatment for him despite knowing of his condition (The Associated Press, April 27, 2007). 
 
The justice of the U.S. judicial system is increasingly put in question. Surveys find that since the first DNA exoneration in 1989, there have been 209 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States. . .15 of the 209 people exonerated through DNA served time on death row (Facts on Post-Conviction DNA Exonerations, Innocence Project, www.innocenceproject.com). . . . 
 

IV. On Economic, Social and Cultural rights  
 
The deserved economic, social and cultural rights of American citizens have not been properly protected.  
 
Poor population in the United States is constantly increasing. According to statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau in August 2007, the official poverty rate in 2006 was 12.3%. There were 36.5 million people, or 7.7 million families living in poverty in 2006. In [other words], almost one out of eight American citizens lives in poverty. . . . The poverty rate of major American cities was 16.1%. . . . The poverty rate in the Washington D.C. [the nation's capital] was 19.8%, which meant nearly one-fifth of its citizens were living in poverty ("DC's "Two Economies" Headed in Different Directions, Report Finds," DC Fiscal Policy Institute, October 24, 2007).  
 
The wealth of the richest group in the United States has rapidly expanded in recent years, widening the earning gap between the rich and the poor. . . . Top executives of major U.S. businesses made an average of more than $10 million in 2006, 364 times more than that of ordinary workers. They earn as much money in one day of work as ordinary workers make over the entire year (AFP, January 4, 2008). 
 
The past five years have witnessed relatively strong growth in the U.S. economy, but the fortune of millions of Americans just gets worse. The ratio of American wage expenditure to gross domestic product (GDP) has dropped to the lowest since records began in 1947. The average income of households consisted of members at working age has seen a continuous decline in the past five years, and is 17% less than five years ago (U.S. News & World Report, January 1, 2007; see also, USA Today, October 24, 2007; and The Associated Press, December 14, 2007, which notes stress-related suicides). 
 
Hungry and homeless people have increased significantly in American cities. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said, in a report released on November 14, 2007, that 35.52 million Americans, including 12.63 million children, went hungry in 2006. . . ("Over 30 Million Americans Faced Hunger in 2006," Reuters, November 15, 2007). Results of the 2007 Hunger and Homelessness Survey released by the U.S. Conference of Mayors showed that 16 of the 23 polled cities reported increased requests for emergency food assistance. . . . In 20 survey cities, 193,183 people applied for emergency shelter or transitional housing. The number of residents applying for government rent subsidies surged by 30% in Baltimore County in 2007 ("More Seeking U.S. Rent Subsidy," The Baltimore Sun, December 17, 2007). It is estimated that 750,000 people are homeless on any given day in the United States ("Care Critical for Homeless," The Washington Post, October 22, 2007). . . . Research shows one-third to half of the homeless have a chronic illness. . . . ("Care Critical for Homeless," The Washington Post, October 22, 2007). . . . 
 
The number of people without health insurance has been increasing in the United States. A Reuters report on September 20, 2007 quoted the U.S. Census Bureau as saying that 47 million people in the United States were not covered by health insurance. A U.S. family organization said nearly 90 million people below the age of 65 were not covered by health insurance. . . (Reuters, September 20, 2007). . . . 

V. On Racial Discrimination  
 
Racial discrimination is a deep-rooted social illness in the United States.  
 
Black people and other minor ethnic groups live in the bottom of the American society. According to statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau in August 2007, median income of black households was 61% of that for non-Hispanic white households. Median income for Hispanic households stood at 72% of that for non-Hispanic white households. . . .(Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006, see Census Bureau website: www.census.gov; see also Washington Observer Weekly, November 30, 2006). The prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS and other diseases are higher among blacks and Hispanics than among non-Hispanic whites (Cf. "Study Calls HIV in DC. A 'Modern Epidemic'," The Washington Post, November 26, 2007). . . .  
 
Ethnic minorities have been subject to racial discrimination in employment and workplace. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in November 2007, the unemployment rate for Black Americans was 8.4%, twice that of non-Hispanic whites (4.2%). The unemployment rate for Hispanics was 5.7%. . . . (The Employment Situation: November 2007, issued by the U.S. Department of Labor on December 7, 2007, see www.bls.gov). . . . 
 
There is serious racial discrimination in the education sector of the United States. According to a media report, public schools tend to take tougher discipline sanctions on black students, and the rate of black students disciplined is much higher than that of white students. . . (Chicago Tribune, September 25, 2007; see also The Associated Press, Jena, Louisiana State, September 20, 2007). . . . Nazi symbol swastika was also found on the campus of the Columbia University in 2007, apparently targeting American Jews, according to a report by the World Daily.  
 
Racial discrimination in the U.S. judicial system is shocking. According to the 2007 annual report on the state of black America issued by the National Urban League (NUL), African Americans (especially males) are more likely than whites to be convicted and sentenced to longer terms. Blacks are seven times more likely than whites to be incarcerated (National Urban League: The State of Black America 2007, www.nul.org). Blacks are 10 times as likely to be imprisoned for drug offences as whites, even though both groups use and sell drugs at the same rate ("Study Finds Racial Divide Across U.S. in Drug Arrests," The Washington Post, December 5, 2007; also, Prisoners in 2006, issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on December 5, 2007, at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs; and Los Angeles Times, November 19, 2007). . . .

 
In the United States, minorities are the main victims of hate and violent crimes and murders. According to a FBI report published in November 2007, there were 7,722 hate crimes in the country in 2006, up 8%. Among them, 51.8% were motivated by racial bias. Hate crimes against Muslims increased 22%. Hate crimes against Hispanics went up 10% ("FBI: Hate Crimes Escalate 8% in 2006," USA Today, November 20, 2007; and Black Victims of Violent Crime, http://www.ojb.usdoj.gov/bjs). 

VI. On the Rights of Women and Children  
 
The condition of women and children in the United States is worrisome.  
 
Women account for 51% of the U.S. population, but there are only 86 women serving in the 110th U.S. Congress. Women hold 16, or 16% of the 100 seats in the Senate and 70, or 16.1% of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. . . . (Women Serving in the 110th Congress 2007-09, Center For American Women and Politics, www.cawp.rutgers.edu). 
 
Discrimination against women is pervasive in the U.S. job market and workplace. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said it received 23,247 charges on sex-based discrimination in 2006, accounting for 30.7% of the total discrimination charges (Charge Statistics FY 1997 Through FY 2006, www.eeoc.gov/stats/charges.html; also, Reuters, Los Angeles, February 6, 2007). The average income of women is. . .77% of men's. . .(Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006, issued by the U.S. Census Bureau, see www.census.gov). 
 
The poverty rate of women is higher. Statistics show that at the year end of 2006, more than 5.58 million single women above the age of 18 were living in poverty, accounting for 22.2% of women in that group. Some 4.1 million, or 28.3% of female-householder-with-no-husband-present families were living in poverty in 2006, much higher than the national family poverty rate of 9.8% (Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau). Colored women are more likely to fall prey to poverty and misery. A report issued by the American Center for Reproductive Rights shows the maternal death rate of the United States ranks the 30th in the world. The maternal death rate for black women is four times that of white women. The proportion of black women infected with AIDS and venereal diseases is 23 times and 18 times that of white women, respectively. . . .  
 
American women are victims of domestic violence. According to information from the National Organization for Women, about 1,400 women are beaten to death every year by their husbands or boyfriends in the United States. It is estimated that two to four million women are battered each year. Women are 10 times more likely than men to be victimized by an intimate. Women who are separated, divorced or single, low-income women and African-American women are disproportionately victims of assault and rape. Domestic violence rates are five times higher among families below poverty levels. . . . 
 
Women are frequently victims of sexual harassment at their workplaces and military barracks. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said it received 12,025 charges on sexual harassment in 2006, 84.6% of which were filed by women (Sexual Harassment Charges EEOC & FEPAs Combined: FY 1997-FY 2006, see www.eeoc.gov). The National Organization for Women said every year approximately 132,000 women reported that they had been victims of rape or attempted rape, and that two to six times that many women were raped, but did not report it. The U.S. department investigating military crimes received about 1,700 sexual harassment charges in 2004, including 1,305 rape charges. . . . (Cf. Latin American News Agency, Havana, February 10, 2007, for more information). . . .  
 
Women inmates are increasing in American prisons and they are often subject to grave conditions. Figures released by the Department of Justice in December 2007 show that the number of female inmates in federal and state prisons increased by 4,872, or 4.5% in 2006 to reach 112,498. . .(Prisoners in 2006, issued by the Department of Justice on December 5, 2007, see www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs). Amnesty International said in a 2007 report that in American prisons, male watchers can do full body searches on female prisoners and watch them washing and changing clothes. In most states, male watchers are allowed to enter female cells without supervision. 
 
The living conditions of American children are of great concern. The Houston Chronicle reported that a survey by the United Nations on 21 rich countries showed that though the United States was among the world's richest nations, it ranked only 20th in the overall well-being of children. In the dimension of health and security, the United States was at the very bottom of the ranking. Statistics show that by the end of 2006. . . . Children accounted for 35.2% of the impoverished population in the United States. The rate of impoverished children in female households with no husbands present is as high as 42.1% (Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006, issued by the U.S. Census Bureau in August 2007, see www.census.gov). More children are doing without medical insurance. . . . More children are becoming homeless. . . . (Mayors Examine Causes of Hunger, Homelessness, press release by the U.S. Conference of Mayors on December 17, 2007, www.usmayors.org). According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the infant mortality rate of the United State was seven in a thousand in 2004, and the mortality rate of black infants was 2.5 times that of whites (The Associated Press, November 10, 2007). The infant survival rate of the United States is lagging far behind other developed nations. A bill that would have expanded government-provided health insurance for children was vetoed by President George W. Bush in 2007. . .("Bush Vetoes Kids Health Insurance Bill," The Washington Post, December 13, 2007).  
 
American juveniles often fall victims of abuse and crime. According to a report on school crimes in the United States released by the Department of Justice in December 2007, 57 out of 1,000 American students above the age of 12 were victims of violence [with] 14 school-associated homicides. . . . (School Crime Rates Stable Children 50 Times More Likely to Be Murdered away from School Than at School, issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on December 2, 2007, see www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs). . . . Sexual violations are widespread in American schools. A national survey by the Associated Press in 2007 found that 2,570 educators were punished for sexual misconduct between 2001 and 2005. Eighty % of the victims were students. A survey by the U.S. Congress shows that. . .an average of three sexual abuse cases take place in American schools every day (The Associated Press, Washington, October 21, 2007). 
 
American juveniles are ill-treated at boot camps. A report mandated by Congress said thousands of teenagers suffered terrible abuses at boot camps, some even lost their lives. Governmental investigator said boot camp abuses took many forms, including youths being forced to eat their own vomit, denied adequate food, being forced to lie in urine or feces, being kicked or beaten. . . .  
 
Millions of underage girls become sex slaves in the United States. Statistics from the Department of Justice show some 100,000 to three million American children under the age of 18 are involved in prostitution. A FBI report says as high as 40 % of forced prostitutes are minors. 
 
American children are not properly protected by the justice system. The United States is one of the few countries in the world that sentences children to death. . .and sentences more children to life imprisonment than any other country. . . . Colored children and those from impoverished families are more likely to suffer fate of this kind.  

VII. On the Violation of Human Rights in Other Countries 
 
The United States has a notorious record of trampling on the sovereignty of and violating human rights in other countries.  
 
The invasion of Iraq by American troops has produced the largest human rights tragedy and the greatest humanitarian disaster in modern world. It was reported that since the invasion in 2003, 660,000 Iraqis have died, of which 99% were civilians. That translates into a daily toll of 450. According to the Los Angeles Times, the number of civilian deaths in Iraq has exceeded one million. A report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) revealed that about one million Iraqis were homeless, half of whom were children. . . . According to media reports, guards of Blackwater, a security service company with State Department background, shot dead 17 Iraqis for no reason on September 16, 2007, and it was given immunity by the State Department (The China Press, October 31, 2007). Investigation by the Iraqi government found that Blackwater guards had killed 21 Iraqis and injured 27 others before that. State Department investigation showed that Blackwater was involved in 56 shooting cases in Iraq in 2007. A U.S. Congress report said the company was involved in nearly 200 shooting cases in Iraq since 2005, and 84% of them were random shooting. . . .  
 
U.S. troops have killed many innocent civilians in the anti-terrorism war in Afghanistan. The Washington Post reported on May 3, 2007 that as many as 51 civilians were killed by U.S. soldiers a week ("Karzai Says Civilian Toll is No Longer Acceptable," The Washington Post, May 3, 2007). An Afghan human rights group said in a report that U.S. marine units fired indiscriminately at pedestrians, people in cars, buses and taxis. . .(New York Times, April 15, 2007). 
 
The United States has many secret jails across the world where prisoners are treated inhumanely. "Secret prison" and "torturing prisoners" have become synonymous with America. In May 2007, the UN special rapporteur on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism. . .expressed his concern over the conditions of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and other secret detention facilities, the lack of justice protection and access to fair trial for terrorist suspects, as well as the rendition of suspects. He also expressed his disappointment that the U.S. government had refused to allow him to visit Guantanamo Bay and other places of secret detention (Preliminary Findings on Visit to United States by Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism, May 29, 2007, www.unog.ch). In addition to Guantanamo Bay where prisoners were subject to gruesome tortures, the United States also ran secret facilities in Jordan and Ethiopia, where detainees were brutally treated. . . . The detainees came from 19 countries and included women and children as young as seven months. . . . (The Daily Telegraph, April 5, 2007; The Associated Press, Nairobi, April 5, 2007). The Washington Times reported on December 14, 2007 that CIA often tortured detained terrorist suspects by using waterboarding and mock execution ("House Approves Ban on CIA Waterboarding," The Washington Times, December 14, 2007). The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) described in a report how waterboarding is done: the prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt. . . . Iraqis said there had never been so many rapes and atrocities against women in any war since the Middle Ages as witnessed in the Iraqi war (Rebellion, May 5, 2007).  

The United States has always adopted double standards on human rights issues. It frequently exerts pressure on other countries to invite the UN special rapporteur to examine and report on the status of their human rights status, but itself has never done so. The United States requests others to obey the UN norms that allow special rapporteurs to visit any place and talk with anyone without interference or surveillance, but itself has rejected such norms and has turned down the request. . .from several special rapporteurs. 
 
The United States has to date refused to acknowledge the right to development as part of the human rights. Although it signed the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 1977, the United States has not yet ratified the convention. The United States claims that it attaches importance to the protection of the rights of women and children, but it has not yet ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 27 years after signing on the convention. The United States is one of the seven U.N. members that have not ratified the convention. The United States has not yet ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child 12 years after signing on it, though 193 countries have already done so. Since March 2007, the Convention on Rights of Disabled Persons has been open for signature and many countries adopt active attitude towards the convention. By the end of December 2007, 118 countries had signed the convention and seven ratified it, but the U.S. has not yet signed nor ratified it.  
 
To respect and safeguard human rights is an important achievement in the progress of the human society and an important symbol of modern civilization. It is also a common goal of people of all countries and races and a key theme of the tide of progress in our time. . . . No country in the world should view itself as the incarnation of human rights, and use human rights as a tool to interfere in affairs of and exert pressure on other countries and realize its own strategic interests. The United States reigns over other countries and releases Country Reports on Human Rights Practices year after year. Its arrogant critique on the human rights of other countries is always accompanied by a deliberate ignoring of serious human rights problems on its own territory. This. . .exposed the double standards and downright hypocrisy of the United States on the human rights issue, and inevitably impairs its international image. 

[NOTE: quoted text has been edited for grammar and clarity and many individual statistics have been eliminated in the name of brevity, the original document being 13 pages long]

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