U.S. double standards towards human rights exposed
Police fire tear gas and less-lethal rounds at protesters during a demonstration at the intersection of East Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue, Friday, May 29, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. /AP

Police fire tear gas and less-lethal rounds at protesters during a demonstration at the intersection of East Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue, Friday, May 29, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Protests continued following the death of George Floyd, who died after being restrained by Minneapolis police officers on Memorial Day. /AP

Editor's Note: The following article is taken from the Chinese-language opinion column "The Real Point."

In an open letter sent to the UN Human Rights Council earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) asked for a special session to be convened in order to investigate police brutality and the suppression of protests in the United States.

They stressed that the UN should support the demands of American society and hold the U.S. government accountable for human rights violations. "It is time the U.S. faces the same scrutiny and judgment it is quick to pass on to other countries," said Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU's Human Rights Program.

The reprehensible killing of African American George Floyd by a police officer has triggered a human rights movement across the country. A poll jointly published by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News on Sunday said that 80 percent of Americans think the country is spiraling out of control.

The China Society for Human Rights Studies issued an article on Thursday, pointing out that the U.S. government's self-interested, short-sighted, inefficient, and irresponsible response to the coronavirus pandemic has caused the tragedy in which more than two million Americans have been infected with the virus and more than 110,000 have died from it.

The article, entitled "The COVID-19 Pandemic Magnifies the Crisis of 'U.S.-Style Human Rights'", exposed the long-existing and now deteriorating problems in the United States, such as a divisive society, the polarization between rich and poor, racial discrimination, and the inadequate protection of the rights and interests of vulnerable groups.

Human rights violations by law enforcement forces frequently occurred during the protests over the past two weeks. They include a black American being repeatedly jolted by a stun gun when arrested by police officers in Virginia; a 75-year-old man pushed to the ground by Buffalo police officers, bleeding; and protestors having their face masks ripped off and being pepper sprayed.

In addition, there have been at least 200 reported incidents involving journalists covering the protests, ranging from being physically attacked and intimidated to being arbitrarily arrested, despite their press credentials being clearly visible. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said, "It is all the more shocking given that freedom of expression and of the media are fundamental principles in the U.S., central to the country's identity."

More disturbingly, some U.S. politicians and media outlets are aggravating the situation by agitating the divisions in American society. President Donald Trump called the protesters "lowlifes and losers" on Twitter and Senator Tom Cotton wrote an opinion piece “Send In the Troops,” advocating use of the military to crack down on the protests. Fox News even aired a graphic showing stocks historically rising after violent events against African Americans, including the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the death of George Floyd.

British newspaper The Independent published an opinion piece, saying that the United States always talks about human rights but ignores its own obligations and shows disregard for people's lives.

Swedish scholar Karl Gunnar Myrdal pointed out in his 1944 book "An American Dilemma" that the country's dilemma lies in the contradiction between American creed and the reality of racial inequality. To resolve this contradiction, the federal government should take the lead.

But in the more than 50 years since the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, the U.S. government is still incapable of solving the problem. Some government officials even openly incite and indulge in racial discrimination. It's a disgrace to human rights and a misfortune for American society.

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