The United States is a country with a long history of violations of civil and human rights. Human rights are assigned upon being born, such as rights to dignity and respect. Civil rights are transferred upon becoming a state citizen, such as rights to vote, fair trial, and education. Indigenous people, African Americans, Asians, Muslims, women, and many other socially vulnerable groups are common victims of human rights abuse (Bobo, 2017). No international organization can interfere with the law enforcement process in the United States. Therefore, the United States should be bound by international human rights law because it will not allow the government to ignore human rights and enable citizens to report on the abuse of their freedoms globally.
Being bounded by international law will hold the United States accountable for its actions towards its citizens, thus, will not allow the government to ignore cases of human rights abuse. Since the United States is not bounded by international law concerning human rights, the government cannot be easily held accountable by other organizations. As a result, people cannot be fully protected from cases of racism or police brutality, which violates human rights to respect, equality, and civil rights of freedom from arbitrary arrest (Goolsby, 2018). Holding the government accountable by international law will make the governors publicly respond to reports of human rights abuse (Goolsby, 2018). As a result, the government cannot change the narrative easily, which will, in turn, protect the rights of citizens. Moreover, victims and their families will have access to the documentation of the information and evidence. Consequently, the problem of false evidence being created can be eliminated. These measures will make the process of punishment more transparent. Therefore, the implementation of the international law will protect citizens from manipulations of facts by forcing the government to make the evidence public.
Furthermore, international law will allow citizens to report on violations of their rights to international organizations if the United States court fails to protect their rights. Without international law, the only way for citizens to defend their rights is to report to the US court. If the US court violates its citizen’s civil right to a fair trial, no other option is available for the victim than to accept the abuse. Being bounded by international law will enable US citizens to declare cases of abuse to international organizations openly. For instance, the immigrants who reported the human rights abuse case in Utrecht were able to receive social assistance from the European Committee of Social Rights (Baumgärtel & Oomen, 2019). Like Utrecht, international law can enable undocumented immigrants and other socially vulnerable groups to report on cases of abuse and receive help. Therefore, international human rights law can be effective in allowing minorities to enjoy their human rights.
To sum up, the United States needs to be bounded by international human rights law to allow every citizen to enjoy these rights. First, international law will force the government to make its statements regarding the cases of human rights abuse in public. Second, international law will make the evidence of human rights violations public, making the process more transparent. Moreover, people will be able to report on their cases internationally, thus, avoiding the discriminatory system of the US. These changes can make the process of protecting citizens’ rights easier.
References
Baumgärtel, M., & Oomen, B. (2019). Pulling human rights back in? Local authorities, international law and the reception of undocumented migrants. The Journal of Legal Pluralism and Unofficial Law, 51(2), 172–191.
Bobo, D. (2017). Racism in Trump’s America: reflections on culture, sociology, and the 2016 US presidential election. The British Journal of Sociology, 68 (1), 85-100.
Goolsby, L. (2018). Why international law should matter to Black Lives Matter: A draft petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on behalf of the family of Eric Garner. University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Social Change.