The consideration of the national report of the United States of America to the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council 11 may 2015

On 11 May 2015, the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council considered the national report of the United States of America.

In addition to the advance questions submitted to the United States of America, the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan delivered a statement on the situation of human rights and freedoms in the US during consideration of the report. In its statement Azerbaijan stressed the concerns of a number of UN human rights treaty bodies regarding the torture and ill-treatment in places of detention, discrimination, racism, police brutality, gun violence, and right to privacy in US.

Azerbaijan also shared the concern of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights with regard to the disproportionate number of young African Americans who had died in encounters with police officers, or who were in prisons and on death row. 

In the light of above-mentioned concerns, the delegation of the Republic of Azerbaijan made the following recommendations to the United States of America:

• Prohibit racial discrimination and racist hate speech, as well as broaden the protection afforded by law;
• Eliminate the practice of racial profiling and surveillance by law enforcement officials;
• Prevent torture and ill-treatment in places of detention and to put an end to the practice of secret detention;
• Prevent the continued police brutality and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials, as well as analyse and eliminate its concrete reasons;
• Eliminate gun violence;
• Fully respect and protect the right to privacy.