Demand Obama Admin Respect UPR, Adopt Political Prisoner Recommendation

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 3, 2011

Contact: Efia Nwangaza (864) 901-8627 / ushrnpp@gmail.com
Stan Willis (312) 750-1950 / swillis818@aol.com
Ajamu Baraka (404) 695-0475 / abaraka@ushrnetwork.org

Obama Administration Challenged to Respect UPR Process

Atlanta, GA, - The U.S. Human Rights Network Political Prisoner/State Repression Working Group (USHRN PP/SR Wkg Grp) today demands the Obama Administration adopt the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations to release COINTELPRO/Civil Rights Era political activists held in U.S. prisons, some more than 40 years.

"The UPR shed global light on the United States' dirty little open secret and propelled to the forefront the unfinished business of the modern U.S. Civil/Human Rights movement. “We are working with activists across the country to put America’s political prisoners on the global human rights priority list alongside other atrocities like the death penalty, racial discrimination, the absence of treaty ratification and the lack of a national institution monitoring domestic human rights practices” Efia Nwangaza said.

1. We call on President Obama to use his presidential powers to grant clemency and commute the sentences to time served and release all COINTELPRO/Civil Rights Era political activists criminalized and held in federal custody.

2. We call on President Obama to direct U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and the U.S. Department of Justice to review the convictions of all COINTELPRO/Civil Rights Era activists in federal or state custody to identify and address civil and human rights violations perpetrated.

3. We call on the Obama Administration to create a national Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the release and compensation of all COINTELPRO/Civil Rights Era activists in federal or state custody.

The US Human Rights Network formed to promote US accountability to universal human rights standards by building linkages between organizations and individuals. We strive to build a human rights culture in the United States that puts those directly affected by such violations, with a special emphasis on grassroots organizations and social movements, in central leadership roles. The Network is further committed to uniting the US human rights movement with the broader social justice movements both in the U.S. and globally. See U.S. Human Rights Network Reports to the UPR Working Group of the UN Human Rights Council: http://www.ushrnetwork.org/upr_reports.

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