UN Human Rights Chief Condemns Border Camps

Speaking on Monday, July 8, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, trained as a pediatrician, condemned the conditions under which migrants and refugees are being held at the U.S. border.  Noting the Administration’s efforts to prosecute human rights defenders who seek to provide aid to migrants, Bachelet added that “[t]he provision of lifesaving assistance is a human rights imperative that must be respected at all times and for all people in need.  It is inconceivable that those who seek to provide such support would risk facing criminal charges.”

Also on Monday, NPR’s All Things Considered broadcast an interview with UN Human Rights Office director Georgette Ganon. Notably, she indicated that the Administration had not allowed UN representatives to visit the border camps, despite repeated requests.  In particular, she indicated that the UN Special Rapporteur on Migrants had made 10 requests to the Administration seeking to visit the border, and had received no response.  In March, the Special Rapporteur laid out his concerns about the US border policies in detail, in a letter to the United States’ UN Ambassador.

As columnist Esther Cepeda put it, these human rights violations are being accomplished in our name with our tax dollars.  Further, the Administration’s refusal to honor human rights obligations endangers all of us, by setting an inhumanely low bar for treatment of non-nationals.  

It is good news that the UN bodies are now using the press to reach the American people directly to raise these issues.  And it’s telling that the Administration bars access by well-respected UN experts, while allowing controlled visits to the camps by the Administration’s ideological “friends.”