A Commission Monitoring Human Rights Violations Is Concerned About the US
On Tuesday afternoon, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights convened in Washington, DC, to hear complaints about excessive use of force and suppression of freedom of expression during protests against immigration enforcement in American cities. One of those who attended and testified at the public hearing was Antonio Romanucci, a Chicago-based civil rights litigation lawyer […]
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) convened on Tuesday in Washington, DC to address concerns about human rights violations in the United States. Antonio Romanucci, a civil rights lawyer, spoke on behalf of Renee Good's family, whose member was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Romanucci emphasized the lack of accountability in the federal system and the need for justice beyond the US borders.
The IACHR, an autonomous body of the Organization of American States, has never before held a thematic hearing on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the US.
James Cavallaro, former IACHR president, noted that the commission had previously heard testimony about attacks on protesters by repressive regimes in the region. Rev. David Black recounted being targeted by federal agents during a peaceful protest outside an ICE detention facility in Broadview. He suffered multiple pepper-ball injuries and described the government's rhetoric as criminalizing dissent and reviving McCarthyism.
Susan Akram, a Boston University law professor, highlighted the policies as blatantly illegal and part of a campaign to criminalize dissent.
Andrea Pochak, an IACHR commissioner, questioned the accountability system, emphasizing that clergy, journalists, and immigrants are not terrorists. Locke Bowman, an attorney representing Rev. Black and others, criticized the system's broken accountability. The US government provided little response, with Acting Deputy Chief of Mission to the OAS citing ongoing litigation. The IACHR urged the commission to visit the US to observe the human rights situation and demanded transparency in any investigation.
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