U.N. Envoy: U.S.Violating Occupy Protesters' Human Rights

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Frank La Rue, who serves as the U.N. "special rapporteur" for the protection of free expression, told HuffPost in an interview that the crackdowns against Occupy protesters appear to be violating their human and constitutional rights.

"I believe in city ordinances and I believe in maintaining urban order," he said Thursday. "But on the other hand I also believe that the state -- in this case the federal state -- has an obligation to protect and promote human rights."

"If I were going to pit a city ordinance against human rights, I would always take human rights," he continued.

La Rue, a longtime Guatemalan human rights activist who has held his U.N. post for three years, said it's clear to him that the protesters have a right to occupy public spaces "as long as that doesn't severely affect the rights of others."

In moments of crisis, governments often default to a forceful response instead of a dialogue, he said -- but that's a mistake.

"Citizens have the right to dissent with the authorities, and there's no need to use public force to silence that dissension," he said.

"One of the principles is proportionality," La Rue said. "The use of police force is legitimate to maintain public order -- but there has to be a danger of real harm, a clear and present danger. And second, there has to be a proportionality of the force employed to prevent a real danger."

...

La Rue said he is in the process of writing what he called "an official communication" to the U.S. government "to ask what exactly is the position of the federal government in regards to understanding the human rights and constitutional rights vis-a-vis the use of local police and local authorities to disband peaceful demonstrations."

Although the letter will not carry any legal authority, it reflects how the violent suppression of dissent threatens to damage the U.S.'s international reputation.

"I think it's a dangerous spot in the sense of a precedent," La Rue said, expressing concern that the United States risks losing its credibility as a model democracy, particularly if the excessive use of force against peaceful protests continues.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/occupy-wall-street-un-envoy_n_1125860.html?1322852689&ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=116702,b=facebook

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Screw the U.N.

[slim 1,533]

The blue hatters should come over and stop us.

What's really sad is our police forces alone could repel any UN invasion.

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The blue hatters should come over and stop us.

What's really sad is our police forces alone could repel any UN invasion.

UN troops are drawn from troops of member countries. Think the NYPD could beat back the Bangladeshi Army? Yeah it probably could.

[slim 1,533]

UN troops are drawn from troops of member countries. Think the NYPD could beat back the Bangladeshi Army? Yeah it probably could.

I'm wondering how most of those troops would get here without our airpower supporting them?

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Maybe they'll fly in commercial. Disembark at JFK, get part-time jobs selling hot dogs for a few years and then use their earnings to gear up and prepare for war.

[slim 1,533]

Maybe they'll fly in commercial. Disembark at JFK, get part-time jobs selling hot dogs for a few years and then use their earnings to gear up and prepare for war.

That's what the Chinese have been doing for over 150 years.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

That's what the Chinese have been doing for over 150 years.

You mean the Chi-Coms?

[slim 1,533]

You mean the Chi-Coms?

Yep.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Yep.

Do you think they'll ambush in a Walmart parking lot as you exit the store, or do you think they'll hide under your bed, waiting for the opportune moment?

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Do you think they'll ambush in a Walmart parking lot as you exit the store, or do you think they'll hide under your bed, waiting for the opportune moment?

They're not al Qaeda. The Chinese are smart. You won't even know the conquest is underway until it's over.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

They're not al Qaeda. The Chinese are smart. You won't even know the conquest is underway until it's over.

They will trap all real Americans by double parking.

[slim 1,533]

Do you think they'll ambush in a Walmart parking lot as you exit the store, or do you think they'll hide under your bed, waiting for the opportune moment?

Neither.

They'll poison the food and water supplies, disable the power grid, sabotage the ports, railways, highways, etc., and most likely go for large crowds at events as opposed to smaller shops and individuals. Why set up an ambush at Wal-Mart when you can gas an entire stadium of people and machine gun any stragglers?

They're not al Qaeda. The Chinese are smart. You won't even know the conquest is underway until it's over.

It will be highly coordinated well into effect by the time we realize something is wrong.

"Hey, that's weird. Facebook doesn't work. Nor does my ATM card. There's no gas at the gas stations. Hasn't been for a few days. Why don't we have fresh milk being delivered to the grocery store anymore?"

"Did you hear about what happened at the Raiders game? 50,000 people were killed. OMG!"

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So what?