The U.N. Human Rights Committee in Geneva on Thursday condemned the United States for criminalizing homelessness, calling it cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that violates international human rights treaty obligations. It also called upon the U.S. government to take corrective action, following a two-day review of U.S. government compliance with a human rights treaty ratified in 1992. Im just simply baffled by the idea that people can be without shelter in a country, and then be treated as criminals for being without shelter, said Sir Nigel Rodley, chairman of the committee in closing statements on the U.S. review. The idea of criminalizing people who dont have shelter is something that I think many of my colleagues might find as difficult as I do to even begin to comprehend. The Committee called on the U.S. to abolish criminalization of homelessness laws and policies at state and local levels, intensify efforts to find solutions for homeless people in accordance with human rights standards and offer incentives for decriminalization, including giving local authorities funding for implementing alternatives and withholding funding for criminalizing the homeless. Those recommendations run counter to the current trends in the nation. Laws targeting the homeless—loitering laws that ban sleeping or sitting too long in one public spot, or camping in parks overnight—have become increasingly common in communities throughout the country as homelessness has skyrocketed...
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 04:22:32 +0000
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