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UN Rights Experts Denounce Arizona’s New Immigration Law, Ethnic Studies Ban

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Joining the chorus of celebrities, athletes, and politicians railing against the newly-signed SB 1070 law in Arizona, six UN human rights experts have stated that the law is in violation of “international standards that are binding in the United States.”

Here’s what they’re saying:

States are required to respect and ensure the human rights of all persons subject to their jurisdiction, without discrimination…Relevant international standards require that detention be used only as an exceptional measure, justified, narrowly tailored and proportional in each individual case, and that it be subject to judicial review.

These unpaid experts from Mexico, Kenya, United States, Pakistan and Costa Rica are not only concerned about the SB 1070 law, but also of a recently-signed law that would prohibit schools in Arizona to feature the histories and cultures of ethnic minorities. The pattern, which they describe as “legislative activity hostile to ethnic minorities and immigrants,” is one that they also call “disturbing.”

Calling these new laws “disturbing” is a bit like calling a root canal “uncomfortable.”