Black veterans want the World Court to investigate human rights violations in the US
15th June 2020 · 0 Comments
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
A coalition of Black American veterans has called on the Congressional Black Caucus and other elected minority leaders to request hearings at the World Court investigating human-rights violations.
The veterans group sounded the call on May 31, following protests across the country against the deaths of African-American citizens George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. As the protests heightened amidst sporadic looting, fires, police responses, the arrival of outside protesters and warnings of military involvement by President Trump, the National Coalition of Black Veteran Organizations launched a MoveOn.org online petition seeking 200 signatures supporting the call for human rights hearings.
In a formal statement to the media, the Coalition decried the systemic racism, injustice and white privilege that has led to centuries of violence, fear and repression of people of color in America. According to the group, that horrible legacy continues to this day, as evidenced by the murders of Floyd, Arbery, Taylor and other innocent citizens.
In the statement, Coalition Chairman Charles Blatcher III urged African Americans to refrain from street protests to protect themselves from further violence or COVID-19 infection. In addition, the statement noted that “white supremacist and anarchist have co-opted the marches and are spearheading the looting and destruction of properties,” which threatens to muddy the waters in the public’s eye and damage the goal of the protests.
Instead of further risking their lives and loved ones, Blatcher said, Black Americans should urge their leaders, elected and otherwise, to push for systemic change and to pressure the legal and political hierarchy, a process that should reach all the way to The Hague in the Netherlands, the location of the United Nations’ International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court.
“… [L]et us call on our Black elected representatives to petition the International Court of Justice … to hear our grievance against America for violation of our human rights,” the statement said. “The world is paying attention to our plight. This could be a teachable moment in making the world aware of Black American history.”
The Coalition statement heavily criticized the response to the protests of President Trump, as well as many of his supporters who are part of the sociopolitical system targeted by the spirit of the original protests that cropped up after Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25.
“White America is responsible for the perpetuation of racism in the governing policies and practices of this nation,” it said. “Let them march calling for an end to the practice. Let them carry the blame for the destruction. With our presence, Trump is attempting to stoke the mayhem into a racial confrontation. Let us not give him that. Black America can demonstrate our displeasure through economic boycotts. It may serve as an incentive for white America to have a discussion among themselves about their privilege and need to change.”
As of last Wednesday night, the MoveOn.org petition had received 110 signatures toward a goal of 200. The petition will be online until Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11.
Blatcher, who was an enlisted airman in the U.S. Navy from 1965-1969 and was the recipient of several service awards during his time in Vietnam, told The Louisiana Weekly last Wednesday that as of yet the Coalition had not heard a response personally from the CBC or its Caucus Chairwoman, Karen Bass (D-CA). However, Blatcher said that interviews given by Bass, including on MSNBC, that simply call for police-reform legislation and not further, more aggressive methods of legal protest and action are inadequate and disappointing.
Blatcher said the CBC must work to do more than that, especially given the hostility found in the White House and the U.S. Senate.
“The response was totally unacceptable,” Blatcher told The Louisiana Weekly. “The problems facing the Black community and the nation go beyond the problem of policing in our neighborhoods. The policing of the Black community is a reflection of the problems rooted in the American system. We hope the Congressional Black Caucus does not nullify its leadership position by taking the Black community on a trip to nowhere. The Black community needs a plan beyond submitting legislation to a Republican-held Senate that is dead on arrival. We do not need the frustration of having motion just for the sake of motion.”
Blatcher added that action is needed on the world stage for the situation in America to change.
“Success will be determined in our ability to pressure the Congressional Black Caucus to move this issue to an international venue for discussion,” he said.
Requests for comment by The Louisiana Weekly to the CBC were not returned by mid-last week, but on May 26 the Caucus did release a statement following Floyd’s death.
“This time his name was George Floyd,” the CBC statement said. “His crime, being a Black man in America. … George Floyd was killed at the hands of racist police officers, who insisted on using unnecessary force, which included kneeling on his neck, until he could no longer breathe. Within minutes and despite his cries out because he could not breathe, Floyd lost consciousness and died.
“How many times will the police officers be the judge, jury, and executioner towards our people? How many times will our human rights be violated? It is unacceptable to threaten and take our lives because you feel threatened by the color of our skin. …
“Our community can no longer be targeted, attacked, and killed with impunity. Being Black in America should not be a death sentence.”
The Louisiana Weekly also reached out to U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, a member of the CBC and Louisiana’s sole person of color in Congress, but he was not able to comment by press time last week.
However, Richmond did release a statement on May 30 addressing the murder of Floyd, the protests and the current racial and civil climate in America.
“In the midst of a global pandemic with a disproportionate amount of Black families putting their loved ones to rest, it infuriates me to see the African-American community wake up in fear each day,” Richmond said. “As a Black man raising a young Black boy, I refuse to sit quietly while institutional racism continues to deprive parents of seeing their sons and daughters reach their fullest potential. George Floyd should be with us here today. His murder was unwarranted and unacceptable and only underscored that the scourge of police brutality is alive and well. Let us make no mistake that this type of abuse of power by those in authority should be considered an act of terrorism and addressed accordingly. The inability to root out systemic use of fear, intimidation and aggression will only guarantee more outcomes like the ones we continue to see today.
“Enough is enough!” the statement continued. “The protests we see today are reflective of warranted anger, frustration, and a real desire for systemic change in America. Protesting is what laid the foundation for our country’s existence and it will continue to serve as the mechanism to improve its shortcomings. For far too long, African-Americans have had to endure institutional racism, economic instability, and a criminal justice system stacked against them. The murder of Mr. Floyd and the loss of 100,000 lives at the hands of COVID-19 is a stark reminder of the cumulative grief and anxiety the African-American community feels right now.”
“While the murder of Mr. Floyd was an absolute tragedy, it presents an opportunity for change we desperately need. In order to move forward, leaders at every level must listen to the voices of the people and commit to accountability and transformative reforms of our law enforcement practices. With young Black males three times more likely to be murdered by police than their white counterparts, the status quo is unsustainable and will only increase distrust between police and the communities they are tasked to protect. So, as this president attempts to sow division instead of healing our wounds, let us forge ahead together with a renewed sense of purpose and action to ensure that we are honoring the legacy of all of those who should be with us today.”
Blatcher told The Louisiana Weekly that the Black Veterans Coalition has called on several other veteran organizations to help advance the Coalition’s efforts for further action, including human-rights hearings at the IJC.
“We are optimistic [that] as a greater portion of the public become aware of our efforts, public support will be forthcoming,” he said.
The Coalition is a partnership of more than 20 Black veterans organizations from across the country.
Blatcher told The Louisiana Weekly that he realizes the Coalition’s call also comes as the Trump administration has withdrawn U.S. support, involvement and funding from various global agreements and treaties, such as the Paris climate-change accord and the Iran-U.S. treaty brokered by the Obama administration. Trump has also threatened to remove the U.S. and its funding from the World Health Organization during a time of global pandemic.
Blatcher said the current president’s hostility toward international cooperation has damaged America’s on the world stage, but he added that he believes the World Court can still help move people toward racial justice in America.
“We are mindful of the state of national affairs,” Blatcher said, “[which is] another reason why the discussion should be elevated to an international venue. There is global interest in the human rights of Black Americans in other countries. There is no wrong time to ask for what is right.”
The ICJ was formed and first met in April 1946, soon after the formation of the United Nations at the end of World War II. It heard its first case in 1947.
“The creation of the Court represented the culmination of a long process of developing methods for the pacific settlement of international disputes, the origins of which can be traced back to classical times,” states the court’s Web site.
In a keynote speech at the October 2019 London Conference on International Law, ICJ President Abdulqawi A. Yusef outlined the purpose of the court, as well as its development, saying that “[a] legal system cannot be better than the social consciousness that it reflects.
“However, international law is an essential part of the progress of humanity…International law gives us a shared lexicon accepted by States and other actors in the international system. It offers us, for the first time in human history, a stable and predictable system of settling disputes between States without having to have recourse to violence and brutality. It is a framework through which rational people can find innovative ways to tackle our common challenges.”
This article originally published in the June 15, 2020 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
