by Robert X. Holbrook 26 Dec 2004
When it comes to observing the rules and norms of international law the United States, far from being its protector, is one of the greatest and most habitual offenders. In 1989 the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child which established international standards for the treatment of children. The convention covers everything from thc state's protection of children to its punishment of children. Article 37(a) of the Convention states that State Parties shall ensure
(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither Capital Punishment nor Life imprisonment without the possibility of release shall be imposed for offenses committed by persons below eighteen years of age.
It should not be surprising that the United States, the prison capital of the world, did not sign this international treaty establishing standards for the treatment of children. The United States is one of only 3 countries in the world that sentences juveniles to life imprisonment without parole and imposes the death sentence on juveniles. In fact American politicians appear to gain a sadistic satisfaction in passing laws that treat juveniles more harshly than ever.
What can be said of a society that discards its children like trash on the side of the road? That feeds its children into the jaws of a brutal and unmerciful prison system? All too often the juveniles sentenced to life in prison or to death sentences are youth of color while white youth get sentences more appropriate for juvenile offenders. While this double standard is partly due to economic reasons the primary reason is the institutional racism that is inherent in the U.S. justice system. Youth of color are seen as predators and remorseless killers beyond hope of redemption - a completely false stereotype. Therefore before any change can come in the unjust sentencing of juveniles to life in prison without parole or the death penalty there must be a change in society's perception of youth of color. The Black and Latino community must demand that society recognize their children as human beings and not expendable capital to feed the prison industry. Their children are deserving of a second chance.
The United States portrays itself as a bastion of human rights while within its own borders it relentlessly violates the rights of its young citizens. Forty years ago the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said the United States was the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. Today, as demonstrated by its unjustified war against the people of Iraq and its continued violation of the U.N.'s Convention governing the punishment of juveniles, the United States stands as one of the greatest and most frequent violators of international law. It has become the very example of a rogue empire.
