Iran reports US human rights abuse

Iran has released its report on human rights abuses by the United States as Washington gears up for its first public review by the United Nations.

“The United States… contrary to calls by the international community, the United Nations and promises by [US President Barack] Obama … has failed to close prisons at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib,” Iran’s foreign ministry said in statement on Wednesday.

Washington, it continues, has not even joined “the most important convention on human rights”, namely the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The report also expresses concern over the alarming number of deaths following discharges from Tasers within the United States, which Amnesty International puts at more that 300 from 2001 to 2008.

The 47 member states of the UN Human Rights Council will debate Washington’s human rights record in their first “Universal Periodic Review” of the country on Friday.

More than 300 groups, including Amnesty International USA and the American Civil Liberties Union, have issued separate reports charging that racial, ethnic and gender disparities in the United States.

“Discrimination permeates all aspects of life in the U.S., and extends to all communities of color, and when coupled with discrimination on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, disability or other bases, can have a devastating impact,” a report by a coalition known as the US Human Rights Network says.

Some groups have even expressed disappointment at the current administration for failing to solve abuse in Iraq and bring those responsible for the torture of detainees to justice.