Edited by Evan Welkin

Gina Patnaik (third from left) represents Rachel Corrie Foundation in Geneva.

On November 9, 2010, The U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva released its draft report on the first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the U.S. human rights record. The Universal Periodic Review was established by the U.N. General Assembly in 2006 to review human rights records of all 192 U.N. member states. The 2010 report calls for greater transparency and accountability in U.S. foreign military aid and programs. The Rachel Corrie Foundation was one of numerous non-governmental organizations to provide written submissions for the UPR of the U.S.

On Thursday, November 4, Gina Patnaik, a cousin of Rachel Corrie and PhD candidate at the University of California – Berkeley, spoke at UN headquarters in Geneva, representing the Rachel Corrie Foundation in a side panel to the U.S. review. Patnaik called upon the U.S. Government to strengthen two existing mechanisms for monitoring human rights abuses – the Leahy Amendment, and the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The Leahy Amendment is part of U.S. foreign assistance legislation and states that the U.S. must review all credible evidence of human rights violations committed by foreign militaries and hold its foreign aid beneficiaries accountable to international law.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2010

Rachel Corrie Foundation Joins First-Ever U.S. Universal Periodic Review

Gina Patnaik (third from left) represents Rachel Corrie Foundation in Geneva.

(Olympia, Washington) – The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday released its draft report on the first Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the U.S. human rights record. The report called for greater transparency and accountability in U.S. foreign military aid and programs. On Thursday, November 4, Gina Patnaik spoke at UN headquarters in Geneva, representing the Rachel Corrie Foundation in a side panel to the U.S. review, and called upon the U.S. Government to enforce two existing mechanisms for monitoring human rights abuses – the “Leahy Amendment,” and the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

Last Friday, a high level delegation of the U.S. government presented the U.S. UPR report and answered questions from more than 50 nations about the U.S. human rights record. The U.S. delegation was led by Esther Brimmer, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs; Harold Koh, Legal Adviser for the U.S. Department of State; and Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. The delegation noted “President Obama’s and Secretary Clinton’s deep commitment to multilateral engagement, human rights, and the rule of law.” The U.S. delegation stated, “By admitting the possibility of imperfection, new opportunities to improve are revealed…”