Governor Brewer Condemns U.S. State Department Report to UN Human Rights Council

Press Release

In correspondence sent today to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Governor Jan Brewer has condemned the "Universal Periodic Review" report submitted to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Governor Brewer has requested that Secretary Clinton amend the report to the United Nations to remove the paragraph on S.B. 1070.

In her letter to Secretary of State Clinton, Governor Brewer stated "Simply put, it is downright offensive that the State Department included the State of Arizona and S.B. 1070 in a report to the United Nations Council on
Human Rights, whose members include such renowned human rights "champions' as Cuba and Libya." Governor Brewer additionally stated, "The idea of our own American government submitting the duly enacted laws of a State of the United States to "review' by the United Nations is internationalism run amok and unconstitutional. Human rights as guaranteed by the United States and Arizona Constitutions are expressly protected in S.B. 1070 and defended vigorously by my Administration."

The State Department's report takes credit for the "…sophistication and breadth of [the United States'] anti-trafficking efforts" while in fact many human rights problems are occurring because of the decade-old or
more enforcement policy by the federal government to secure the border in San Diego and El Paso and leave the Tucson Sector less secured. This policy choice forces the illegal immigrant trafficking across the harsh Arizona desert resulting in life-and-death consequences. Governor Brewer stated that "If the federal government secured the entire border and enforced our immigration laws, these human rights problems would not be occurring for citizens, legal residents and illegal immigrants."

Members of the United Nations Human Rights Council are set to review the Administration's controversial and unprecedented report later this year. The letter to the Secretary requests that the Administration amend and remove the offensive section of the report relating to the State of Arizona and S.B.
1070. If not removed, Governor Brewer stated that "the State of Arizona will fight any attempt by the U.S. Department of State and the United Nations to interfere with the duly enacted laws of the State of Arizona in accordance with the U.S. Constitution."

The report by the U.S. State Department to the U.N. Human Rights Council can be found at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/146379.pdf.

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