Human Rights First: Black Lives Matter, Police Violence is a Human Rights Abuse

Americans of all colors, creeds, and political persuasions are justifiably outraged by the senseless killings by police of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, and so many others.
The increasingly militarized response to street protests is similarly concerning, as is the deployment of personnel from government agencies like Customs and Border Patrol, who are not trained or prepared to respond to this situation.

As an organization that calls out human rights abuses around the world, Human Rights First must speak out about these abuses here in the United States. Were we to be silent, we would be complicit.

“A government’s oppression of an ethnic minority would be unconscionable anywhere in the world, and it is especially reprehensible in the United States,” said Michael Breen, President and CEO of Human Rights First. “African American people have survived human rights abuse for four hundred years. It is long past time for that systematic targeting to stop. ”

Human Rights First knows that Black lives matter and looks forward to partnering with and supporting movements and activists working on these human rights issues here in the United States. Protection from police brutality, defense of voting rights, decarceration and developing permanent paths to prosperity must be part of any plan to change the American experience for our fellow citizens who have been denied equality and justice for too long.