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U.S. an “empire of arbitrary detention” with worst human rights violations
By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
Freedom from arbitrary detention is a fundamental individual right stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of the United Nations, and an important provision in international human rights treaties.
However, the United States has carried out arbitrary detention in total disregard of its domestic legal provisions and international treaty obligations, causing serious physical and mental harm to the people involved.
The shocking facts and truth that the country has carried out arbitrary detention have laid bare its hypocrisy and double standards with regard to human rights.
The U.S. detention of immigrants at its domestic facilities is a serious violation of the “no use of torture” rule.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security implements a policy of family separation at the U.S. border, which has caused severe suffering and torture to parents and children forcibly separated.
Women in custody at the Irvine County Detention Center in Georgia often suffered medical abuse and neglect.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement regularly places migrants in local jails and prisons, where they suffer various kinds of physical abuse.
There is no specific regulations in the U.S. on how long immigrants should be detained, so the length of detention is decided by the place of detention and economic factors, and some even become indefinite.
In February 2022 alone, more than 9,400 unaccompanied child immigrants were detained by U.S. border law enforcement and some 4,000 of them were held in border custody for more than 72 hours.
According to an article in Politico Magazine, from February 2017 to June 2021, more than 650,000 people detained by the Border Patrol were under 18. More than 220,000 of those children, about one-third, were held for longer than 72 hours.
The UN human rights authority has expressed strong condemnation of the arbitrary detention of immigrants in the U.S.
U.S. practices of arbitrary detention and torture scandals around the world are even more horrible.
The country had been using “prison boats” to hold terrorist suspects since the Clinton administration. As many as 17 warships may have been used as “floating prisons” by the U.S. from 2001 to 2008.
A “Cost of War” report published by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University reveals that after the 9/11 attacks, at least 54 countries and regions have participated in the U.S. black sites network, which has detained hundreds of thousands of people.
Under the excuse of the so-called “War on Terror,” the U.S. has set up black sites in many other countries, covertly detained alleged terrorist suspects, and extracted confessions with torture and other ill-treatment–all of which are typical examples of its wanton destruction of the rule of law and violation of human rights.
Torture scandals have been constantly exposed in the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention camp, the Bagram prison in Afghanistan, and the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Beatings, waterboarding, prolonged sleep deprivation and other enhanced interrogation techniques are outrageous.
“We are still very far from a full acknowledgment of what took place–let alone accountability for it,” The Guardian pointed out in an article, adding that no one was held accountable for systematic practices of torture and rendition in the U.S. black sites, and an honest reckoning is long overdue.
Facing the frequent exposure of serious human rights violations at U.S. “black sites” overseas, the U.S. government has continued to cover up and deny its crimes.
In December 2002, then U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved the use of a range of interrogation techniques at Guantanamo, including sensory deprivation, isolation and the use of vicious dogs. Washington blocked the information and impeded the revealing of findings by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and refused the recommendation made by the UN to shut down the prison.
According to the “Cost of War” report, four months after the death of Gul Rahman, who was held at Bagram prison and died of coldness and torture, the officer in charge of the interrogation was awarded a CIA commendation and $2,500 in cash awards.
In 2004, hundreds of prisoner abuse photos at Abu Ghraib prison were disclosed, but the U.S. military personnel, senior government officials and private military contractors involved have been spared trial. Only some low-level U.S. soldiers went through military trials and got convicted.
The U.S. government even has imposed economic sanctions and entry restrictions on the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor and other officials.
The U.S. has a long history of arbitrary detention and disregard of human rights both at home and abroad, reflecting a deep-seated political culture of racism and violence.
The rise of white supremacy in the country has exacerbated racial conflicts and led to frequent refugee crises in border areas. Race-based arbitrary detention tramples on the basic human rights of ethnic minorities and foreign immigrants. It further tears apart American society, creating social wounds that are difficult to heal.
The fact that the U.S. has arbitrarily detained illegal immigrants at home and set up a large number of “black sites” abroad to create cases of arbitrary detention reflects its deep-seated hegemonic and unilateralist thinking and violent political culture.
The arbitrary detentions of the U.S. at home and abroad tell the world that the country is in every sense an “empire of arbitrary detention” with the worst human rights violations.
The U.S. should face up to and reflect upon its own deplorable record with regard to democracy and human rights, stop politicizing democracy and human rights issues, stop interfering in other countries’ internal affairs in the name of democracy, and stop undermining the human rights of people of other countries.
By Fabian Apechihin
The 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill has moved to the state level following its consideration by the National Assembly, paving the way for state legislatures to consider the proposed amendments.
The development comes amid renewed attention on constitutional reform and ongoing discussions over proposed changes to Nigeria’s governing framework.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over allegations surrounding borrowing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
House spokesperson Akin Rotimi Agbese, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, rejected claims that Wike had undertaken borrowing without the knowledge or approval of the National Assembly.
Agbese said the FCT minister could not independently create a sovereign borrowing obligation, stressing that public borrowing is subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative procedures.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” Agbese said.
He explained that borrowing to finance infrastructure was not unlawful where the required approvals and procedures had been followed.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development is not unlawful in itself, provided the prescribed approvals and procedures are followed,” he added.
The House spokesperson further argued that an increase in the FCT’s debt profile should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of illegal borrowing, citing the scale of infrastructure projects being undertaken in Abuja under Wike.
According to Agbese, the key issue is whether the appropriate approvals were obtained for specific borrowing transactions, rather than simply whether the FCT’s overall debt profile has increased.
The comments come as scrutiny continues over public borrowing, infrastructure financing and the legal procedures governing government debt at both the federal and sub-national levels.
By Fabian Apechihin
The 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill has moved to the state level following its consideration by the National Assembly, paving the way for state legislatures to consider the proposed amendments.
The development comes amid renewed attention on constitutional reform and ongoing discussions over proposed changes to Nigeria’s governing framework.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over allegations surrounding borrowing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
House spokesperson Akin Rotimi Agbese, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, rejected claims that Wike had undertaken borrowing without the knowledge or approval of the National Assembly.
Agbese said the FCT minister could not independently create a sovereign borrowing obligation, stressing that public borrowing is subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative procedures.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” Agbese said.
He explained that borrowing to finance infrastructure was not unlawful where the required approvals and procedures had been followed.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development is not unlawful in itself, provided the prescribed approvals and procedures are followed,” he added.
The House spokesperson further argued that an increase in the FCT’s debt profile should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of illegal borrowing, citing the scale of infrastructure projects being undertaken in Abuja under Wike.
According to Agbese, the key issue is whether the appropriate approvals were obtained for specific borrowing transactions, rather than simply whether the FCT’s overall debt profile has increased.
The comments come as scrutiny continues over public borrowing, infrastructure financing and the legal procedures governing government debt at both the federal and sub-national levels.
By Fabian Apechihin
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reaffirmed its intention to contest the 2027 presidential election despite the decision of Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The party said Wike’s decision was personal and did not alter its position to participate in the presidential election with its candidate, Senator Sandy Onor. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, made the clarification on Wednesday.
According to the party, a recent conversation between Wike and Onor should not be interpreted as a political negotiation between the minister and the PDP.
“He told Nigerians that Sandy is his friend. And they only had a friendly discussion within the umbrella of friendship. So, that is just a personal discussion between him and his friend,” Mohammed said.
He added that Wike’s support for Tinubu did not prevent the PDP from fielding candidates for the presidential, governorship and legislative elections.
Wike had earlier clarified that his support in 2027 was specifically for Tinubu’s presidential re-election and did not amount to an agreement that the PDP would withdraw from other electoral contests. He also said he never promised that the PDP would abandon its candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
“I said I will support the President from day one. I never told Mr President I will join APC,” Wike said.
The minister also maintained that his proposed Rainbow Coalition was not an arrangement with the All Progressives Congress (APC), but rather a platform through which politicians from different parties could mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.
The issue has generated disagreement with some APC governors, who have expressed concern about a political arrangement that could affect the party’s candidates at other levels.
APC Progressive Governors’ Forum Chairman, Hope Uzodinma, said the governors would not support any alliance or arrangement that could weaken the APC or adversely affect its candidates.
Meanwhile, APC presidential campaign council spokesperson Ima Niboro has urged Wike and APC governors to end their public exchanges and concentrate on political mobilisation.
“When I said tone down the rhetoric, I do not mean stop working. Stop talking, go and work,” Niboro said.
He urged political leaders to strengthen their grassroots structures and engage directly with voters rather than continue exchanging statements in the media.
“All this shouting is not taking anybody anywhere. Go and work. Go and establish your authority on your political base,” he said.
2026 Constitution Amendment Bill Moves to States
2026 Constitution Amendment Bill Moves to States
2027: PDP Insists on Presidential Contest Despite Wike’s Support for Tinubu
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