The UN asks to guarantee the equal right to vote in the US in the face of some state laws

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed his concern on Monday about some state laws in the United States that make it difficult for citizens, especially African Americans, to vote.

The official asked the authorities of that country, at all levels, to do what is necessary to guarantee that the right to vote is respected and equal, in accordance with international standards.

Türk’s warning comes in a context of presidential elections, which are scheduled for November 5 of this year, in which part of Congress will also be renewed. The high commissioner noted that these elections are an opportunity for the United States to demonstrate its commitment to democratic principles and universal values.

In the presentation of his global report on human rights, Türk dedicated a passage to remind US policymakers that they must comply with the recommendations made by a group of UN human rights experts when they visited the country in 2019. .

The experts concluded that the US must guarantee that suffrage will be “non-discriminatory, equal and universal,” and that it must eliminate legal, administrative and practical barriers that prevent the effective exercise of this right.

Türk mentioned that a 2021 presidential executive order recognizes that disproportionate, discriminatory policies and other obstacles have restricted the right to vote for African Americans, and emphasizes the need to overturn them.

But the high commissioner warned that, according to the monitoring carried out by the Brennan Center for Justice, an organization dedicated to the analysis of public policies in the United States, at least 14 states have approved laws that make it difficult to vote, while another 23 states have adopted norms to facilitate participation in the vote.

“In a context of intense political polarization, it is important to emphasize equal rights and the equal value of each citizen’s vote,” Türk stressed.

The high commissioner urged the US authorities to respect and protect the right to vote of all citizens, without distinction of race, color, origin, sex, age, political opinion or any other condition. He also called on them to cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms and implement their recommendations.

With information from EFE