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How can these U.N. troublemakers not see the difference? In other countries, they're protesting against unemployment, political corruption and control by an oligarchy, and their goverment is repressing them with military tactics. Here, they're... just malcontents! Yeah, that's it:
WASHINGTON -- Federal officials have yet to respond to two United Nations human rights envoys who formally requested that the U.S. government protect Occupy protesters against excessive force by law enforcement officials.
In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the two envoys called on U.S. officials to "explain the behavior of police departments that violently disbanded some Occupy protests last fall" and expressed concern that excessive use of force "could have been related to [the protesters'] dissenting views, criticisms of economic policies, and their legitimate work in the defense of human rights and fundamental freedoms."
The envoys also reminded the U.S. government of its international obligations to "take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights and freedoms of all peaceful protesters be respected."
The letter, from Frank La Rue, who serves as the U.N. special rapporteur for the protection of free expression, and Maina Kiai, the special rapporteur for freedom of peaceful assembly, was sent in December 2011.
It was publicly released last week in connection with the 20th annual U.N. Human Rights Council meeting, which started Monday and at which both rapporteurs -- independent experts sent out to investigate human rights problems around the world -- will make their annual reports.
The U.S. government has not answered the letter. A State Department spokeswoman told HuffPost that "the U.S. will be replying," but she couldn't say when or how. "We do not comment on the substance of diplomatic correspondence," she said.
