Stand Your Ground laws found “incompatible” with the “inherent right to life” by United Nations Human Rights Committee

By Sandra Khalifa

Geneva, Switzerland — Yesterday, multiple members of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UN HRC) found Florida’s Stand Your Ground law and similar laws around the country to be “incompatible” with the “inherent right to life” - Article Six of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR). ICCPR is an international human rights treaty that the U.S. ratified in 1992. Long considered customary international law, the treaty includes protections such as the right to life, freedom from discrimination, freedom of speech, and many other civil and political rights.

This week, Dream Defenders’ Legal & Policy Director Ahmad Abuznaid joined hundreds of United States human rights groups and advocates to present to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UN HRC), as well as the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, statements on how implementation of Stand Your Ground laws is rife with racial bias, and how policies like it endanger the right to life and communities of color across the country. This has been especially apparent with the Jordan Davis and Trayvon Martin cases in Florida, among others.

“The UN human rights committee members expressed the compassion and concern that has been missing from leadership in the state of Florida, and the United States, related to Stand Your Ground and its catastrophic effects,” said Legal & Policy Director Ahmad Abuznaid. “While our Federal government maintains that this is a state issue, we reject that assertion. The DOJ admitted that these laws ‘sow dangerous conflict in our neighborhoods’ - if so, the DOJ needs to show leadership in encouraging states to reverse these laws, ensuring respect for the right to life.”

“The UN Human Rights Committee members clearly see how Stand Your Ground laws not only call into question whether the US is adequately protecting its citizens’ right to life, but also how these laws confuse juries and can lead to unjust results,” said Meena Jagannath, attorney from the Community Justice Project of Florida Legal Services, who has been working with the Dream Defenders on this issue.

The issue of Stand Your Ground laws was among the few, if not the only issue raised by three different UN HRC members, all questioning the law’s compatibility with international human rights principles. The U.S. delegation, present to respond to questioning by UN HRC members, completely neglected to respond to criticisms regarding Stand Your Ground in their written report. We await their response Friday.

Meanwhile, Florida legislators have been swiftly moving on a Stand Your Ground expansion bill, SB /HB89. The bill has passed out of the House and passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee on the first day of Florida’s legislative session. It would extend immunity under Stand Your Ground to those who fire warning shots at another individual based on subjective fears or perceptions. The bill is ill-conceived and should be reconsidered in light of national, and now international, concerns regarding Florida-type Stand Your Ground laws.

Visit www.dreamdefenders.org/DDATTheUN for resources on the Dream Defenders’ trip to the Geneva, including daily blog posts; Ahmad Abuznaid’s statement to the Deputy High Commissioner; and the Dream Defenders’ shadow report submitted to the United Nations on Stand Your Ground.