by Our Foreign Desk

THE United States was forced to defend its human rights record yesterday at the United Nations in Geneva.

Justice Department official James Cadogan faced a grilling by delegates at a meeting of the UN human rights council (UNHRC) over a variety of abuses.

Many nations, including Mexico and Malaysia, took issue with the excessive use of force by US police officers against ethnic minorities.

Washington also faced calls to work toward abolishing the death penalty, to make good President Barack Obama’s 2008 election promise to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and to ensure effective safeguards against abuses of internet surveillance.

“We must rededicate ourselves to ensuring that our civil-rights laws live up to their promise,” admitted Mr Cadogan in the light of recent high-profile cases of police killing unarmed black citizens that have sparked mass protests.

“These events challenge us to do better and to work harder for progress through both dialogue and action.

”He added that the government had the authority to prosecute officials who “wilfully use excessive force” and that criminal charges had been brought against more than 400 officers in the previous six years.

Countries including Brazil and Kenya voiced concern over the extent of US telephone and internet snooping following reports about the activities of the National Security Agency.

But US Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Bitkower responded: “US intelligence collection programmes and activities are subject to stringent and multilayered oversight mechanisms.”

He claimed that the US did not collect intelligence to suppress dissent or to give domestic businesses a competitive advantage and that there was “extensive and effective oversight to prevent abuse.”

While Mr Bitkower conceded that the issue of the death penalty was of “extensive debate and controversy” within the US, he argued there were “heightened procedural safeguards” for defendants accused of capital crimes.

Brigadier General Richard Gross told the council that the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison remained “a national imperative.”

The council reviews every member nation’s rights record about once every four years. The US last faced scrutiny in 2010.