27 January 2007

The state of human rights

On Tuesday, the day of George W. Bush's State of the Union address, Amnesty International USA released its human rights agenda for the new Congress.

An excerpt:
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Amnesty International urges the Congress to make human rights a central force in foreign and domestic policy. The America we believe in would set an example in upholding international human rights and humanitarian law. It would embrace not only political and civil rights but also economic, social, and cultural rights, acting, for example, to protect the rights of Gulf coast residents displaced by hurricane Katrina, and it would seek to join the community of nations that have abolished the death penalty. The America we believe in would be a steadfast voice for the voiceless and it would offer consistent advocacy for freedom and justice for all. The America we believe in leads the world on human rights.

Restore US Leadership on Human Rights: End Abuses Related to the War on Terror, Uphold Rights in the United States

The America we believe in would close Guantanamo and restore Habeas Corpus, it would not tolerate torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, it would end Extraordinary Renditions and disclose Secret Prisons, and it would prevent the profiling of individuals based solely on their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.

- Guantanamo has come to symbolize US human rights violations committed in the name of the "war on terror." Since January 11, 2002, the United States has detained over 750 men from over 45 nations in Guantanamo. Despite allegations of torture and ill-treatment, international condemnation, three deaths in custody, several unfavorable court decisions, and not a single conviction of a detainee for any crime, the US government has responded by building more permanent facilities. No amount of permanent structures will make the detentions at Guantanamo lawful -- it is time to shut it down. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) broke its habitual silence in 2003 to express its concern about the impact of such prolonged indefinite detention, and, in a 2004 confidential report that was leaked to the press, the ICRC charged that the US intentionally engaged in methods "tantamount to torture" against prisoners held at Guantanamo. There are increasing concerns about the deteriorating mental health of detainees due to increasingly harsh conditions of isolation. It is time to bring America back into the community of nations as a country that is recognized globally for upholding human rights and the rule of law. Congress should ensure that all detainees in Guantanamo be charged immediately and given a fair trial, or released unconditionally and not sent anywhere where they would face torture or other human rights abuses. Congress should conduct oversight hearings on current conditions for detainees and ongoing policies.

- Interrogation techniques that rise to the level of torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment (CID) or violate Common Article 3 are strictly prohibited from use by the US military and any person in a Department of Defense facility as of December 2006. This was made clear by the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA), a Supreme Court decision (Hamdan), and the Army Field Manual regulations that apply to all services. Since the vast majority of people in detention are in DoD facilities this is a significant step forward. The CIA is bound by the prohibition on CID through the DTA and bound by Common Article 3 according to the Supreme Court (Hamdan decision). However, the Military Commission Act (MCA) of 2006 leaves ambiguous the available interrogation techniques and the future of secret detentions. Vice President Cheney’s dismissive comments on "waterboarding" (explicitly prohibited in the Army Field Manual, for example) as a "no brainer" technique for use is a clear indication that more needs to be done. Congress should amend the MCA to restore provisions of the War Crimes Act that criminalize violations of Common Article 3, especially "outrages on personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment".

- The Bush Administration has defended its practice of taking suspects into secret prisons and has refused to specify the standards of treatment that apply to those held there. This practice amounts to secret incommunicado detention and may even qualify as conducting "disappearances." Congress should pass legislation to end the practice of using secret prisons, ensure that all persons in US custody or effective US control are subject to the protections against torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and standards encompassed in Common Article 3, and require that, at a minimum, anyone in US custody or effective US control be registered and visited by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

- The Writ of Habeas Corpus is a historic legal right to challenge one’s detention. It is considered a fundamental check on a government’s ability to detain people arbitrarily. The DTA stripped the right to habeas for Guantanamo detainees. The Supreme Court in the Hamdan decision stated that the DTA Habeas stripping was not retroactive. By implication, this decision allowed the hundreds of habeas cases that were already in place for Guantanamo detainees to go forward. The MCA, in a direct response to the Hamdan decision, applies to all foreign nationals held as unlawful enemy combatants by the United States, stripping them of habeas rights and the right to file any other type of case relating to their detention. Senator Specter introduced an amendment to remove this provision; the amendment failed by a vote of 48-51. The MCA blocked the cases of hundreds of detainees, many with deteriorating health conditions. The right to file a habeas case is extremely important when coupled with the overly broad definition of "unlawful enemy combatant," a status not recognized in international law. The definition allows the US government to designate a person an "unlawful enemy combatant" based on vague or tenuous connections, and does not require that the person be picked up on a battlefield or during an armed combat. The MCA must be amended to restore the centuries old right to Habeas, to narrow or reject the definition of what constitutes an "unlawful enemy combatant," and to restore the US reputation as upholding basic due process.

- Extraordinary Renditions have been used by the Bush Administration to send people for interrogation to countries notorious for using torture. The hypocritical message is that the US may oppose torture publicly, but will send suspects to a country that will torture for them. The United States must end the current practice of extraordinary renditions by providing critical safeguards and confirming that the prohibition on returns to a place where someone is likely to be tortured applies anywhere a person is in US custody or effective US control. For the past two years, the US Congress has passed amendments to annual appropriations bills to restrict the use of funding for renditions. A permanent fix in the form of legislation is needed.

- Racial profiling has historically been used to target the African American, Native American and Hispanic/Latino American community and, since September 11, 2001, law enforcement has increased the use of racial profiling of Arab American, Muslim American, and South Asian American communities. Under the US Constitution and international treaties, every person has the fundamental right to equal protection under the law regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. Targeting people for law enforcement activity based solely on their race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin is humiliating, degrading, and discriminatory, and it has been proven to be an ineffective investigatory technique. Congress should pass an End Racial Profiling Act to ban the use of racial profiling in federal, state, and local law enforcement.
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Take Action: Tell Congress to support this human rights agenda.

2 comments:

  1. I read your interesting blogs and thought you may be interested in this story.This Book Changed my mind about the Death Penalty. I feel the more people know about these issues maybe some things will change. At one time I wrote this about the book I read: Where Is Dennis Fritz, You may say after reading John Grisham's Wonderful Book "The Innocent man", Grisham's First non-fiction book. The Other Innocent Man hardly mentioned in "The Innocent Man" has his own compelling and fascinating story to tell in "Journey Toward Justice". John Grisham endorsed Dennis Fritz's Book on the Front Cover. Dennis Fritz wrote his Book Published by Seven Locks Press, to bring awareness about False Convictions, and The Death Penalty. "Journey Toward Justice" is a testimony to the Triumph of the Human Spirit and is a Stunning and Shocking Memoir. Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of murder after a swift trail. The only thing that saved him from the Death Penalty was a lone vote from a juror. "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham is all about Ronnie Williamson, Dennis Fritz's was his co-defendant. Ronnie Williamson was sentenced to the Death Penalty. Both were exonerated after spending 12 years in prison. Both Freed by a simple DNA test, The real killer was one of the Prosecution's Key Witness. John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" tells half the story. Dennis Fritz's Story needs to be heard. Read about how he wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense and immersed himself in an intense study of law. He was a school teacher and a ordinary man from Ada Oklahoma, whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975. On May 8, 1987 while raising his young daughter alone, he was put under arrest and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder. Since then, it has been a long hard road filled with twist and turns. Dennis Fritz is now on his "Journey Toward Justice". He never blamed the Lord and solely relied on his faith in God to make it through. He waited for God's time and never gave up.

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  2. Attention Comrades,
    Please visit http://ministryoflove.wordpress.com to learn about our creative protest of the Military Commissions Act, or just watch our video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOq5yHDkQgY
    Regards,
    O'Brien

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