198 USA: Human dignity denied: Torture and accountability in the 'war on terror' Ensure that no statement coerced as a result of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including long-term indefinite detention without charge or trial, or any other information or evidence obtained directly or indirectly as the result of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, regardless of who was responsible for such acts, is admitted as evidence against any defendant, except the perpetrator of the human rights violation in question; Revoke the Military Order on the Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain NonCitizens in the War Against Terrorism, and abandon trials by military commission; ➤ Expose and reject any use of coerced evidence obtained by other governments from people held in their own or US custody; Refrain from transferring any coerced evidence for the use of other governments. 9. Provide effective training It should be made clear during the training of all officials involved in the custody, interrogation or medical care of prisoners that torture is a criminal act. Officials should be instructed that they have the right and duty to refuse to obey any order to torture. The US authorities should: > Ensure that all personnel involved in detention and interrogation, including all members of the armed forces or other government agencies, private contractors, medical personnel and interpreters, receive full training, with input from international experts, on the international prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and their obligation to expose it; Ensure that all members of the armed forces and members of other government agencies, including the CIA, private contractors, medical personnel and interpreters, receive full training in the scope and meaning of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, as well as international human rights law and standards, with input from international experts; ➤ Ensure that full training be similarly provided on international human rights law and standards regarding the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, including the prohibition on "disappearances”, with input from international experts; ➤ Ensure that all military and other agency personnel, as well as medical personnel and private contractors, receive cultural awareness training appropriate to whatever theatre of operation they may be deployed into. 10. Provide reparation USA: Human dignity denied: Torture and accountability in the 'war on terror' 199 Victims of torture and their dependants should be entitled to obtain prompt reparation from the state including restitution, fair and adequate financial compensation and appropriate medical care and rehabilitation. The US authorities should: ➤ Ensure that anyone who has suffered torture or ill-treatment while in US custody has access to, and the means to obtain, full reparation including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition, wherever they may reside; Ensure that all those who have been subject to unlawful arrest by the USA receive full compensation. 11. Ratify international treaties All governments should ratify without reservations international treaties containing safeguards against torture, including the UN Convention against Torture with declarations providing for individual and inter-state complaints. Governments should comply with the recommendations of international bodies and experts on the prevention of torture. The US authorities should: ➤ Make a public commitment to fully adhere to international human rights and humanitarian law and standards - treaties, other instruments, and customary law and respect the decisions and recommendations of international and regional human rights bodies; Make a public commitment to fully adhere to the Geneva Conventions, and to respecting the advice and recommendations of the International Committee of the Red Cross; Ratify Additional Protocols I and II to the Geneva Conventions; ➤ Withdraw all conditions attached to the USA's ratification of the UN Convention against Torture; Provide the USA's overdue second report to the Committee against Torture, as Withdraw all limiting conditions attached to the USA's ratification of the Provide the USA's overdue reports to the Human Rights Committee; ➤ Ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture; Ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; Ratify the American Convention on Human Rights; 200 USA: Human dignity denied: Torture and accountability in the 'war on terror' Ratify the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons without 12. Exercise international responsibility Governments should use all available channels to intercede with the governments of countries where torture is reported. They should ensure that transfers of training and equipment for military, security or police use do not facilitate torture. Governments must not forcibly return a person to a country where he or she risks being tortured. The US authorities should: Withdraw the USA's understanding to Article 3 of the UN Convention against Torture, and publicly state the USA's commitment to the principle of nonrefoulement, and ensure that no legislation undermines this protection in any way; Cease the practice of "renditions" that bypass human rights protections; ensure that all transfers of detainees between the USA and other countries fully comply with international human rights law. REPORT, CENTER FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, "THE STATE OF CIVIL LIBERTIES ONE YEAR LATER," 2002 The State of Civil Liberities: One Year Later Erosion of Civil Liberties in the Post 9/11 Era A Report Issued By The Center for Constitutional Rights The Center for Constitutional Rights is a non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys working on behalf of civil rights activists in the Deep South, CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change. Since September 11th, CCR has worked to ensure that the fear of terrorism does not erode the rights and liberties that define American society. We have filed seven lawsuits to challenge particularly egregious violations of Constitutional rights and international law related to the government response to the attacks of one year ago, both within the United States and in the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These suits seek to uphold the principle that government action is only legitimate when it accords with fundamental rights of the people as well as the rule of law. Summary On September 11, 2001 the United States was brutally attacked by terrorists. The immediate damage included the destruction of the World Trade Center and a wing of the Pentagon, as well as the deaths of thousands of people. Since that time, the Bush Administration, the United States Justice Department and the United States Congress have enacted a series of Executive Orders, regulations, and laws that have seriously undermined civil liberties, the checks and balances that are essential to the structure of our democratic government, and indeed, democracy itself. The Constitution of the United States separates the federal government into three distinct branches and provides a system of "checks and balances" that prevent any one branch of government from accumulating excessive power. The Executive branch, by using Executive Orders and emergency interim agency regulations as its tools of choice for combating terrorism, has deliberately chosen methodologies that are largely outside the purview of both the legislature and the judiciary. These Executive Orders and agency regulations violate the U.S. Constitution, the laws of the United States, and international and humanitarian law. As a result, the war on terror is largely being conducted by Executive fiat and the constitutional guarantees of both citizens and non-citizens alike have been seriously compromised. Additionally, the actions of the government have been shrouded in a cloak of secrecy that is incompatible with democratic government. Hundreds of non-citizens have been rounded up and detained, many for months, in violation of constitutional protections, judicial decisional authority and INS policy. The government has repeatedly resisted requests for information regarding the detainees by loved ones, lawyers and the press; it has denied detainees access to legal representatives; and has conducted its hearings in secret, in some cases denying the very existence of such hearings. In a democracy, the actions of the government must be transparent or our ability to vote on policies and the people who create those policies becomes meaningless. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the government's actions has been its attack on the Bill of Rights, the very cornerstone of our American democracy. The War on Terror has seriously compromised the First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights of citizens and non-citizens alike. From the USA PATRIOT Act's over-broad definition of domestic terrorism, to the FBI's new powers of search and surveillance, to the indefinite detention of both citizens and non-citizens without formal charges, the principles of free speech, due process, and equal protection under Finally, the United States' actions with regard to prisoners held at Camp Delta at the Guantanamo Bay naval station have been in direct violation of the Geneva Conventions. These prisoners are being held as "unlawful combatants," a term that has no meaning in international law. The government's disregard for international law can only serve to encourage other nations to act likewise and undermine the very War on Terrorism it seeks to fight. The result of all of these actions has been the deliberate, persistent, and unnecessary erosion of the basic rights that protect every citizen and non-citizen in the United States. A free society demands the rule of law. Without it, democracy is meaningless. The government has consistently refused to recognize the protections afforded by the US Constitution and international law, and in doing so, it has failed in its responsibility to maintain a democratic society that is both open to, and accountable to, the people. Introduction In the year since terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, there has been a dramatic transformation in the relationship between the government and the people of this country. In the name of fighting terrorism, the Executive Branch has assumed sweeping powers that show little regard for the principles embedded in the United States Constitution or the protections afforded by it. In the process, the Executive Branch has undermined the political compact between government and the governed that is essential to a democratic system. This Report offers an assessment of the state of checks and balances that are the pillars of our constitutional system, and of individual civil liberties guaranteed under that system, in the wake of the Administration's security efforts. In order to ensure the continued existence of our free and democratic society, we must continue to follow those basic principles that maintain the balance between the need to govern effectively and the need to maintain individual freedoms. We believe that there are at least five basic principles that define this balance: 1. The Government must be accountable to the people through fair elections in 2. The Government may impose punishment only after the conclusion of fair, 3. The Government may not discriminate against individuals or groups on the 4. The Government must abide by the system of checks and balances set forth in 5. People must be free to express ideas, regardless of their content, without fear. |