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More Issues»  
 
Imbalance of Powers: How Changes to U.S. Law and Security Since 9/11 Erode Human Rights and Civil Liberties Imbalance of Powers - Abridged Version A
Year of Loss: Fire
and Broken Glass: To receive hard copies of these publications, contact LCHR at 212 845-5275
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Recent
Hunger Strike at Wackenhut Asylum seekers at the 200-bed center in Queens, New York recently engaged in a hunger-strike to protest a range of concerns relating to their detention. Among the concerns raised by asylum seekers and other immigration detainees was the length of detention, the lack of fair DHS parole practices, and the jail-like conditions of their detention. More» Malaysia: Workers Rights Activist Denied Travel Documents Malaysian human rights and labor activist Irene Fernandez should not be barred by Malaysian authorities from attending conferences with other activists in the United States and Canada this month. More» New Report on Civil Liberties Since 9/11 Human rights
protections in the United States have eroded due to changes in U.S. law
and security policy since 9/11, LCHR argues in a recently released report
called Assessing the New Normal. The report says that these erosions
are not temporary results of emergency measures, but rather the result
of an unwarranted expansion of executive power and the abandonment of
constitutional principles and basic criminal procedures. Investigation
Needed The White House should take immediate action to ensure that U.S. officials are not transferring individuals from U.S. custody to other countries to be tortured, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights said today. More» Zimbabwe: Rights Lawyer Assaulted by Police A full independent investigation should be conducted into the circumstances surrounding the alleged beating by a policeman of Beatrice Mtetwa, a high-profile human rights lawyer in Zimbabwe. More Increased Scrutiny Needed To Assess Human Rights Records of Key Allies in War on Terror In a new report, we evaluate the 2002 State Department Human Rights reporting on some of the United States’ closest allies—and how the strain of the "War on Terrorism" may be affecting the Department’s annual review. More» Lawyers Committee Commends Decision to Award Iranian Activist Nobel Peace Prize The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights applauded the selection of Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian judge, lawyer and human rights advocate, as the recipient of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize."Shirin is the midwife of the human rights movement in Iran," said Neil Hicks, a middle east expert with LCHR. More» Guatemala: U.N. Should Advance Investigative Commission The United Nations should move quickly to establish a commission to investigate
political violence in Guatemala, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch,
and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights said in a
letter sent to U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. More»
Bangladesh: A Report on Efforts to Improve Conditions in Garment Factories Bangladesh’s garment workers have long been subject to chronic violations of their human rights in the workplace. A new LCHR report analyzes an initiative by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Bangladesh to use monitoring methodologies as part of a strategy to improve working conditions and protect workers’ rights in Bangladesh’s garment factories. Egypt: Sending Information to Human Rights Organizations is Not a Crime The Egyptian Government is once again using an obscure law and the emergency
courts to try to silence dissent and intimidate human rights defenders
in the country. The law, which holds Egyptians accountable for “disseminating
false information abroad that is harmful to Egypt’s interests,”
was cited in charges filed last month against Ashraf Ibrahim, a 35-year-old
political activist scheduled to be tried in front of a state emergency
court in December. More» Patriot Act: LCHR Rebuts Attorney General’s Speech Attorney General John Ashcroft is touring the U.S., defending the Bush
Administration’s efforts to protect America against terrorism, with
a focus on the effects of the USA Patriot Act. UN Bombing: Lawyers Committee Mourns Death of Colleagues, Condemns Attacks on UN Personnel LCHR mourns the deaths of Arthur C. Helton, Sergio Vieira de Mello, and other colleagues killed in the bombing at the United Nations in Baghdad on August 19. Press Statement on Arthur C.
Helton Liberia: No Safe Haven for Indicted War Criminal Charles Taylor Following
President Charles Taylor’s resignation, neighboring states should
deny him safe haven and ensure that he appears before the Special Court
for Sierra Leone. More»
Zimbabwe: African Civil Society Groups Take On Human Rights Crisis The
participants in the African Civil Society Consultation on Zimbabwe, representing
civil society groups from Zimbabwe, Botswana, South African, Zambia, Malawi,
Namibia and Kenya, issued a statement condemning the human rights crisis
in Zimbabwe and calling for urgent action by regional governments and
the international community to end the serious human rights violations. Enemy Combatants: Legal Briefs Challenge President's Ability to Detain Without Charge In a legal brief submitted to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the Lawyers Committee and five other public interest groups, whose philosophical point-of-view span the political spectrum, argue that the administration has no legal authority to hold Jose Padilla, an American Citizen, without charge and without access to a lawyer. Read LCHR Press Release Read the Brief Leading Rights Groups Urge Security Council to Preserve Independence of Rwanda Tribunal As the U.N. Security Council considers changes in the office of the prosecutor
of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), human rights
groups urged the Council to safeguard the independence of the ICTR and
its capacity to render justice fully and impartially. I.C.C.: U.S. Resolution Offers Immunity to Liberian Peacekeepers The United States continued to pursue its political agenda aimed at undermining the International Criminal Court when it carved out a special exception from ICC prosecution for international peacekeepers headed to Liberia. More» Justice
Department’s Civil Rights Violations under Patriot Act Mexico: Investigation into Human Rights Lawyer's Death Troubling The Lawyers Committee is concerned by the Special Prosecutor’s emphatic conclusion that Digna Ochoa’s death was “not a homicide,” a finding based largely on a contentious description and analysis of Ochoa’s personal life over the previous two decades. More» Celebrate
World Day for International Justice ICC: US Threatens Aid To Countries That Support Court The U.S. released a list of 50 countries recently to which aid may be suspended because they have not signed bilateral agreements exempting Americans from possible prosecution by the International Criminal Court. More» N. Ireland:
European Court Calls Investigation into Murder of Lawyer "Inadequate"
North Korea: U.S. Bill Would Protect North Korean Refugees LCHR supports legislation introduced on June 25 by Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) that allows North Korean refugees to apply for refugee status or asylum in the United States. More» Cuba: Imprisonment
of Dissidents Upheld Military Commissions: Final Rules Fail to Include Fair Trial Guarantees The Defense Department issued eight “Military Commissions Instructions” on April 30, 2003. These instructions set out the final definitions of crimes and operating rules for the military commission trials planned for suspected terrorists. More» LCHR Guide to the Final Rules Europe
Must Fight Anti-Semitism Op-ed by former UN High Commissioner Mary Robinson about antisemitism Appeals Court Authorizes Secret Arrests A federal appeals court decision issued recently allows the government to withhold the names of non-citizens detained in the United States after September 11. More» Guatemala: Mack Case Goes to Supreme Court The Guatemalan Supreme Court should overturn the ruling of an appeals court which set free three senior military officers who allegedly ordered the 1990 stabbing death of the anthropologist Myrna Mack. More» Refugees: Asylum Seekers Suffer Behind Bars A new medical study released on June 17 by Physicians for Human Rights confirms that refugees seeking asylum in the U.S. who are detained suffer severe physical and mental consequences. More» 9/11 Detainees: Justice Department Improvements Important, But More Needed The Justice Department will take steps to better protect the civil liberties of immigrants swept up in future anti-terrorism investigations, but more changes need to be implemented to ensure that immigrants’ fundamental human rights are not violated. More» ICC: States Send U.S. a Message On June 12 the U.N. Security Council approved the controversial resolution shielding U.N. Peacekeepers from the ICC. Three states abstained, preventing the U.S. from achieving a consensus. More» Zimbabwe: The Zimbabwean government has responded to a public strike to protest political and economic conditions in the country with further arrests and detention of opposition and civil society activists. The Lawyers Committee is deeply concerned by the heavy-handed tactics being used to deny freedom of expression, association and assembly. More» Egypt: New Law Threatens Existence of Some Rights Organizations The Egyptian government is using a new law to stifle public debate and restrict the development of human rights groups and other independent civil society organizations. More» Workers Rights: Major Companies Go Public with Rights Audits Seven shoe and clothing companies released today, on the internet, the
results of independent audits of factories that produce their goods. The
audits provide a detailed account of workers’ rights conditions
in those factories. More»
9/11 Detainees: Justice Department Report Confirms Abuses LCHR
applauded the report released on June 2, noting that it reflects many
of the Lawyers Committee’s findings on injustices suffered by those
detained in the U.S. after 9-11. More»
Congo: International Action Needed The escalating crisis in the province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo urgently requires an international response to protect civilians, especially refugees and internally displaced people, and to ensure accountability for atrocities. More» Zimbabwe: G8 Leaders Must Act Resolution of the current crisis in Zimbabwe is fundamental to the success of the G8’s Africa Action Plan. On May 16, LCHR sent a letter to the G8 heads of state, urging them to focus on the crisis at their June Summit in France. More Justice Department Seeks to Undermine Important Human Rights Law The Justice Department is urging the 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals to reinterpret U.S. law so that those who commit
human rights abuses abroad could no longer be held accountable for their
actions in U.S. civil courts. Read background on the Alien Tort Claims Act Accountability for Past Abuses in Iraq How accountability issues are addressed in post-war Iraq could make or break the prospects for peace and stability in the country, the Lawyers Committee says. More» Military Commission: Rules Fail on Fair Trial Guarantees Trials of suspected terrorists could begin soon. More» LCHR Urges Attorney General to Release Report on Treatment of Post 9-11 Detainees More than a year ago, the Justice Department Office of Inspector General announced the launch of an investigation into allegations of civil rights abuses against post 9-11 detainees. LCHR has released guidelines for evaluating the results of this investigation, which have still not been made public. Read "Grading the DOJ Office of Inspector General Report on the Detention of Non-Citizens in the Aftermath of 9/11" Read LCHR Letter to Attorney General Ashcroft (5/20/30) Lawyers Committee calls upon G8 Leaders to Act on Zimbabwe Resolution of the current crisis in Zimbabwe is fundamental to the success of the G8’s Africa Action Plan. On May 16, LCHR sent a letter to the G8 heads of state, urging them to focus on the crisis at their June Summit in France. More» Haitian Asylum Seekers Targeted for Indefinite Detention On April 17 Attorney General Ashcroft issued a sweeping precedent-setting decision which portrays Haitian asylum seekers arriving by sea as threats to national security and effectively calls for blanket detentions of Haitians and other asylum seekers. More» Northern Ireland Police Investigation Confirms
Role of UK Security Forces in 1989 Murder of Human Rights Lawyer Human Rights & Post-war Iraq As the war in Iraq continues, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights will monitor, analyze, and conduct advocacy on the following areas. Post-War Outflow of People from Iraq Creates Dual Challenge UN Human Rights Monitors Needed in Iraq U.S. Proposal for Iraq Tribunal is "Wrong Plan" at "Wrong Time" Ensuring Protection for Detainees Pursuant to International Humanitarian Law Ensuring Protection for Refugees New UN Guidelines on Iraqi Asylum Seekers Could Undermine Refugee Protection (04/17/03) |
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