Human Rights

Secret CIA Document Could Unravel Case For Torture

December 22, 2014 Ali Watkins, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Human Rights, Obama, Torture

The CIA claims the torture tactics it used in the years following 9/11 were legal and saved American lives. And despite what the Senate study alleges, the agency insists it never lied about the torture program. One internal CIA document, though, could be key to discrediting this defense. And at this very moment, it’s tucked away in a Senate safe. Over the past five years, this document, known colloquially as the Panetta Review, has made its way to the center of an unprecedented feud between the Senate Intelligence Committee and the CIA. Committee members, who have spent those years investigating the torture program the CIA ran between roughly 2002 and 2006, believe the Panetta Review reveals that there was doubt within the agency itself about the morality and effectiveness of torture.

Criminal Complaint Filed Against Bush Era Torture Architects

December 21, 2014 Staff, www.ecchr.de Organize! Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfield, George Tenet, George W. Bush, Germany, Human Rights, Torture

The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) has lodged criminal complaints against former CIA head George Tenet, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other members of the administration of former US President George W. Bush. The ECCHR is accusing Tenet, Rumsfeld and a series of other persons of the war crime of torture under paragraph 8 section 1(3) of the German Code of Crimes against International Law (Völkerstrafgesetzbuch). The constituent elements of the crime of torture were most recently established in the case by the US Senate in its report on CIA interrogation methods. “The architects of the torture system - politicians, officials, secret service agents, lawyers and senior army officials – should be brought before the courts,” says ECCHR General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck, who is appearing today in connection with the issue in front of the German Parliamentary Committee on legal affairs. “By investigating members of the Bush administration, Germany can help to ensure that those responsible for abduction, abuse and illegal detention do not go unpunished.”

Beating Back Austerity: Lessons From Fighting Irish

December 18, 2014 Justin Weeds, www.detroitwaterbrigade.org Resist! Austerity, Detroit, Human Rights, Water

The Detroit Water Brigade was honored to join the Irish Right2Water Campaign for International Human Rights Day in Dublin on December 10th. We traveled across the country to meet communities actively resisting the Irish government’s plan to privatize and commodify Ireland’s public water supply – a plan that would drive the country into even more bond-financed debt in order to enrich bankers and their European Union technocrat lapdogs. The anti-water charges campaign, however, is winning. Prime Minister Enda Kenny’s ruling Fine Gael party has watched its ratings sink to an 11-year low, and the minor concessions offered by the government to the overwhelmingly-popular campaign have only galvanized more people to take to the streets and awakened a once-apathetic and dormant populace.

US Becoming Isolated In Support For Death Penalty

December 18, 2014 Natasja Sheriff, www.america.aljazeera.com Educate! Death Penalty, Human Rights, Torture, United Nations

The United Nations General Assembly is expected on Thursday to vote once again on a draft resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, with the United States likely to become even more isolated in its support for capital punishment. The resolution was first adopted by the General Assembly in 2007; this is the fifth time member states will vote. On Nov. 21, 114 of the 193 U.N. member states voted “yes” on the draft resolution at a session of the Third Committee, which is responsible for social, humanitarian and cultural issues. Thirty-six countries opposed the resolution. The U.S. has repeatedly lodged “no” votes alongside countries with troubling human rights records — including China, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, the top four executing countries in 2013. The United States ranked fifth.

Torture Turned US Government Into A Criminal Enterprise

December 16, 2014 Rebecca Gordon, www.tomdispatch.com Educate! CIA, Congress, Human Rights, Law, Torture

So now we can finally consider the partial release of the long-awaited report from the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about the gruesome CIA interrogation methods used during the Bush administration’s “Global War on Terror.” But here’s one important thing to keep in mind: this report addresses only the past practices of a single agency. Its narrow focus encourages us to believe that, whatever the CIA may have once done, that whole sorry torture chapter is now behind us. In other words, the moment we get to read it, it’s already time to turn the page. So be shocked, be disgusted, be appalled, but don’t be fooled. The Senate torture report, so many years and obstacles in the making, should only be the starting point for a discussion, not the final word on U.S. torture. Here’s why.

Snowden Lawyer Calls On Europeans To Prosecute US Torture

December 15, 2014 Kate Connolly, www.theguardian.com Organize! Human Rights, Obama, Torture, usa

A leading German human rights lawyer has called on prosecutors across Europeto “get active” and prepare to seize any CIA agents and US officials involved in torture who enter their territories. Wolfgang Kaleck said the US Senate committee report on CIA torture was giving new impetus to European resolve to hold those in positions of power responsible for the use of unacceptable interrogation techniques. “We’re preparing reams of dossiers, and demanding of prosecutors that they do the same for those who are named in the report and those known as the higher-ups who directed and conducted this system,” said Kaleck, the director of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin.

Newsletter: Respect Our Human Rights Or We’ll ‘Shut It Down’

December 13, 2014 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Newsletter Bankers, Climate Justice, Corruption, Education, FCC, Finance and Economy, Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, GMOs, Healthcare, Human Rights, Internet Freedom, Monsanto, Net Neutrality, Police abuse, Racism, Torture, TPP, Undercover police, Worker Rights and Jobs

This week we marked the 66th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was signed by the United States at its inception but has never been ratified. Perhaps because we live in a country that does not protect our human rights, many people in the United States lack an understanding that they exist. In the work for justice, important tasks are to learn about our rights, recognize that they are being violated and to stand up with the demand that these rights are honored. Throughout history it has been organized people-power that has won rights. We cannot expect to gain them any other way. We’ll highlight many areas where people are fighting for rights.

Planting Olive Trees On Human Rights Day Leads To Death Of Palestinian Minister

December 13, 2014 Allison Deger, www.mondoweiss.net Resist! Human Rights, Israel, Palestine

Palestinian minister Zaid Abu Ein died this morning after a confrontation with the Israeli army in the West Bank village of Turmusaya outside of Ramallah. Abu Ein, the Palestinian government’s deputy minister for prisoner affairs, was participating in a symbolic walk and olive tree planting ceremony in commemoration of International Human Rights Day, in coordination with Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights organization. According to a witness, Abu Ein’s death occurred after the march to Turmusaya’s agricultural land was underway. As the Israeli and Palestinian observers of the rights day holiday walked into the orchards, about 50 soldiers some 300 meters away began firing tear gas and sound grenades, said Yesh Din’s spokesperson Reut Mor, who saw Abu Ein collapse.

New Data Reveal Human Impact Of Maryland’s Healthcare Crisis

December 12, 2014 Health Is A Human Right - Maryland, www.healthisahumanrightmaryland.org Organize! health, Human Rights

A new report reveals that the cost of healthcare has forced 45% of people surveyed in Maryland to skip doctor’s appointments, medication, or other forms of healthcare, pushing people into poor health, medical debt, and other struggles. “The healthcare crisis is often talked about as a political drama playing out in Annapolis and Washington, DC,” says Dr. Naumburg, a resident of Columbia who helped conduct the survey. “It’s absolutely a crisis that’s caused by policy, but what’s often missed is the devastating human impact the crisis is having.” Combining survey data from almost 900 respondents with vignettes from several Maryland residents, the report paints a portrait of the human side of the healthcare crisis. One in three people surveyed said that they have a family member whose health has deteriorated because they could not afford to seek care.

An End To Solitary Is Long Overdue

December 11, 2014 Marie Levin, www.counterpunch.org Organize! California, Human Rights, Law, Solitary Confinement

While the U.S. uses long-term solitary more than any other country in the world, California uses it more than any other state. It’s one of the few places in the world where someone can be held indefinitely in solitary. This practice is designed to break the human spirit and is condemned as a form of torture under international law. Despite these repeated condemnations by the U.N., the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) is harshening rather than easing its policies, currently with three new sets of regulations. The administration’s iron-fisted strategy is emerging: project the appearance of a reforming system while extending its reach, and restrict the ability of prisoners and their loved ones to organize for their rights.

Obama Urges No Further Investigations Or Prosecutions Over Torture

December 11, 2014 John Queally, www.commondreams.org Educate! Human Rights, Law, Torture

In his first official remarks following Tuesday's release of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the torture program conducted by the CIA during the presidency of George W. Bush, President Barack Obama on Tuesday night indicated that the abuses detailed in the report conducted in the name of the American people—described as "horrific," "ruthless" and "much more brutal than previously thought"—should not be followed by further inquiries or prosecutions as many have long urged. In his remarks, Obama acknowledged that "no nation is perfect," but argued that "one of the strengths that makes America exceptional is our willingness to openly confront our past, face our imperfections, make changes and do better."

Rights Americans Do Not Realize They Have

December 10, 2014 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Educate! Human Rights

Did you know that the United Nations outlined what basic rights and freedoms we are entitled to? It's called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I’m really glad Zen Pencils drew up this simplified version, because it sure looks like a lot of countries need a refresher. From the United Nations history of the Declaration: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948, was the result of the experience of the Second World War. With the end of that war, and the creation of the United Nations, the international community vowed never again to allow atrocities like those of that conflict happen again. World leaders decided to complement the UN Charter with a road map to guarantee the rights of every individual everywhere. The document they considered, and which would later become the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was taken up at the first session of the General Assembly in 1946.

Senate Report Says Torture Of Little Use In CIA Hunt For Bin Laden

December 10, 2014 Ben Mathis-Lilley, www.slate.com Educate! Bin Laden, CIA, Human Rights, Law, Senate, Torture

The question of whether torture helped the United States locate Osama Bin Laden has been debated since almost immediately after the news broke on May 2, 2011 that the al-Qaida leader had been killed, especially after the hit 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty portrayed "enhanced interrogation" as the first step in finding Bin Laden's Pakistan hideout. The Senate torture report released today addresses the issue specifically, arguing at length that the CIA's past statements on the question have been misleading and that the "vast majority" of the information used to find Bin Laden was not obtained through torture. In all, the Senate's account jibes with earlier reports about Bin Laden's capture written by observers critical of the idea that torture was essential to the operation.

Only Half Of Global Banks Have Policy To Respect Human Rights

December 9, 2014 Carey L. Biron, www.ipsnews.net Organize! Banks, Finance and the Economy, Human Rights

Just half of major global banks have in place a public policy to respect human rights, according to new research, despite this being a foundational mandate of an international convention on multinational business practice. Further, of the 32 global banks examined, researchers found that none has publicly put in place a process to deal with human rights abuses, if identified. None has even created grievance mechanisms by which those impacted by potential abuses can complain to the banks. “The findings of this report are quite sobering about what can be expected from self-regulatory principles.” -- Aldo Caliari

Prequels To The Torture Report

December 9, 2014 Marcellenne Hearn, www.aclu.org Educate! Human Rights, Torture, usa

As early as tomorrow, the long-awaited Senate torture report will finally see the light of day. If all goes as planned, the Senate Intelligence Committee will release the roughly 500-page executive summary of its 6,000-page report concerning the CIA's "rendition, detention, and interrogation" program. The report is said to be highly critical of the program. Former President Bush came out over the weekend to defend the CIA against the report's conclusions. That's not surprising, considering his own responsibility for the CIA's brutal policies. Despite attempts to keep the program secret, details of it came out, bit by bit, in documents released over the years. Some, but not all, of the most shocking documents – including the memos comprising the legal infrastructure of the program – are listed below. Hopefully by tomorrow, the story they tell will be more complete.

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