[News] Case Of U.S. Torture And Detention Before O.A.S.

[News at freedomarchives.org]

http://www.ccr-ny.org/v2/reports/report.asp?ObjID=rvBVOp2nnd&Content=532

Center for Constitutional Rights Takes Case Of U.S. Torture And Detention 
Before O.A.S. Inter-American Commission for Human Rights

Synopsis

In Washington, D.C on March 3, 2005, The Center for Constitutional Rights 
(CCR) and other Petitioners today went before the Inter-American Commission 
for Human Rights to argue that the U.S. continues to violate its own 
treaties as well as international and domestic law in its treatment of 
detainees at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere.  The United States is a member 
of the Organization of American States and signed the American Declaration 
of the Rights and Duties of Man in 1948.

based on requests by the Center for Constitutional Rights and others, the 
Commission originally issued Precautionary Measures in March 2002, 
requesting that the U.S. Government take the urgent measures necessary to 
have the legal status of the detainees at Guantánamo Bay determined by a 
competent tribunal.  In 2003, the Commission requested that the U.S. 
provide information, including their policies and practices, regarding the 
treatment of individuals detained in other facilities; and in 2004, the 
Commission requested that the U.S. investigate and prosecute officials 
responsible for the torture of detainees, including high-ranking officials 
accountable through superior responsibility.

CCR requested the hearing to update the Commission on new information and 
documents that have come to light about the U.S. Government’s treatment of 
detainees at Guantánamo and elsewhere, and to seek to extend the Measures 
to cover the potential use of information obtained through torture in 
ongoing military and judicial proceedings.  Petitioners also responded to 
the December 2004 submission by the U.S. Government, which continues to 
argue that the Commission lacks jurisdiction to issue precautionary 
measures to the U.S. and now inaccurately claims that domestic remedies 
must be exhausted through the habeas petitions and military tribunals, 
despite the fact that the Bush Administration has done everything possible 
to impede detainees’ access to the courts.

Center for Constitutional Rights Attorney Maria LaHood, who argued for CCR 
at the hearing said, “The Bush Administration has consistently and 
blatantly violated its obligations under international law in relation to 
the detention and torture of detainees.  As a country, we have been 
internationally condemned for our actions, and it is time for those who are 
truly responsible to be held accountable.  We hope the Commission will act 
on the information we have provided today and continue to put pressure on 
the U.S. government to comply with its legal obligations.”

The Center for Constitutional Rights has also filed a war crimes complaint 
with the German Prosecutor to hold Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto Gonzales and 
other high-ranking officials accountable for the torture and abuse at Abu 
Ghraib and elsewhere.  CCR filed the first suit in U.S. court on behalf of 
the detainees at Guantánamo in early 2002 and won in the Supreme Court in 
June 2004, and also has cases pending against officials responsible for the 
torture and rendition of Canadian citizen Maher Arar and against the 
private government contractors at Abu Ghraib.

Also on March 3, the Inter-American Commission will hear testimony on 
slavery and other human rights violations committed against the Imoklee 
workers in Florida, and CCR has signed onto testimony by a coalition of 
human rights organizations.  On Friday, March 4, the OAS heard testimony 
from CCR allies challenging the United States’ failure to meet its 
obligations under international law on the right to housing.




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