Annual Report


Statement of Larry Cox, Executive Director, Amnesty International USA


May 23, 2006

 

Good morning. I am delighted to speak to you in my new role at Amnesty International. It is a position I assumed with a deep sense of responsibility because, today, the very idea of human rights is under attack as never before.

Amnesty International releases its annual report just a few months before the fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks, a date that reminds us of the continuing horror of armed groups carrying out terrorist attacks and even celebrating the deliberate killing of innocent people. But it is not only these armed groups that believe they are above the law and universal standards of common decency—it is also governments in places like Uzbekistan and Colombia, which, under the guise of counter-terrorism, are violating human rights and killing innocent men, women and children.

It is difficult to believe that the United States government, which once considered itself an exemplar of human rights, has sacrificed its most fundamental principles by abusing prisoners as a matter of policy, by ‘disappearing’ detainees into a network of secret prisons and by abducting and sending people for interrogation to countries that practice torture such as Egypt, Syria and Morocco. It remains the most painful of truths that its policies on torture make it possible to add the United States to a shameful list of governments that includes those once led by Augusto Pinochet and Hafez al-Assad.
Even less known than the outsourcing of torture is the U.S. government’s extensive outsourcing of military detention, security and intelligence operations, which may be fueling serious human rights abuses. And most of those who commit these abuses seem to be getting away with it.

An estimated 25,000 private military contractors are working in Iraq today. They are moving and training U.S. troops, guarding U.S. convoys, rebuilding schools and serving as guards in detention centers and as interrogators of alleged terrorism suspects.

Most are undoubtedly honorable, hard-working men and women who every day put their lives on the line—indeed, a conservative estimate finds that more than 200 have been killed while working in Iraq. But some private military contractors stand accused of engaging in or supporting human rights violations such as sexual abuse and torture. Some have been implicated in the Abu Ghraib scandal, and numerous news reports highlight how contractors have fired at civilians in Iraq with devastating consequences.

Of 20 known cases of civilians suspected of criminal acts, there has been only one indictment, of a contractor on assault charges in connection with the death of a detainee in Afghanistan. There hasn’t been a single prosecution of a private military contractor in Iraq.

Take, for example, the case of Daniel Johnson, a civilian interrogator with the military contracting company CACI International. Johnson allegedly interrogated an Iraqi prisoner using an unauthorized stress position, told a soldier to cover a prisoner’s mouth and nose to stop his breathing, and would not allow a medic to administer stitches to a detainee who was roughed up during interrogation. The Army found probable cause that a crime had been committed and referred the case to the Justice Department for prosecution. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not yet taken any action.

Amnesty International’s research shows that more than 25 American companies may have transported men detained by the U.S. government to nations with a troubling record on human rights. They, too, may be complicit in the U.S. government’s practice of outsourcing torture.

Amnesty International is not opposed to the use of private contractors. But the reliance of the United States government on private military contractors has helped create virtually rules-free zones sanctioned with the American flag and firepower.
Business outsourcing may increase efficiency, but war outsourcing may facilitate impunity. Illegal behavior of contractors and of those who designed and carried out U.S. torture policies and the reluctance of the government to bring perpetrators to justice are tarnishing the reputation of the United States, hurting the image of American troops and contributing to anti-American sentiment. These results are a distressing return on the more than $48 billion that taxpayers have invested in these contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan and undermine what remains of U.S. moral authority abroad.

The problem is likely to deepen, as we learned from yesterday’s New York Times, as private security companies such as Blackwater USA press the government to take on even more duties that are now carried out by American soldiers.
To make matters worse, the government’s use of private contractors is often cloaked in secrecy. Only 40 percent of Pentagon contracts were awarded under full and open competition in a recent four-year period, according to the Center for Public Integrity, and it is difficult to pinpoint how the contractors are hired, where they operate, and what types of services they provide.

Amnesty International has reviewed 15 contracts of major military contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan through 2004 and found none that contained human rights standards by which the companies must abide. Professor Dickinson has reviewed even more contracts and has come to the same conclusion.

War outsourcing also raises serious concerns about U.S. arms transfers reaching illegal destinations. Last year, for example, the Department of Defense approved the transfer of large quantities of assault rifles, grenade launchers and ammunition from Bosnia to Iraq. According to a U.S. general stationed in Iraq, however, the weapons never reached their destination. Amnesty International has learned that the primary U.S. contractor organizing the shipment of weapons from Bosnia to Iraq used a Moldovan subcontractor that was operating without a valid license and has been accused of violating the U.N. arms embargo on Liberia.

War outsourcing is creating the corporate equivalent of Guantanamo Bay—a virtual rules-free zone in which perpetrators are not likely to be held accountable for breaking the law. By fighting in the name of freedom and democracy while eviscerating the human rights of detainees and failing to hold perpetrators—whether they wear military fatigues or civilian clothes—accountable, the U.S. government has diminished significantly its moral standing to criticize human rights abuses. This is especially true in the case of its allies, who otherwise might respond to U.S. pressure to improve their rights records.

Governments around the world are using doublespeak and double standards to take advantage of this vacuum of moral leadership. Last spring, Uzbek security forces fired indiscriminately into crowds of mostly unarmed civilian protesters, killing hundreds of people, including women and children, and sentenced scores more to long prison terms, all the while justifying the violence as fighting terrorism.

In Colombia, government security forces, backed with billions of U.S. aid dollars, collude with paramilitary forces deemed terrorist organizations by the State Department to commit serious human rights violations. The Russian government harasses human rights defenders under the guise of pursuing terrorists in Chechnya.

Whether in the name of anti-terrorism, counter-insurgency or national security, governments have suspended, circumvented or violated the law and weakened the best defense against lack of security and terrorism: respect for human rights. We are witnessing massive violations of human rights around the world, and governments, private contractors and other perpetrators seem to be getting off scot-free.

Amnesty International’s new report documents the scope of the gross human rights violations in the world today.
The devastating humanitarian crisis in Darfur has claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people and forced more than 2.5 million people from their homes. Women and children are the hardest hit. The violence is crossing the border into Chad, humanitarian access is extremely dangerous and limited, and the crisis continues unabated.

We welcome the Bush administration’s role in brokering the Darfur Peace Agreement and its push for an expanded, multi-lateral peacekeeping mission, which was approved by the U.N. Security Council just last week. We commend Congress for its recent appropriation of nearly $500 million for peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance in Darfur, and await final approval of this critical funding.

But more is needed to stop the bloodshed. We urge the Bush administration to actively monitor adherence to the peace agreement and to exert diplomatic pressure to ensure that the multi-lateral peacekeeping operation is fully funded and quickly deployed.

We must not overlook the world’s least known humanitarian crisis. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 4 million people have lost their lives due to armed conflict over the last decade. Within just a few months, the DRC is expected to hold its first democratic elections in decades. We strongly urge the U.S. government to maintain funding for the U.N. mission in the DRC during this fragile time and beyond to help build a lasting peace, security and justice.

With the recent Hamas victory in the Palestinian Authority and the corresponding economic collective punishment in response to the new ruling party, Amnesty International is concerned that the access of Palestinians to health care, education and jobs will be greatly diminished. We condemn attacks by Palestinian armed groups, including suicide bombings and homemade mortar attacks, as well as the use of excessive force by the Israeli government.

Last year has been called the “Arab spring” because of the elections in Iraq, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. But holding elections is not at all the same as upholding human rights and does not mean that freedom of expression or freedom from abuse are flourishing in those countries. In Egypt, members of opposition parties were frequently assaulted or imprisoned, and security forces beat and arrested hundreds of demonstrators last Thursday. In Saudi Arabia, women were not permitted to vote.

In Iraq, we are witnessing growing allegations of abuse and torture by the Iraqi government and attacks by armed groups against civilians that are tantamount to crimes against humanity. There is little accountability for abuses committed by any party to the conflict. In Iran, Amnesty International has documented more than 94 executions, including of children, in the last year. Violations against women, religious and ethnic minorities, and gays and lesbians are rampant.

China continues to imprison tens of thousands of political prisoners, including in psychiatric hospitals; Amnesty International documented at least 1,770 executions last year, though the number is likely to be far higher. In Pakistan, Amnesty International has received reports that armed forces are attacking the local population in the province of Balochistan, ‘disappearing’ people, killing, and torturing men, women and children.

Violence plagues women in Mexico and Guatemala. Young women are killed and sexually violated at alarming rates by family members, acquaintances and strangers. All too often, authorities look the other way.

As our new report shows, human trafficking remains a serious human rights problem throughout the world. In two weeks, the FIFA World Cup will begin in 12 cities in Germany, and a massive influx of as many as 1 million men is expected. Amnesty International is concerned that there will be an increase in the trafficking of thousands of women and girls for sexual exploitation.

Sadly, human trafficking is just one of the many rights violations that are all too often ignored as the world focuses attention on the U.S.-led fight against terrorism. The hidden cost of that has been the diversion of resources from other major world crises and from the alleviation of human suffering, whether it be the millions of women and girls who suffer from violence or the more than 1 billion people who must survive on less than $1 a day. By failing to address the causes of human suffering, the U.S. government and its allies are unlikely to ever stop support for terror.

The surest way to combat terrorism and to make the world a safer place is through respect for human rights, whether it be the right to freely express one’s opinion or the right to a roof over one’s head and a decent education.

President Bush once said, “No president has ever done more for human rights than I have.” Mr. President, those words increasingly ring hollow.

But there are ways the president can restore his credibility and U.S. honor.

Not a single person in the Bush administration who was responsible for designing a deliberate government policy of torture or authorizing interrogation techniques that constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment has been held accountable. President Bush should finally heed Amnesty International’s call for an independent commission to investigate those responsible for torture and ill-treatment, including the top of the military and civilian chain of command.

The Bush administration should create and enforce unambiguous, transparent and consistent mechanisms for reporting on, investigating and, when necessary, prosecuting contractors involved in detainee abuse or excessive use of force against civilians. Every contractor involved in detentions or who might use force against civilians should undergo a background check and receive human rights and humanitarian law training.

Private contractors also have a responsibility to adopt comprehensive human rights policies, monitor their implementation and report on their findings, make public the results of investigations they conduct into alleged abuses by employees, and disclose the terms of U.S. government contracts with respect to human rights.

President Bush said earlier this month, and I quote, “I very much would like to end Guantanamo.” Amnesty International called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility almost exactly one year ago today, and now the United Nations also has urged that it be shut down. It is past time for President Bush to show that he means what he says and close the prison camp that has become an iconic symbol of all that is wrong and shameful about the U.S. government’s approach to fighting terror. In addition, the United States and its allies must disclose the names and locations of all others held in secret detention centers and prosecute the detainees, affording them fair trials that meet international standards, or release them.

President Bush also should immediately stop the practice of sending people in U.S. detention to countries where they may face torture or inhuman treatment.

By bending the rules and breaking the law, the U.S. government has sacrificed one of its major weapons in the struggle against terrorism, namely its reputation as a champion of human rights. It is past time to restore that reputation and regain the moral authority the government has squandered.

Our new report contains some positive developments for human rights. Amnesty International and other human rights groups pushed the United Nations to replace the discredited Human Rights Commission with a new body governed by new rules. The International Criminal Court announced arrest warrants for five leaders of the rebel group that has brutalized the people of northern Uganda for years, and arrested the leader of an armed group in the Congo that is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The King of Nepal restored Parliament following public protests by local activists.

In the U.S., human rights activists prodded Congress to pass an amendment affirming the ban on torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees; renew the Violence against Women Act, and pass legislation condemning the killing of women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua City, Mexico. And Congress and President Bush took some important steps to end the Darfur crisis.

But equally important is that the momentum for human rights is growing around the world. The last year saw one of the greatest mobilizations ever of ordinary people in the fight against poverty. In the United States, growing numbers of people—from policy makers to families—are questioning their government’s strategy for combating terrorism and are taking action to help change it.

Amnesty International is committed to ensuring that the U.S. government listens and responds to that momentum. We are, among other things, joining forces with other human rights organizations and faith communities to declare June “Torture Awareness Month” and to increase education and action against the use of torture and inhuman treatment being committed by agents of the U.S. government.

For true and lasting security—surely goals both this government and Amnesty International share, can only be built on a solid foundation of human rights. Amnesty International’s nearly 2 million members are committed to building up that foundation, brick by brick. Thank you.

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