Annual Report


EMBARGOED for release: Tuesday, May 23, 2006, 11 AM EST

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Governments Worldwide Attack Human Rights in the Name of Fighting Terror with Deadly Consequences, Amnesty International to Assert During 2006 Annual Report Release


U.S. Government’s Military and Intelligence Outsourcing in the War on Terror Creating Virtual Rules-Free Zone Where Human Rights Norms Ignored, Violations Flourish; Organization to Press Governments and Companies to Reform


Larry Cox, AIUSA’s executive director, speaks at the Annual Report press conference in Washington, DC.© Dissident Display/Yati Lindsay

(Washington, DC)—Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) today reported that governments worldwide, in the name of fighting terror, are committing gross violations of human rights: mistreating suspects, harming civilians and undermining their ability to solve some of the world’s most urgent problems. The organization highlighted the U.S. government’s current system for outsourcing key military detention, security and intelligence operations as fueling serious human rights violations and undermining accountability, at the organization’s release of its 2006 Annual Report on the status of human rights in 150 countries.

“The United States has become a world leader in avoiding human rights accountability; a case in point is the reliance of the United States government on private military contractors, which has helped create virtually rules-free zones sanctioned with the American flag and firepower,” said Larry Cox, who became AIUSA’s executive director May 1. “Business outsourcing may increase efficiency, but war outsourcing may be facilitating impunity. Contractors’ illegal behavior and the reluctance of the U.S. government to bring them to justice are further tarnishing the United States’ reputation abroad, hurting the image of American troops and contributing to anti-American sentiment. These results are a distressing return on the U.S. taxpayers’ billion-dollar-plus investment and undermine what remains of U.S. moral authority abroad.”

The United States’ outsourcing is just one example of governments running roughshod over basic freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism that the organization cited in the release of its Annual Report. The Uzbek government murdered several hundred peaceful demonstrators last spring, justifying the slaughter as pursuit of terrorists. According to Egypt’s Prime Minister, the United States has transferred some 60-70 alleged terrorism suspects to Egypt. Amnesty International reported the case of an Egyptian national who was abducted in Milan and eventually taken to Egypt, where he was allegedly tortured; his whereabouts remain unknown.

In Colombia, government security forces, backed with billions of dollars from the United States, collude with paramilitary forces deemed terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department to commit serious human rights violations.

“Legitimate concerns about terror are being used to justify the unjustifiable,” said Cox. “Pressure from the U.S. government has added to governments’ willingness to violate long-held principles, with allies colluding with the United States to abduct alleged terrorism suspects and send them to countries that torture or providing the real estate for CIA-run secret sites. These violations undercut the political capacity of U.S. leaders to confront increasing repression in certain African countries, such as Ethiopia; press the Chinese government for meaningful reform, and challenge repression and violence against those who challenged faulty elections in Egypt, for example.”

In the rush to war and with little notice, the U.S. government has outsourced billions of dollars in contracts to private companies, leaving to civilians some of the most essential and sensitive functions in the war, including protecting supply convoys, guarding prisoners, translating during interrogations and conducting interrogations. Despite the weak requirements for reporting crimes, allegations have surfaced implicating civilians working for the U.S. government in mistreatment of Iraqi and Afghan civilians, including hundreds of incidents of shootings at Iraqi civilians, as well as abuse of detainees, including involvement in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal.

Currently the contractors operate in a virtually rules-free zone; they are exempt from Iraqi law per a Coalition Provisional Authority order and they fall outside the military chain of command.
Of the 20 known cases of alleged misconduct by civilians in the war on terror that were forwarded by the Pentagon and CIA to the U.S. Department of Justice for investigation, DOJ has dismissed two, brought one indictment, while the remaining 17 are classified as open.

AI places responsibility jointly on the Bush administration and companies to overhaul the contracting system from top to bottom to ensure safety of suspects and civilians and investigation and prosecution when rights are violated. In particular, the U.S. government should create and enforce unambiguous, transparent and consistent mechanisms for reporting on, investigating and, when necessary, prosecuting contractors involved in detainee abuse and/or excessive use of force against civilians. Every contractor involved in detentions or who might use force against civilians must undergo a background check and receive human rights and humanitarian law training.

Private military companies, should, among other things, implement a comprehensive human rights policy; monitor and periodically issue public reports on its implementation; screen employees and train them on international human rights standards; make public the results of investigations the company may conduct into alleged human rights abuses by employees; and disclose the terms of U.S. government contracts with respect to human rights.

“These companies call themselves private military firms and have tried to abandon negative labels like ‘mercenaries,’” said Mila Rosenthal, Business and Human Rights Program Director for Amnesty International USA. “They want to be considered respectable companies doing a respectable job. If they don’t want to be viewed as the scruffiest dogs of war, they must take their human rights responsibilities seriously. They have to understand the human rights implications of deploying often armed personnel into war zones and ensure that they have company-level policies to prevent and redress abuses.”