May 24, 2006

Ask Amnesty: Military Outsourcing in the "War on Terror" Fuelling Human Rights Abuses

Amnesty International USA highlighted at the release of its 2006 Annual Report 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.

Please join us on Wednesday, May 24th, from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Eastern time for an online discussion with AIUSA volunteer leaders Rebecca DeWinter and Erica Razook. We will examine the murky system under which numerous contractors are operating, which has few built-in accountability mechanisms and virtually no demonstrated intent from the administration to hold human rights abusers accountable.

Rebecca DeWinter is a Steering Committee member to Amnesty International USA's Business and Human Rights Program. Erica Razook has served as a legal fellow in the Business and Human Rights Program, where she has conducted legal research and analysis of applicable laws, agency regulations, proposed bills and other mechanisms for holding private military contractors accountable for human rights violations and criminal acts committed on foreign soil.

Featured Guest: The Business and Human Rights Program

From our featured guest: "Please join us with your questions and comments."

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Question Submitted by Jeni Yamada:

I am concerned about the human rights of prisoners...whether there is evidence against them or not. But particularly horrific is that little attempt is made to allow people to defend themselves. Aren't many INNOCENT people being arrested, tortured, and held without charges?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

It is impossible for us to know whether people detained for suspected terroist activity are innocent or not, before a trial is held.

For this reason, Amnesty International believes all people should have the rights of due process, the right to challenge their detention and the right to face their accusers in a fair trial.

If the government is not able to bring formal charges against the alleged terrorist suspects, it should not continue to hold them indefinitely.

Amnesty International is completely opposed to any form of torture.
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Question Submitted by Anthony:

Why cannot the outsourcing Agency(CIA, FBI, DIA) or Department of Defense (Army, Navy, Air Force) and State Department be held accountable with criminal charges because they are the base source of all these ills?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

Congress can force these agencies to hold contractors accountable for human rights violations.

For example, following a Congressional mandate, the Department of Defense has started on this process by issuing various regulations dealing with contracted personnel. But, there is still more work to be done because these regulations need to be operationalized and because contracts are often awarded through other government agencies, such as the ones you listed.

To learn more about the Department of Defense regulations, see the document titled "Outsourcing Facilitating Human Rights Violations" in the "Inadequate Regulation" section, at:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport/2006/overview.html.

As far as criminal charges, contractors and civilians can be prosecuted by the Department of Justice, but the agency itself can not.

Individual officers and enlisted troops can be prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
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Question Submitted by Patricia:

Who are the military contractors? Are they publicly held companies? Can we affect their practices by not investing or investing and exercising shareholder rights?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

There are a number of private military contractors operating in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world. These contractors perform many functions, ranging from logistical support to interrogation and translation services.

A partial list of contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan, as of July 2004, is posted on the Center for Public Integrity's website, at: http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/

Some of the contractors are large, publicly held corporations, while others are small, closely-held private companies.

Amnesty International's Business and Human Rights program's SHAREPOWER campaign uses the power of shareholders to encourage publicly held companies to uphold human rights.

Even if you are not a shareholder, everyone is connected to multi-national companies in one way or another.

To find your connection, and to influence them to change, visit our SHAREPOWER campaign website at:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/business/sharepower/
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Question Submitted by Ryan:

What is being done to stop the abuse?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

There are two types of human rights abuses allegedly committed by private contractors that Amnesty International is concerned about.

The first is abuse and torture of detainees in detention facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and secret detention facilities around the world.

The second is allegations of security contractors shooting at civilians while providing security to convoys, personnel and physical sites.

To date, little has been done to hold contractors accountable for these human rights abuses. For example, 20 known cases of civilians allegedly having abused detainees have been forwarded to the Department of Justice for investigation and potential prosecution.

Only one CIA contractor has been indicted for assault in relation to the death of a detainee in Afghanistan. Two years later, 17 cases remain open, with little apparent action from the Department of Justice.
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Question Submitted by Rebecca:

To whom are these "private soldiers" accountable for their orders and their abuses? Who has the authority to discipline their wrongful actions, and what are the penalties for violations of "rules of engagement" or the Geneva conventions by these private forces?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

Private contractors are accountable only to their employers, because they do not fall within the military chain of command. So, the companies themselves currently have the sole authority and responsibility to discipline their employees and contractors. But, their ultimate recourse of action is, and has been, at most, to fire the personnel.

According to a July 2005 GAO report, entitled "Rebuilding Iraq", "US forces in Iraq do not have a command and control relationship with private security providers or their employees."

Nevertheless, if contractors are involved in violations of US or international criminal and humanitarian laws, the US Department of Justice can and should investigate and prosecute.

Then, it would be up to the judges and juries of these courts to decide appropriate penalties.
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Question Submitted by Liz:

If a military contractor commits a criminal act in a foreign country, what laws are applicable? Are any US laws applicable?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

There are a number of US laws that the Department of Justice could use to prosecute civilian contractors for criminal acts in foreign countries.

These laws include, The War Crimes Act, The Torture Statute, The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act, and The USA PATRIOT Act.

To learn more about these laws, please see the document titled "Provisions Permitting the US Department of Justice to Prosecute Civilians Contracted by the United States Government," available at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport/2006/provisions.html.

So far, the Department of Justice has not utilized any of these laws to prosecute a civilian contractor. Only one contractor has been indicted under The USA PATRIOT Act.
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Question Submitted by W.K.:

It seems our leaders lack the will or courage to hold anyone accountable for the hideous atrocities being committed in our name. What can we, the people, do?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

We, as global citizens, are responsible for holding our governments and multi-national corporations accountable for their actions, when they threaten or harm human rights.

Amnesty International is working to address these issues. You can sign up for the Corporate Action Network, to receive action alerts on ways you can raise awareness and pressure governments and contractors to uphold human rights standards. To join the Corporate Action Network, go to: http://www.amnestyusa.org/business/signup.html.

Currently, there are two online actions you can take.

The first targets Richmor Aviation, for its alleged participation in rendering people secretly and illegally to blacksites in countries known to practice torture.

The second online action asks Titan Corporation, a company whose employees were allegedly involved in the abuses at Abu Ghraib, to develop and implement a comprehensive human rights policy and to cooperate with all investigations.

Go to http://www.amnestyusa.org/business to take action and stay tuned for additional action opportunities.
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Question Submitted by Stephen:

I am curious what the basis of allegations of torture by Titan Corp. employees is. Some time ago I wrote them for AI on the same issue and they responded that their contract includes only translation services.

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

Torture is not included in any government contract that we are aware of.

The problem is that contractors providing interrogation, translation and other services, such as Titan Corporation, are allegedly abusing and torturing detainees.

These allegations were made in the Army's investigations and became public in the reports by Gens. Fay and Taguba.

Amnesty International USA's Business and Human Rights program has written to 14 companies with military and security government contracts. At this time, it seems that none have implemented adequate human rights policies.
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Question Submitted by Lee:

Does the Bush administration really seek to abolish terrorism when it sends people to countries to get tortured?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

International law prohibits governments from sending people to countries where they know, or reasonably should know, that the people will be tortured in the receiving country.

The Bush administration has attempted to justify this illegal practice by calling it "extraordinary rendition".

For more information on this, see Amnesty's report "Below the Radar," at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/business/document.do?id=ENGAMR510512006

The United States loses credibility to push for human rights protections around the world when it engages in human rights violations such as torture of detainees and rendition.
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Question Submitted by Jan:

Most Americans are completely oblivious to the fact that many of the "contractors" that are employed by the U.S. in Iraq are performing military, not civilian, functions. How can we get the word out to the American public that our government is hiring mercenaries to do things that they don't want our American troops to even know about?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

Amnesty International is focusing on this issue to raise awareness about the use of private military contractors and its potential human rights implications.

We encourage everyone to talk about this issue with family, friends, community members and elected officials, and hope that you will become involved in our Corporate Action Network to help push for greater transparency, oversight and accountability of private military contractors.
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Question Submitted by Jason:

Are private contractors held to the same standards (ie bound by the Geneva Convention, etc)? In the corporate world in which I work, the private contractors that we use for certain projects cannot be instructed on methodology for legal reasons. We are only allowed to show them a goal and they get paid for reaching it. Is that they same here?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, "all organs of society" are responsible for upholding the same internationally recognized and accepted human rights standards.

There are no legal reasons why contracts can not require that companies abide by international human rights standards and humanitarian law such as the Geneva Conventions.

In fact, recent Department of Defense regulations require that contractors are trained in and abide by international humanitarian law.

Professor Laura Dickenson of the University of Connecticut Law School has made several concrete recommendations as to what provisions should be included in these contracts to ensure that human rights violations are not committed.

To learn more, read her article "Public Law Values in a Privatized World," available at: http://www.amnestyusa.org/annualreport/dickenson.pdf
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Question Submitted by Johnna:

Wouldn't using private security instead of troops make accountability for human rights violations more difficult to enforce and make it easier for the government to turn a blind eye to things that could happen, perhaps another GITMO or ABU GHRAIB?

The Business and Human Rights Program answers:

By using private military and security companies to fulfill traditional military functions, the US government is able to distance itself from taking full responsiblity for the illegal actions of its contractors.

The number of contractors being used in Iraq is historically unprecedented. This is occuring at a time when the US government has not developed fully adequate regulations and laws to oversee and hold contractors to account.

The deaths of contractors in conflict zones result in a lot less public outcry than the deaths of US troops. A July 2005 GAO report estimates that more than 200 contractor personnel have been killed in Iraq, since May 2003.
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