Civil Rights and the "War on Terror"
- Denial of Rights: Amend the USA PATRIOT Act Now!
Amnesty International is concerned that the USA PATRIOT Act undermines the human rights of Americans and non-citizens, and weakens the framework for promoting human rights internationally.
Combined with other post-September 11 domestic security policies, the USA PATRIOT Act becomes even more potent in its ability to erode basic civil and human rights. Even in times of crisis, it is important to preserve constitutional freedoms and human rights.
In particular, the USA PATRIOT Act threatens the rights protected in the U.S. Constitution and international documents, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention against Torture, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
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- Amnesty International is concerned that the USA PATRIOT Act:
- Creates a broad definition of "domestic terrorism" that may have
a chilling effect on the U.S. and international rights to free expression
and association.
The law defines "domestic terrorism" as acts committed in the United States "dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws," if the U.S. government determines that they "appear to be intended" to "influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion," or "to intimidate or coerce a civilian population." Such ambiguous language allows for loose interpretation that might violate civil liberties and international human rights. - Allows non-citizens to be detained without charge and held indefinitely
once charged.
This is permissible if the U.S. government certifies that there are "reasonable grounds" to believe a person's action threatens national security. This runs counter to U.S. and international rights to due process and could also lead to violations of rights in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which guarantee that governments be notified if their nationals are detained. - Infringes on the right to privacy and removes many types of judicial
review over intelligence activities.
The USA PATRIOT Act permits the government to scrutinize peoples' reading habits by monitoring public library and bookstore records, without notifying the suspect. It also allows for "sneak and peak" tactics such as physical search of property and computers, wiretapping and monitoring of email, and access to financial and educational records, without providing notification. These activities contradict the right to be free from arbitrary interference with individuals' privacy, as protected in the U.S. Constitution and the ICCPR.
- In response to these measures, Amnesty International recommends that:
