USA

“Each of us has a part to play in upholding human rights for men and women of all political, ethnic, religious and racial backgrounds.” - US President Bill Clinton, 1997 .

USA Campaign: Frequently Asked Questions

Overview Police Brutality Human Rights Violations on the US-Mexico Border Abuse of Prisoners Women in Detention Arbitary detention of asylum-seekers Super-maximum security Death Penalty Racism and the death penalty International Context FAQ

1. Why is Amnesty International campaigning on human rights violations in the USA?
In the past, AI has campaigned against individual human rights abuses in the US and in defense of specific victims of human rights violations. In this campaign, AI is highlighting the broader patterns of human rights abuse that directly affect the lives of many in the US and which ultimately undermine the rights of all.

Across the US, the practices of government result in serious and persistent human rights violations - from brutality by police and in prisons to the death penalty. As was stated in AI’s major report on human rights in the US released this October, some of these abuses “arise from individual misconduct, encouraged by an institutional failure to hold officials accountable. Others result from inadequate systems of control or an outright refusal to recognize or respect international standards for human rights protection.”

2. Don’t US citizens have adequate legal protections against violations of their rights and freedoms?
While there are many legal protections for human rights in the US, one of our central concerns is that these protections have not been applied equally to all. Despite decades of progress by the domestic human rights movement in the US, people who are socially or economically disadvantaged or from racial or ethnic minorities remain especially vulnerable to abuse. The fact that abuses are widespread and recurring points to a real need for change.

4. So what are AI’s specific concerns?
AI is bringing pressure to bear on US authorities to implement the basic reforms necessary to stop major recurring patterns of human rights violations and reduce the vulnerability of specific sectors of society to human rights abuse. Our concerns include:

Police brutality. Police have ill-treated both suspects and bystanders using beatings, chemical sprays, electro-shock weapons and cruel restraints. Some suspects have died in custody or been shot dead without justification. Racial prejudice appears to be an underlying factor in many of these cases. AI is calling for increased monitoring of police brutality, suspending the use of electroshock devices pending an independent and impartial review, and banning the use of dangerous restraint methods such as hog-tying.

Prison and jail conditions. Many people held in US prisons and jails are living in appalling conditions and are subjected to physical and sexual abuse by guards. The tripling of the prison population since 1990 and the trend toward a more punitive approach has led to the use of repressive controls like restraint chairs and electroshock weapons. AI is calling for, among other reforms, the segregation of juvenile and adult prisoners, specific protections for women prisoners, and protections against retaliations for prisoners who expose human rights abuses.

Death penalty. There are an increasing number of executions in the USA including executions of juvenile offenders and the mentally ill. As part of AI’s ongoing campaign for abolition of the death penalty, AI is calling on the US to conform to international standards prohibiting the execution of children and the execution of people for crimes committed as juveniles.

AI is also pressing for full and unreserved ratification of a number of critical international conventions impacting on human rights issues such as prison conditions and the death penalty. These conventions include The Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

5. Why did you choose to focus on these particular concerns?
AI doesn’t have the resources - or the mandate - to comprehensively research all aspects of human rights violations in the US. Nor would we expect to bring about change by campaigning on every issue. AI has chosen to focus on particular abuses because of the national scope of these abuses, because of the violations of international law and standards that are involved, because of our collaboration with domestic human rights organizations around these issues, and because of the potential to achieve significant reforms. It is important to note, however, that the full scope of AI’s work on the USA includes a range of additional concerns, including gay and lesbian issues, various individual cases, and fair trial concerns remaining in a number of alleged counter-intelligence operations against African American and Native America organizations. The full scope of AI’s work on human rights in the US continues parallel to this campaign and will remain a vital and ongoing part of our work.

6. Yet there’s nothing new about police brutality, abuse in prison, the death penalty or other issues highlighted in this campaign. In fact, much of the information in AI’s reports has already been carried in the US media.
The research conducted for this campaign has in fact uncovered some evidence of human rights abuses that previously had not been widely publicized. But our goal goes beyond simply `breaking news.’ AI is trying to focus attention on issues that may get local and state attention, but which are rarely addressed at the national level and seldom in an international context. Media coverage of human rights violations in the USA often creates the impression that these violations are isolated and unusual. Through this campaign, AI is revealing the patterns that occur across the country, the persistence of such violations, and the need for more concerted, systematic response at the national as well as the state and local level.

7. Still, why is AI focusing on these issues now?
As we’ve seen, in some instances, such as the death penalty, the pace of human rights violations is clearly increasing. In other instances, such as abuse of prisoners, trends in government policy may lead to greater likelihood of abuse. In launching this campaign now, AI is building on three decades of research and action by AI on human rights in the US. This initiative is also linked to the continuing work of AI members around the world to promote the rights contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was 50 years old on December 10, 1998.

8. Does AI seriously believe that international criticism can influence US policy?
When AI presses for change in the US, it does so based on international human rights standards and on the principle of international responsibility for human rights protections, a framework which the US has been part of developing and has advocated abroad. Many governments, including US authorities, have reacted with hostility when their human rights record is criticized, whether by AI, by other governments, or within the UN. This doesn’t mean that these authorities shouldn’t be held accountable to international standards. And we can’t assume that governments are incapable of change.

Working with national human rights organizations in the US, AI has identified a number of necessary measures to improve the contemporary human rights situation. Some are as simple as the US government putting funds behind a national policing monitoring program that it has already approved. Others involve changing US laws to brings state and federal governments into line with the obligations of the US under international law. And others involve ratifying international treaties and conventions already ratified by the vast majority of the world’s governments. All of these recommendations are concrete, pragmatic and within reach.

9. It’s all well and good to talk about international standards and to focus on patterns of abuses that occur nationally, but some state authorities in the US claim that the federal government can’t force them to change their laws or practices based on international treaties or standards agreed to at the federal level.
A longstanding principle of international law is that the national government, regardless of the characteristics of the national system, is responsible for ensuring that all authorities abide by international law.

Within the US, the Constitution expressly states that powers to sign and ratify treaties rest with the federal government and not with individual states and that the federal government is responsible for the implementation of international obligations.

10. Many of the human rights abuses being highlighted in this campaign also occur in Canada. Isn’t it hypocritical to ask Canadians to criticize the US on human rights?
There are some significant differences between Canada and the US. Electroshock devices are generally banned in Canada, for example, and the death penalty has been abolished. At the same time, Canadians’ lives are also deeply entwined with those of our neighbours in the South and some aspects of this campaign may seem to strike close to home. The differences and the similarities both have a role to play in this campaign. They are part of the unique perspective that Canadians bring to the issues. And part of the bond that often means that Canadian’s voices are welcome in US policy debates when others are ignored.

In general, the abuses highlighted in this campaign are not limited to the US. We appreciate that Canadians want to address human rights in their own communities. But history also shows that Canadians have had an important role to play in the international movement to address human rights abuses wherever they occur. We believe that Canadians will also want to continue to monitor and speak out on human rights abuses on behalf of our neighbours in the US.

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