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Obtaining accountability for those committing major human rights abuses, such as genocide, torture, and other crimes against humanity, has become a major focus of the work of Human Rights USA. We have filed criminal complaints in cases involving torture, and we have challenged the U.S. government's attempts to obtain amnesty for torturers in connection with the "war against terrorism." In addition, Human Rights USA has become amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the first criminal prosecution for torture under U.S. law, a huge step forward in the United States's implementation of the Convention Against Torture.
The criminal prosecution is of Chuckie Taylor, son of Charles Taylor, who is accused of committing torture abuses in Liberia under his father's regime. This is only one of a half-dozen times that an amicus has been named in a criminal case at the trial level.
We sought and obtained amicus status, and have filed two amicus briefs, to weigh in on two legal issues raised by defendant Chuckie Taylor that challenged the basic framework of the judicial enforcement of human rights standards. First, Taylor claimed that cases involving human rights abuses that occurred in foreign countries could not be heard in U.S. courts. Second, Taylor argued that the Convention Against Torture -- the international treaty that was implemented by the criminal law allowing for prosecutors to file charges against Taylor -- did not apply in situations of armed conflict. Our positions on both of these issues were accepted by the court, which soundly rejected Taylor's arguments.
Human Rights USA also has filed several groundbreaking civil actions under the Alien Tort Claims Act and Torture Victim Protection Act seeking civil remedies to compensate survivors of torture abuse, and to hold their abusers accountable. Our civil litigation aims to establish two important principles of human rights in U.S. courts. First, we are working to prevent impunity by holding high-level government officials accountable for directing human rights violations. Our case against the current Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen, was the first successful case of this kind against a sitting head of state. Second, we are enforcing the obligations of non-state actors, such as corporations doing business abroad, not to contribute to human rights violations. Human Rights USA represents journalists and writers who are in prison because Yahoo! Inc.'s Chinese subsidiary handed over their identifying internet user information to Chinese officials, resulting in their arbitrary arrest, long-term imprisonment, abuse, and torture.
For more information on these efforts, see:
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