Session III: Civil Right and Liberties

• Declaration of Independence
• U.S. Constitution
• ACLU "Know Your Rights" Pamphlet
• U.N. Declaration of Human Rights
• Reflections of the Rev. Parisa Parsa

Links to controversial policies:

Links to analysis of USA-PATRIOT Act

• Summary of USA-PATRIOT Act
• ACLU Analysis
• American Muslim Association Analysis
• Center for Constitutional Rights
• National Legal Aid & Defender Association (see download)

Links to information about detentions

• ACLU Analysis
• Amnesty International Statement
• Global Exchange Article

Links to President Bush's Military Order and Analysis

• President Bush’s Military Order, Issued November 13, 2001
• ACLU Evaluation

Links to information about military tribunals

• ACLU Press Release
• Human Rights Watch Criticism of Military Tribunals
• Legal Analysis
• Article from “The Christian Science Monitor”: In Favor of Military Tribunals

US Human Rights Analysis from Amnesty International

• Excerpt from the introduction of "United States of America: Rights for All" Amnesty International, 1998, New York, NY

"There is a persistent and widespread pattern o human rights violations in the USA. This is not to say that federal, state, or local authorities pursue policies deliberately designed to repress particular groups or violate human rights. Rather, it is to recognize that in the wide variety of jurisdictions across the country, practices persist which result in real and serious abuses. Some arise from individual misconduct, encouraged by an institutionalized 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. In some cases, economic policies and political trends are creating conditions in which these violations are becoming more widespread and increasingly severe.

This report focuses on several areas where the authorities have failed to prevent repeated violations of basic human rights: the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the right to life and the right to freedom from arbitrary detention. It shows that police officers, prison guards, immigration and other officials in the USA are regularly breaching their own laws and guidelines as well as international standards. It shows that the authorities have failed to take the necessary action to punish and prevent abuses, and that US government policies and practices frequently ignore or fall short of the minimum standards required by the international community."

A list of controversial rulings and actions related to civil rights appears below.

• USA Patriot Act-signed into law Oct. 26, 2001
• Military Tribunal military order - issued by President Bush Nov. 13, 2001
• Changes in practice: immigration proceedings no longer public
• Proposed national identity cards (Oracle offers free software)
• Attny. General Ashcroft - regulation permits federal officials to intrude on confidential communications between persons in federal custody and their attorneys (Attorney-client privilege issues)
• Racial profiling in airports and other public places
• Long-term detention of Arabs, Arab-Americans; questioning 5,000 men in US of Middle Eastern descent; pending deportation of 6,000. (long-term detention of anyone suspected of terrorism with limited rights as a detainee)
• Possible weakening of restrictions on FBI surveillance of US political and religious groups.
  
• Attny. General Ashcroft's testimony before Congress - arguing that people who disagree with US policies in the war on terrorism are aiding the terrorists.

(Other excellent sources for information are: www.ccr-ny.org for an analysis of the USA Patriot Act. Go to www.aclu.org for a 1/23/02 press release on political detainees; 1/16/02 analysis of military tribunals; 1/16/02 press release on Muslim US citizen (female) being strip searched. Go to www.nlg.org for a "know your rights" pamphlet for aliens in the US; text of the military tribunal order issued by President Bush in November, and a link to the American Immigration Lawyers' Assn. analysis of the immigration aspects of the USA Patriot Act. See also People for the American Way at www.pfaw.org. See www.heritage.org for the Heritage Foundation's "Defending the American Homeland" report and Backgrounder 1513 "UN Treaties and Conferences Will not Stop Terrorism". Check out www.cato.org for the Cato Institute's analysis of civil liberties. Related topics include: 12/10/01 op ed on Ashcroft's criticism of critics; 11/27/01 analysis of military tribunals; and others on immigrant rights and racial-ethnic profiling. See www.aei.org home page section "America At War" for the American Enterprise Institute's views. This section contains relevant essays such as those by James Q. Wilson "Freedoms Not in Jeopardy" and "In Favor of Military Tribunals" by Peter Wallison, among others. For Arab American perspectives on civil rights issues check out www.amconline.org for the American Muslim Council and www.adjc.org for the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Cmte. The latter has several education resources of note including a fact sheet on the condition of Arab Americans post 9/11.)