November, 19 2009, 11:11am EDT
ACLU Seeks Information on Children in US Military Detention Overseas
Asks Department of Defense for Information on Compliance With UN Recommendations
WASHINGTON
The
American Civil Liberties Union today sent a letter to Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates requesting updated data on juveniles in U.S.
military custody in Iraq and Afghanistan and information on efforts to
bring U.S. policy regarding the treatment, detention and trial of
juveniles into compliance with international law.
In May 2008, the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the Child conducted a comprehensive review
of U.S. compliance with the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of
Children in Armed Conflict, which the U.S. ratified in 2002. The
protocol guarantees basic protections to former child soldiers. The
committee issued a strongly worded critique of the United States'
record on the detention and treatment of juveniles in U.S. military
custody abroad, and offered recommendations for compliance.
"The president has pledged to
restore the rule of law and humanity to U.S. detention operations
overseas. The treatment of juveniles in U.S. military custody is a
critical litmus test for this endeavor," said Jamil Dakwar, Director of
the ACLU Human Rights Program. "The U.S. can improve its standing in
the international community and lead by example by demonstrating
compliance with the committee's recommendations concerning juvenile
detainees."
The letter to Secretary Gates states
that as of May 2008, the U.S. military was holding 513 Iraqi children
as "imperative threats to security" and had transferred an unknown
number of additional children to Iraqi custody. As of April 2008, there
were approximately 10 juveniles being held at the Bagram prison in
Afghanistan. During its review, the Committee on the Rights of the
Child expressed concern about reports of mistreatment, length of
detention and conditions of confinement of juvenile detainees, as well
as the lack of adequate access to education, legal services and
physical and psychological recovery services. The committee also was
concerned that children were being charged and prosecuted for war
crimes without consideration for their status as juveniles. Last
Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Canadian
Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr, who was 15 when he was captured by U.S.
forces, will be charged in a military commission for allegedly throwing
a hand grenade that killed an Army medic and wounded others in
Afghanistan.
"The U.S. has had over 18 months to
implement the U.N.'s recommendations regarding the detention of
suspected child soldiers abroad," said Jennifer Turner of the ACLU
Human Rights Program. "We hope that the U.S. has taken substantive
steps to fulfill its obligations to bring its policies on the detention
and treatment of juveniles in line with international standards."
Today's request from the ACLU comes
on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of
the Child (CRC), the most comprehensive treaty on children's rights,
which the U.S. helped to author but has yet to ratify. Somalia is the
only other nation that has not ratified the treaty.
The letter to Secretary Gates can be found at: www.aclu.org/human-rights/aclu-letter-secretary-gates-regarding-juvenile-detention
The full report of the U.N. CRC is available online at: www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/co/CRC.C.OPAC.USA.CO.1.pdf
The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict is at: www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc-conflict.htm
More information about the CRC can be found at: www.aclu.org/crc
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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Critics Blast 'Reckless and Impossible' Bid to Start Operating Mountain Valley Pipeline
"The time to build more dirty and dangerous pipelines is over," said one environmental campaigner.
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Environmental defenders on Tuesday ripped the company behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline for asking the federal government—on Earth Day—for permission to start sending methane gas through the 303-mile conduit despite a worsening climate emergency caused largely by burning fossil fuels.
Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC sent a letter Monday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Secretary Debbie-Anne Reese seeking final permission to begin operation on the MVP next month, even while acknowledging that much of the Virginia portion of the pipeline route remains unfinished and developers have yet to fully comply with safety requirements.
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Appalachian Voices noted that MVP's request comes days before pipeline developer Equitrans Midstream is set to release its 2024 first-quarter earnings information on April 30.
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U.S. workers' rights advocates and groups celebrated on Tuesday after the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to approve a ban on most noncompete clauses, which Democratic FTC Chair Lina Khansaid "keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism."
"The FTC's final rule to ban noncompetes will ensure Americans have the freedom to pursue a new job, start a new business, or bring a new idea to market," Khan added, pointing to the commission's estimates that the policy could mean another $524 for the average worker, over 8,500 new startups, and 17,000 to 29,000 more patents each year.
As Economic Policy Institute (EPI) president Heidi Shierholz explained, "Noncompete agreements are employment provisions that ban workers at one company from working for, or starting, a competing business within a certain period of time after leaving a job."
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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has suggested it plans to file a lawsuit that, as The American Prospectdetailed, "could more broadly threaten the rulemaking authority the FTC cited when proposing to ban noncompetes."
Already, the tax services and software provider Ryan has filed a legal challenge in federal court in Texas, arguing that the FTC is unconstitutionally structured.
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Morgan Harper, director of policy and advocacy at the American Economic Liberties Project, praised the FTC for "listening to the comments of thousands of entrepreneurs and workers of all income levels across industries" and finalizing a rule that "is a clear-cut win."
Demand Progress' Emily Peterson-Cassin similarly commended the commission "for taking a strong stance against this egregious use of corporate power, thereby empowering workers to switch jobs and launch new ventures, and unlocking billions of dollars in worker earnings."
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One plaintiffs' attorney said the ruling "makes our democracy better and ensures that North Carolina is not able to unjustly criminalize innocent individuals with felony convictions who are valued members of our society."
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Democracy defenders on Tuesday hailed a ruling from a U.S. federal judge striking down a 19th-century North Carolina law criminalizing people who vote while on parole, probation, or post-release supervision due to a felony conviction.
In Monday's decision, U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs—an appointee of former Democratic President Barack Obama—sided with the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute and Action NC, who argued that the 1877 law discriminated against Black people.
"The challenged statute was enacted with discriminatory intent, has not been cleansed of its discriminatory taint, and continues to disproportionately impact Black voters," Biggs wrote in her 25-page ruling.
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Voting rights tracker Democracy Docket noted that Monday's ruling "does not have any bearing on North Carolina's strict felony disenfranchisement law, which denies the right to vote for those with felony convictions who remain on probation, parole, or a suspended sentence—often leaving individuals without voting rights for many years after release from incarceration."
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As similar battles play out in other states, Democratic U.S. lawmakers led by Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont in December introduced legislation to end former felon disenfranchisement in federal elections and guarantee incarcerated people the right to vote.
Currently, only Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia allow all incarcerated people to vote behind bars.
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