Speaking Truth to Power About U.S. Violation of Human Rights
Contacting elected representatives
NGOs/Non-profits Amnesty International Human Rights Watch, ACLU,
Contact Local media/press: Prowley, 6 Ways to Find Media Contacts’ Email Addresses, LexisNexis
Matthew 22:36-40 New International Version (NIV)
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
United States Country Assessments
U.N. Universal Periodic Review (UPR) https://www.upr-info.org/en/review/United-States/Session-22—May-2015/National-report#top https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/united-states
U.S. Government changes interpretation of BWC https://fas.org/programs/bio/resource/original.html
Recently, the US interpretation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) has come to reflect the point of view that Article I, which forbids the development or production of biological agents except under certain circumstances, does not apply to non-lethal biological weapons. This position is at odds with original US interpretation of the Convention. “Non-lethal” drugs, toxins, and biological agents may be used in defensive, “disruption” operations (torture), simulating life-threatening illness and causing incapacitation and pain in place of other torture methods like beatings, stress positions, and mock executions, or to cause permanent disability, death (one of the 17 goals of MKUltra weapons research).
Project MKUltra, Goals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra
International Criminal Court Launches Investigation into Torture in Afghanistan; Bolton and Pompeo Threaten Court
Torture
Change through Publishing Research and white papers, documentation https://www.aclu.org/other/enduring-abuse-torture-and-cruel-treatment-united-states-home-and-abroad-executive-summary
Press releases for case publicity
Press Release: UN Day for Victims of Torture U.S. Government has still to end and repair torture policies – The Case of Mr. Mustafa al-Hawsawi at Guantanamo Bay https://www.omct.org/monitoring-protection-mechanisms/statements/united-states/2015/06/d23228/
Journalism and the Press, reporting on Human Rights Violations
Can Trump Bring Back Torture? https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/01/trump-torture/514463/
International law and International Organizations
U.N. Human Rights Council, U.S. due for a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) https://www.upr-info.org/en/review/United-States/Session-22—May-2015/National-report#top
Rule of law and Prosecution of crimes, accountability
https://theintercept.com/2016/06/16/cia-director-owes-answers-on-accountability-for-torture/
ICC investigation
Guantanamo Prison and Torture
NGO investigation and documentation
Physicians for Human Rights- Investigation and Documentation
Torture in U.S. National Security Detention https://phr.org/issues/torture/prevention/torture-in-u-s-national-security-detention/
Victims and Human Rights Defenders Speak Out
Torture in Prisons NGOs and institutes- survivors and victims tell story, speak out- Institute for Policy Studies Let’s End Torture in U.S. Prisons: Survivors call solitary confinement “living death.”
John Kiriakou Recommendations by whistleblower CIA analyst who was imprisoned for his activism. https://ips-dc.org/lets-end-torture-u-s-prisons/ February 3, 2016
WorldConsul 