New UN Report Denounces America's Human Rights Record

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By Stephen Lendman (about the author) Page 4 of 8 page(s)

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MCA "utterly fail(s) to meet basic due process standards." Several of its most egregious flaws include:

-- Guantanamo detainees were tortured and subjected to cruel and abusive treatment;

-- statements coerced through torture will be used as evidence at trials;

-- whatever America says is classified will be unavailable to defense attorneys;

-- detainees may be convicted by evidence he has never seen or knows anything about; and

-- second and third-hand hearsay evidence will be allowed at trial.

"The MCA's provisions constitute a gross infringement on the right to a fair trial and it would violate international law to execute someone under this statute."

Detainee Deaths at Guantanamo

Full knowledge of detainee deaths isn't known, including their number and causes. Alston cites five reported, four called suicides, the other attributed to cancer. Custodial powers are required "to ensure and respect the right to life." As such, they bear responsibility for detainee deaths and are obligated to investigate and publicly report their findings and whatever evidence supports them. So far, DOD has stonewalled all efforts to comply, except to release redacted autopsy and other internal investigation reports.

Lack of Transparency Regarding Civilian Casualties

DOD officials told Alston that it doesn't compile data on Afghan or Iraqi civilian casualties because body counts don't relate to the effectiveness or legality of military operations. Yet doing it is important to judge if America is serious about avoiding them altogether and keeping them to a minimum when they happen. No evidence suggests that's so.

Private Contractors

Credible reports indicate that private security and other contractors engage in indiscriminate and otherwise questionable force against civilians, causing numerous casualties that may number in the thousands. Little of this gets reported and transparency overall is lacking. "The most comprehensive study to date found that few firms ever report shooting incidents, that such incidents are often misreported, and that SIRs (serious incident reports) that are filed are almost uniformly cursory and uninformative." As a result, private contractors get away with murder because no authority holds them accountable.

Civilian Intelligence Agencies

What's true for contractors, applies to the CIA as well with credible reports of at least five custodial deaths from torture or other means. Claimed investigations were conducted. CIA involvement was never confirmed or denied. Its Inspector General told Alston that cases involving possible unlawful killings are classified, and no one so far has been prosecuted nor will they as Obama ruled out the possibility.

Transparency and Accountability for Unlawful Killings and Custodial Deaths

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Systemic Injustice: Torture, "Disappearance," and Extrajudicial Execution in Mexico
by America Human Rights Watch

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