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Abuse of children and teens within residential treatment facilities, located in both the US and in other countries that are run by non-profit organizations legally based in the U.S.A., has occurred for more than four decades. In spite of numerous reports from human rights defenders and mandated reporters, there have been no significant changes to stop the practice. There are no protections for witnesses/victims/survivors or for their human rights defenders. Mandated reporters of such human rights violations are more likely to lose their employment or be demoted, suffer personal and professional retaliation.
There is an entrenched unwillingness within the US government to expose the root cause of the political tolerance for the deregulation, lack of inspection, lack of financial transparency and accountability, lack of law enforcement action to investigate these crimes, lack of appropriate prosecution of perpetrators, and lack of any punishment for the offenses. The moral, ethical, and legal obligations to uphold human rights by US legislators, US Department of Justice officials, and even judges have not been fulfilled. When they have permitted this course of conduct to continue for four decades, they are culpable for the egregious human rights violations that have occurred.
Victims/Survivors are left with no access to redress or reparations. This systemic failure to protect children and young adults is a "crime against humanity" about which the US government has been fully informed, yet refused to prevent. Criminal acts that have occurred in these treatment facilities include:
- Murder (homicide) [i] [ii] [iii] [iv] [v]
- Enslavement [vi]
- Deportation or forcible transfer [vii]
- Imprisonment or severe deprivation of physical liberty
in violation of fundamental rules of international law [viii]
- Torture [ix]
- Rape, forced pregnancy, forced abortions [x] [xi]
- Persecution against persons not of Christian faith, especially those of Jewish faith
- Persecution of persons who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered [xii]
- Enforced disappearance of persons [xiii] [xiv] [xv]
- Other inhumane acts that intentionally cause great suffering,
or serious injury to body, to mental or physical health
