”Challenging U.S. Human Rights Violations Since 9/11”
C. The Government's Duty to Obey the Constitution and Law of Nations
As the election approaches, the Bush Administration is appealing for votes from the military and from civilians who want to feel safe from terrorist attacks.
It is a good idea to check what this Administration is doing about members of the military who decide they can no longer fight and kill others.
-by Ann Fagan Ginger
The U.S. Constitution, Article I, Sec. 8, cl. 10, specifically gives Congress, not the President, the power “to define and punish ... Offenses against the Law of Nations,” thus recognizing that the U.S. is bound by this law. 22 former U.S. Ambassadors, four retired Generals, Admirals, and Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a statement against Bush's re-election on June 16, 2004, because his first term was such a “complete and terrible disaster.”
- 13. Not To Send Military For Regime Change In Afghanistan Or Haiti
- 14. Not To Send Troops For Invasion Of Iraq
- 15. Not To Support Abusive Regimes, Violations Of World Court Opinions
- 16. To Deal Fairly With Conscientious Objector Claims
- 17. Not To Maintain Weapons Of Mass Destruction Or Design New Nukes
13. Not To Send Military For Regime Change In Afghanistan Or Haiti
As a member of the U.N., the U.S. is committed not to use “threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state,...” and to “settle ... international disputes by peaceful means,...” (U.N. Charter Arts. 2.4 and 2.3)
U.S. May Have Directly Killed 3,400 Afghans, Indirectly Killed 20,000
("Afghanistan: U.S. Bombs Kill Twenty-three Civilians," Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/press/2001/10/afghan1026.htm accessed July 27, 2004; Mark Herold, "Casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq," Unknown News, last to cite update July 27, 2004 http://www.unknownnews.net/casualties.html accessed August 8, 2004; Jonathan Steele, "Forgotten Victims," Guardian UK, May 20, 2002, http://www.guardian.co.uk/analysis/story/0,3604,718635,00.html accessed July 7, 2004.)
U.S. Bombing Killed Children in Afghanistan
(Reuters, "Red Cross Warns Afghan Children Off Cluster Bombs," Revolutionary Associations of the Women of Afghanistan, June 29, 2002, http://www.rawa.fancymarketing.net/cluster2.htm accessed June 21, 2004.) "Scores Killed in US Afghan Raid," BBCNews.com, July 1, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2079565.stm accessed June 21, 2004; Associated Press, "6 Afghan Children Die In U.S. Attack," MSNBC News, December 10, 2003, http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3675426/ accessed June 21, 2004; "U.S. Bombing Kills Afghan Children," BBCNews.com, December 7, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3297575.stm accessed August 8, 2004; Associated Press, "Afghan officials say U.S. raid kills 11, including 4 children," ContraCostaTimes.com, January 20, 2004, http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/world/7751568.htm?1c accessed June 17, 2004.)
Bush Charged with Orchestrating Removal of President Aristide in Haiti
(Saeed Shabazz, "President Aristide Calls for Reparations," FinalCall.com, October 8, 2003, http://www.newshaiti.com/index.php?mode=single&n=351 accessed July 6, 2004; "Resolution of the San Francisco Labor Council Honoring the Bicentennial of Haiti," San Francisco Labor Council, December 8, 2003, http://www.iacenter.org/haiti-sflabor03.htm accessed July 6, 2004; "Aristide: U.S. Forced me to Leave," BBC News, March 2, 2004, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3524273.stm accessed July 6, 2004; "Congresswoman Barbara Lee Introduces TRUTH Act," HaitiAction.com, March 9, 2004, http://www.haitiaction.com/News/BL/bl3_9_4.html accessed July 6, 2004; Amy Goodman interviews Max Blumenthal, "Did the Bush Administration Allow a Network of Right-Wing Republicans to Foment a Violent Coup in Haiti," Democracy Now!, July 20, 2004, http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/20/1327215 accessed July 20, 2004.)
14. Not To Send Troops For Invasion Of Iraq
The U.S. Constitution does not mention going to “war against poverty” or “war against drugs” or “war against terrorism.” Bush did not ask Congress for a declaration of war against Iraq with clearly stated goals and a plan to return power to the Iraqi people after the U.S. invasion.
U.S. Troops Open Fire, Kill Baghdad Protesters
(Fred Abrahams, "Violent Response: The U.S. Army in Al-Falluja," Human Rights Watch, June 2003, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/iraqfalluja/Iraqfalluja-09.htm#P426_64212 accessed July 29, 2004; Robert H. Reid, "Iraqi Frustration," San Francisco Examiner, Oct. 2, 2003, http://www.sfexaminer.com/article/index.cfm/i/100203b_iraq accessed July 29, 2004; Fred Abrahams, "As U.S. Kills Two Iraqi Demonstrators In Baghdad, Human Rights Watch Demands Full Investigation Of U.S. Killings In Falluja," Democracy Now!, 18 June 2003, http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=03/06/18/1436233 accessed July 29, 2004.)
After Iraq Invasion, U.S. Troops Killed Thousands of Civilians
(Zehira Houfani, "Human Rights, US Style: The Pupil Is Gone, The Master Has Replaced Him," Montreal Iraq Solidarity Project, July 29, 2003, http://electroniciraq.net/news/999.shtml accessed July 26, 2004; Peter Symonds, "US occupation authority suppresses study of Iraqi civilian casualties," World Socialist Web Site, December 15, 2003, http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/dec2003/iraq-d15.shtml accessed August 9, 2004; Human Rights Watch, "Off Target: The Conduct of the War and Civilian Casualties in Iraq," Human Rights Watch, December 2003, http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1203/ accessed August 9, 2004; Patrick Cockburn and Raymond Whitaker, "Missile strike by US kills 22 civilians in Iraq," Independent News UK, June 20, 2004, http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=533378 accessed August 9, 2004.)
Over 12,000 U.S. Casualties from Iraq Invasion
(Mark Benjamin, "US Casualties from Iraq War Top 9,000," United Press International, Nov. 14, 2003, http://upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031113-074311-4128r accessed July 21, 2004; Mike Lee, "Casualty Ward: U.S. Medical Center Handles Thousands of Trauma Cases From Iraq War," ABC News, August 8, 2004, http://abcnews.go.com/sections/WNT/World/landstuhl_040808.html accessed August 9, 2004.)
U.S. Appointed Ex-CIA Operative Head of Iraq After He Allegedly Murdered Six: Iyad Allawi
(Tom Allard, "Check on Execution Claims Promised," Sidney Morning Herald, July 20, 2004, http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/19/1090089101841.html?oneclick=true accessed July 19, 2004; Paul McGeough, "Allawi shot prisoners in cold blood: witnesses," Sidney Morning Herald, July 17, 2004, http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/16/1089694568757.html?oneclick=true accessed July 19, 2004; "Allawi ran CIA-backed bombing campaigns: report," ABC News Online, June 9, 2004, http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1128433.htm accessed July 19, 2004.)
15. Not To Support Abusive Regimes, Violations Of World Court Opinions
The U.S. Department of State is required to make a report to Congress and the people every year on the human rights record of every nation so that federal funds cannot be allocated to abusive governments without an express waiver request from the President agreed to by Congress (Human Rights and Security Assistance Act). Administration requests for military, and civilian, aid to Israel and Egypt totally ignore the human rights report by DOS.
U.S. Government Provides Aid to Abusive Regimes in Violation of Federal Law
("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-Sudan," U.S. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 25, 2004, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27753.htm accessed June 29, 2004; "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-Egypt," Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 25, 2004, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27926.htm accessed June 29, 2004; "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-Israel," Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, February 25, 2004 http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27929.htm accessed June 29, 2004.)
U.S. Supports Israel's Rejection of the World Court Opinion
(Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, International Court of Justice, 2004, 9 July, General List No. 131; Aluf Benn, "ICJ: West Bank fence is illegal, Israel must tear it down," Haaretz, July 9, 2004, http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/449395.html accessed July 9, 2004.)
U.S. Intervention in Colombia Poisons People and the Environment
("Fact Sheet -- Colombia: The Pentagon's New Target in Latin America," International Action Center, no date, http://www.iacenter.org/colombia_fact.htm accessed July 28, 2004; Kristine Herwig, "The Environment, Plan Colombia, and U.S. Aid," Macalester Environmental Review, September 25, 2002, http://www.macalester.edu/~envirost/MacEnvReview/Colombia.htm accessed July 28, 2004; Aldo Lale-Demoz, "UNDCP Letter of 2 November to the Sunshine Project," United Nations Drug Control Program, November 2, 2000, http://www.sunshine-project.org/agentgreen/laledemoz.html accessed July 28, 2004; Al Giordano, "Plan Colombia is now called the "Andean Initiative," Nadir.org, May 25, 2001, http://www.nadir.org/nadir/initiativ/agp/free/colombia/txt/2001/0525andean_initiative.htm accessed July 28, 2004; Sandra Alvarez and Jason Mark, "Plan Colombia and Mission Creep," Abu Saleh, March 14, 2002, http://www.abusaleh.com/index.php?id=154 accessed July 28, 2004; "U.S. Aid to Colombia Since 1997: Summary Tables," The Center for International Policy's Colombia Program, February 20, 2004, http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/aidtable.htm accessed July 28, 2004.)
16. To Deal Fairly With Conscientious Objector Claims
All males in the U.S., legally or illegally, are required to register with the Selective Service System on reaching 18 (except men on travel or student or diplomatic visas). The form no longer provides space to apply for Conscientious Objector status.
The No Child Left Behind Act permits school districts to automatically turn over names, addresses, and telephone numbers of every high school student to the U.S. military to receive recruitment material, unless parents request otherwise. The Peace Fresno Education Committee insisted that their school board notify all parents that they could opt out.
Since January, 2004, several hundred U.S. Service members have applied for Conscientious Objector (CO) status, although few have gone public. Very few applicants receive a discharge. Decisions on CO applications take six months to a year, sometimes longer, and statistics on COs lag about one year. The military also does not count CO applications from servicemen absent without leave.
Department of Defense Consistently Denies Conscientious Objector Status
(Gabriel Packard, "Hundreds of Soldiers Emerge as Conscientious Objectors," Common Dreams, Apr. 15, 2003, http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0415-11.htm accessed July 13, 2004; Liz Zanoni, "Baxter speaks on conscientious objection in Gulf War," The Observer, February 1, 2001, http://www.nd.edu/~observer/02012001/News/6.html accessed August 9, 2004; "AWOL GI Refuses Service in 'Gulf War II,'" IndyMedia, November 20, 2002, http://www.madison.indymedia.org/newswire/display_pprintable/8411/index.php accessed July 13, 2004; Pam Belluck, "Absent from Unit in Iraq for Months, Soldier Turns Protester and Surrenders," New York Times, March 16, 2004, http://www.refusingtokill.net/CamiloMejiaNYT.htm accessed July 30, 2004; "Camilo Mejia Seeks Conscientious Objector Status," Democracy Now!, June 24, 2004, http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/06/24/1422242 accessed July 12, 2004; Melinda Tuhus, "BTL:Army Conscientious Objector Who Opposed Abuse of Iraqi Civilians and...," Between the Lines, June 27, 2004, http://nyc.indymedia.org/newswire/display/95799/index.php accessed July 12, 2004.)
Department Of Defense Deploys Conscientious Objector Applicant to Iraq
("Army Ships GI Who Tried to File CO Claim to Iraq After First Isolating Him To Barracks," Citizen Soldier, June 2003, http://www.citizen-soldier.org/CS03-gabe.html accessed August 6, 2004.)
Marine Corps Sentences Conscientious Objector Applicant
(Pamela J. Podger, "Marine Obeys His Conscience, Reservist Didn't Ship Out With His Unit to Iraq," Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors, April 2, 2003, http://www.objector.org/ccco/inthenews/funkco.html accessed July 30, 2004; Email entitled, "Stephen Funk Transferred to Camp Lejeune, NC," NLG Military Law Task Force, September 12, 2003; "Demand Freedom for Stephen Funk 1st War Resister to be jailed November 15th 2003 - Camp Lejeune Military Base, North Carolina," Refusing to Kill, November 10-14, 2003, http://www.refusingtokill.net/USStephenFunk/convergenceforstephenfunk.htm accessed August 9, 2004; NION, "Welcome Home Stephen Funk!," IndyBay.org, February 28, 2004, http://www.indybay.org/news/2004/02/1671696.php accessed August 9, 2004.)
17. Not To Maintain Weapons Of Mass Destruction Or Design New Nukes
Since 9/11, many people have become concerned about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and about some of the weapons the U.S. is using there. The Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy says the Bush Administration announced that it is out of, or is trying not to comply with: Antiballistic Missile Treaty, Biological & Toxic Weapons Convention, UN Agreement To Curb International Flow of Illicit Small Arms, International Criminal Court Treaty, Land Mines Treaty, and Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Administration Acts Against Commitments To Limit Arms
(Nicole Deller, Arjun Makhijani, and John Burroughs, "Multilateral Treaties Are Fundamental Tools for Protecting Global Security," Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, June 2004, http://www.lcnp.org/pubs/rpbflier.htm accessed July 16, 2004; John Burroughs, "The Shameful U.S. Record in 2003 Disarmament Votes at the United Nations," CommonDreams, December 15, 2003, http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1215-04.htm accessed July 16, 2004; Richard DuBoff, "Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who's The Biggest Rogue Of All?," Z Magazine, September 2003, http://zmagsite.zmag.org/Sept2003/duboff0903.html accessed July 14, 2004; John Burroughs, Executive Director, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, email communication with MCLI, July 12, 2004).
DOD, Congress Trying To Change Nuclear Weapons Policies
(Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, "Nuclear Posture Review Report," Jan. 8, 2002, http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/policy/dod/ npr.htm accessed July 15, 2004; "International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion of 8 July 1996," http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/icases/iunan/ iunanframe.htm accessed July 15, 2004; John Burroughs, "The Nuclear Threat," Presentation at the Barcelona Forum, June 25, 2004, http://www.lcnp.org/disarmament/Barcelona_WMD.pdf accessed July 15, 2004; Carl Hulse, "Senate Backs New Research on A-Bombs," New York Times, June 16, 2004, p. A16; William Matthews, "U.S. House Rejects Plea For New Nuclear Arms," Defense News, July 12, 2004, http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=3055565&C=america. accessed July 16, 2004).
Bush Ignores World Court Opinion on Nuclear Weapons
(Ann Fagan Ginger, editor, Nuclear Weapons Are Illegal: the Historic Opinion of the World Court and How It Will Be Enforced [Apex Press 1998], pp74-76; Walter C. Uhler, "Policy is a dangerous return to anxieties of the Cold War," Philadelphia Enquirer, March 18, 2002, http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/2883600.htm?1c accessed August 13, 2004.
U.S. Forces Use Depleted Uranium in Iraq; Many Affected
(Scott Peterson, "Remains of toxic bullets litter Iraq," Christian Science Monitor, May 15, 2003, http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0515/p01s02-woiq.html accessed August 8, 2004; Larry Johnson, "Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons Lingers as Health Concern." Seattle Post Intelligencer, August 4, 2003, http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/iraq2003/133581_du04.html accessed July 30, 2004; Sara Flounders, "Another War Crime? Iraqi Cities "Hot" With Depleted Uranium," International Action Center, August 18, 2003, http://www.iacenter.org/du-warcrime.htm accessed July 15, 2004; "Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons," Int'l Court of Justice, 1996 Gen'l. List No. 95. (1) Paras. 74-87 (2) Para. 31; Juan Gonzales, "Poisoned?: Shocking report reveals local troops may be victims of America's high-tech weapons," The New York Daily News, April 3, 2004, http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/180333p-156685c.html accessed August 9, 2004.)
U.S. Contaminating Afghanistan with Uranium
(Alex Kirby, "Afghans' Uranium Levels Spark Alert," BBC News Online, May 23, 2003, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3050317.stm accessed July 30, 2004; Dr. Mohammed Daud Miraki, "The Silent Genocide from America," Afghan DU & Recovery Fund, June 5, 2003, http://www.afghandufund.org/miraki_silent_genocide.pdf accessed July 30, 2004; Dr. Mohammed Daud Miraki, "The Perpetual Death From America," World Uranium Weapons Conference, February 24, 2003, http://www.uranwaffenkonferenz.de/speakers/miraki_perpetual_death.pdf accessed July 30, 2004; T. Weyman, "Afghan Field Trip #2 Report: Precision Destruction-Indiscriminate Effects," Uranium Medical Research Center, November 2002, http://www.mindfully.org/Nucs/2002/Afghan-Destruction-Effects-UMRCNov02.htm accessed July 30, 2004; "Quotes from Field Team's Trip Report," Uranium Medical Research Center, http://www.umrc.net/projectAfghanistan.asp accessed May 30, 2003.)
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