New York University School of Law has long been at the forefront of scholarly work on civil liberties and human rights. In 2002, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice was established to bring together and expand the rich array of teaching, research, clinical, internship, and publishing activities undertaken within the Law School on issues of international human rights law.
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AnnouncementsJob OpeningProject Coordinator, Detainee Abuse and Accountability (DAA) Project Report LaunchApril 21, 2008, Recasting Justice: Securing Dalit Rights in Nepal's New Constitution PressRecent EventsApril 15, 2008, "Does Truth have Borders? Transitional Justice and the Liberian Diaspora Experience" April 14, 2008, Photographs by Iraqi Civilians Student OpportunitiesHuman Rights Opportunities for LL.M. Students Post-Graduate Global Human Rights Fellowship Call for Submissions |
What's New
LAWSUIT
Freedom of Information Act: Ghost Detention and Extraordinary Rendition Case
June 7, 2007, the Center for International Human Rights Clinic and two of the groups - Amnesty International USA and CCR - filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking the disclosure of information concerning "disappeared" detainees. The request was seeking the opportunity to inspect and copy all records in the possession of the Department, including any officers, divisions or bureaus. The sought records refer to individuals who were, have been, or continue to be deprived of their liberty by or with the involvement of the United States and about whom the United States has not provided public information. These individuals have been referred to as 'ghost detainees/prisoners," "unregistered detainees/prisoners," "CIA detainees/prisoners" and "Other Governmental Agency Detainees" ("OGA Detainees"). These individuals have reportedly been held in various locations, including regular and irregular detention facilities, ships, aircraft, and military bases. Numerous media reports indicate that the United States is involved in the secret or irregular apprehension, transfer, and detention of individuals on foreign territory.' These reports suggest that the government secretly detains and transports individuals on U.S. ships, military bases, and U.S.-chartered planes, as well as in foreign states.
NEW
REPORT
CHRGJ Releases Groundbreaking Report on Nepalese Dalit Rights
“Recasting Justice” Outlines Crucial Next Steps for Nepal’s Constitution
(New York and Kathmandu, April 22, 2008)—Nepal’s new constitution must recognize and protect the fundamental human rights of Dalits, says a new report released today by the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law. The report was released on the heels of Nepal’s historic Constituent Assembly elections held on April 10, 2008.
The 89-page report Recasting Justice: Securing Dalit Rights in Nepal’s New Constitution analyzes Nepal’s Interim Constitution to inform how the new constitution may be drafted in accordance with the country’s international human rights obligations to secure the rights of Dalits—a group which has faced more than 2000 years of systematic discrimination on the basis of caste. As Nepal prepares its new constitution after years of prolonged civil war, Recasting Justice provides Nepalese lawmakers with tangible means to demonstrate the country’s commitment to the inherent dignity and human rights of all individuals.
Report Launch (April 21, 2008)
NEW
REPORT
Business: Rights at Risk in the Global Economy
Companies Harm Human Rights Worldwide
(New York, February 19, 2008) – People in countries across the world are regularly harmed when businesses fail to respect basic human rights, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law.
The clear evidence of widespread abuse and government inaction detailed in the report shows that global standards are needed to ensure that corporate conduct respects internationally recognized human rights.
The 53-page report, On the Margins of Profit: Rights at Risk in the Global Economy, was jointly prepared by Human Rights Watch and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. It illustrates how everyday business decisions have significant implications for the human rights of workers, local communities, suppliers, and consumers.
REPORT
CHRGJ Releases a New Shadow Report to the UN
(December, 2007) CHRGJ released a new shadow report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD): In the Shadows of the War on Terror: Persistent Police Brutality and the Abuse of People of Color in the United States.
The report was put together by a multitude of NGOs, including NYU School of Law's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, which is acknowledged in the report.
REPORT AND LAWSUIT
CHRGJ Releases Unprecedented Testimony about CIA “Black Sites”
(New York - December 17, 2007)-In the first-ever report of its kind, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice today released a comprehensive, first-hand account of a survivor of enforced disappearance and torture at several CIA “black sites.” The 63-page report Surviving the Darkness: Testimony from the U.S. “Black Sites” is the first to present an in-depth account of a former CIA detainee’s experience in his own words.
Surviving the Darkness is the narrative of Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, a Yemeni national who spent more than a year and a half in the CIA’s secret detention program. Mr. Bashmilah, along with four other individuals, is a plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.—a subsidiary of the Boeing Corporation—alleging that Jeppesen provided flight services enabling the transfer of Bashmilah and the four other plaintiffs to secret CIA detention centers around the world.
On October 19, 2007, the U.S. government filed motions to intervene and dismiss the action or, in the alternative, for summary judgment on the basis that the case concerns state secrets. On December 14, 2007, Bashmilah’s account—alongside a legal memorandum and the accounts of other plaintiffs in the suit—was filed by the ACLU in support of the plaintiffs’ opposition to the government’s motion.
CHRGJ Releases Unprecedented Testimony about CIA “Black Sites” (Press Release, December 17, 2007)
Full Report (63 pages)
Declaration of Margaret L. Satterthwaite in Support of Plaintiffs’ Opposition to the United States’ Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment: Part 1 and Part 2
Complaint in Lawsuit: Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.
For more information about the lawsuit, click here.
For more information about CHRGJ’s work in this area, click here.
NEW
Interview with Prof. Satterthwaite and Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, Democracy NOW!, December 18, 2007
LAWSUIT
On Behalf of Rendition Victim, Clinic Joins ACLU Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary
(New York, NY, August 1, 2007) - On behalf of Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, the NYU International Human Rights Clinic today joined an ACLU lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing Company. Filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit alleges that Jeppesen knowingly provided extensive flight services that enabled the CIA's rendition of Yemeni citizen Bashmilah and four others into the U.S. government's publicly-acknowledged secret detention program. The lawsuit was originally filed by the ACLU on May 30, 2007 on behalf of three victims of extraordinary rendition. Today's filing adds Bashmilah and Bisher al-Rawi, another victim, to the suit.
The complaint alleges that Jeppesen provided services enabling Bashmilah's rendition to Afghanistan, where he was subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment before being sent to a CIA "black site" in an undisclosed location. It further alleges that through this assistance, Jeppesen violated the Alien Tort Statute, which allows aliens to bring claims in the United States for violations of the law of nations. Bashmilah was unlawfully detained in U.S.-run facilities outside of the U.S. for seventeen months, without any contact with his family, government, lawyers or humanitarian organizations. He was released to his country of origin, Yemen, in May 2005. Although Bashmilah was subject to torture and endured a long and painful enforced disappearance, no charges were ever brought against him by the U.S. government.
Complaint in Lawsuit: Mohamed et al. v. Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.
For more information about the lawsuit, click here.
