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.
What's New
PRESS RELEASE
CHRGJ Calls on Congress to Stop Discriminatory Profiling, Fix Watchlists
Urges Respect for Human Rights as Government Reviews National Security Measures
("NEW YORK, January 20, 2010)—Congress must uphold respect for human rights by ending the use of illegal and discriminatory profiling methods being used to populate watchlists under the guise of national security, said the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice today. The Center made its statement as three Senate committees convened to discuss the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack and its implications for the Terrorist Watchlist and related databases.
Citing a documented history of false matches in databases that include countless individuals who are not suspected of any wrongdoing, as well as those whose names have been cleared but who remain on the list, the Center urged Congress to reject proposals that would lower the criteria for inclusion in the Terrorist Watchlist.
PRESS RELEASE
Rights Groups Urge Respect for Human Rights in Delivering Aid to Haiti
Call for Transparency and Consultation with the Haitian People and Government
(January 14, 2010, New York, Washington DC, and Port-au-Prince)– In the wake of the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti, six prominent rights groups issued a statement today calling for relief efforts to be grounded in human rights principles, transparency, and respect for the human dignity of all Haitians. The groups—the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ), the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), Partners In Health/Zanmi Lasante, the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center), and TransAfrica Forum—warned that failure to do so could aggravate the already disastrous impacts of the earthquake.
“There is no doubt that Haiti’s hungry, thirsty, injured, and sick urgently need all the assistance the international community can provide, but it is critical that the underlying goal of improving human rights drives the distribution of every dollar of aid given to Haiti,” said Loune Viaud, Director of Strategic Planning and Operations at Zanmi Lasante. “The only way to avoid escalation of this crisis is for international aid to take a long-term view and strive to rebuild a stronger Haiti—one that includes a government that can ensure the basic human rights of all Haitians and a nation that is empowered to demand those rights.”
Press Statement: A Call for Human Rights-Based Approach to Humanitarian Assistance for Haiti (January 14, 2010)
HIGHLIGHT FROM THE CENTER
CHRGJ Expresses Solidarity with Haiti, Urges Support for Partners in Health
(January 14, 2010) As you've all heard by now, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake yesterday afternoon and is in dire need of emergency relief. For those of you looking for ways to help, our colleagues at Partners in Health and their Haitian counterpart, Zanmi Lasante, have made a direct appeal to the public for medical supplies and financial support to help the staff on the ground in Haiti deliver emergency medical care to the injured. In an urgent email from Port-au-Prince yesterday, Louise Ivers, PIH's clinical director in Haiti, appealed for assistance from her colleagues in the Central Plateau: "Port-au-Prince is devastated, lot of deaths. SOS. SOS... Temporary field hospital by us at UNDP needs supplies, pain meds, bandages. Please help us."
A number of other organizations, including Oxfam, CARE, and Save the Children, are also working to deliver emergency relief in a rights-based way.
Having worked in Haiti for the past several years on the human rights to water and food, the Center would like to express its solidarity with the Haitian people, who under normal circumstances already face terrible challenges to achieving their basic human rights to the food, water, and medical care necessary for survival and well-being. Our hearts go out to all Haitians at this time and we urge our colleagues and friends to join us in supporting relief efforts immediately.
PRESS RELEASE
Rights Groups Urge Congress Not to Block Disclosure of Details about CIA Rendition, Secret Detention, and Torture
Express Concerns about Congressional Involvement in FOIA Case against CIA
(January 7, 2010, New York and Washington DC) – Congress should not prevent disclosure of its knowledge and oversight of the CIA’s use of rendition, secret detention, and torture, three leading human rights groups urged today. The groups – Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at NYU School of Law – expressed concern after a federal court granted the government more time to consult with Congress about CIA records sought in the groups’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation.
“These records purport to describe the CIA’s notifications and briefings to Congress about U.S. rendition, secret detention, and torture,” stated CCR attorney, Gitanjali Gutierrez, speaking on behalf of the groups. “Congress should promote full disclosure of information about whether or not it exercised appropriate oversight authority and its involvement with torture and secret prisons. The American public deserves to know whether political leaders were keeping the CIA in check or actually encouraging the agency’s shocking acts.”
The court has granted the government more time to consult with Congress about the ten records, a process the government describes as being “unexpectedly complex.” The records include 26 pages of charts related to prior congressional notifications and briefings, summaries of briefings to and closed hearings before Congress, and memoranda describing meetings of senior officials.
PRESS RELEASE
UN expert concludes that Sri Lankan video is authentic, calls for an independent war crimes investigation
(GENEVA, January 7, 2010) -- Reports by three independent experts strongly point to the authenticity of a videotape released by Channel 4 in Britain which appears to show the summary execution of bound, blindfolded, and naked Tamils by Sri Lankan soldiers. This was announced today by the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, on the basis of detailed analyses conducted by recognized experts in forensic pathology, forensic video analysis, and firearm evidence.
Alston commissioned the three reports following the publication of four opinions by Sri Lankan experts, all of which concluded that the video was a fake. The Government of Sri Lanka informed the UN Human Rights Council that it would therefore not be undertaking any investigation of the allegations made. “Senior Government officials called upon me to apologize and to withdraw the allegations,” said Alston. “They also criticized me for not having undertaken my own technical analysis. In response to that criticism and to what seemed to me the patent inadequacies of the reports commissioned by the Government (two of which were prepared by officials of the Sri Lankan army), I requested highly qualified and totally independent experts to undertake evaluations.”
