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Publications
Human Rights First has written a series of reports on
the erosion of civil liberties in the U.S. since 9/11. The reports,
and the dates they cover, are:
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Command’s Responsibility: Detainee Deaths in U.S. Custody in Iraq and Afghanistan
2/06
Provides the first comprehensive accounting of the U.S. government’s handling of the nearly 100 cases of detainees who have died in U.S. custody since 2002. In its report, Human Rights First looked at some of the most troubling abuse cases, including up to 12 cases in which people were tortured to death. The report found that flawed investigations and a lack of punishment, especially at the highest levels, has lead to a culture of impunity on abuse.
Despite the number of deaths of prisoners in U.S. custody, as of February 2006, only 12 detainee deaths have resulted in any kind of punishment for any U.S. official, military or civilian. The report finds that often the more serious the case – particularly those involving people tortured to death – the less severe the punishment; the highest sentence in a torture-related death is five months in prison. Based on this, Human Rights First concluded that a gap exists between policies leadership says it respects on paper, and behavior it actually tolerates in practice.
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Ending Secret Detentions
6/04
Ending Secret Detentions, a June 2004 report by Human Rights First, reveals a global network of secret U.S. detention facilities used to imprison detainees caught up in the war on terror. In the report, Human Rights First calls on the President to end secret detentions and to grant the International Committee for the Red Cross full and immediate access to all individuals in U.S. custody.
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 Assessing
the New Normal
3/03 to 9/03
ASSESSING THE NEW NORMAL, the third in a series of reports, documents
the continuing erosion of basic human rights protections under U.S. law
and policy since September 11.
Praise
for Assessing the New Normal
"Government's post-9/11 challenge is to construct an effective security
apparatus that protects, not imperils, civil liberties. Toward that end,
Assessing the New Normal is a responsible, non-partisan critique
of an executive that has amassed unwarranted power, a Congress that too
often abdicates, and judicial oversight conspicuous by its absence."
—Robert
A. Levy, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies, CATO Institute
"The most disturbing thing about the 'new normal' analyzed in the Human
Rights First's comprehensive report is that it will not increase human security
either in the U.S. or internationally."
—Mary
Robinson, former U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and
the Chair of the Ethical Globalization Initiative
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