US reporting and the Convention Against Torture
In advance of a webinar discussing the topic, guest blogger Rebecca Landy, Outreach Coordinator of the Human Rights Network writes this post on US obligations and advocacy under the Convention Against Torture and US. She writes:
Under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), State parties are required to submit reports every four years to the United Nations review body, the Committee Against Torture (CAT Committee). The US ratified CAT in 1994 and its last review under the treaty was in May 2006. The 1996 review highlighted US human rights violations such as: torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, secret prisons throughout Europe, the use of rendition and torture for suspected Al Qaeda operatives, and the Bush administration’s changing interpretations of what constitutes “torture.”
The US was late in submitting their most recent report (a combination of their third (2000), fourth (2004), and fifth reports (2008)) to the CAT Committee; they finally submitted in August 2013, and will be reviewed by the Committee in Geneva this November. In response to these government reports, social justice groups and other NGOs will submit alternative reports, also known as shadow reports, which give an on-the-ground assessment of how the government is complying with CAT.
The US Human Rights Network (USHRN), where I serve as the Human Rights Outreach Coordinator, is a network of organizations and individuals working to grow a human rights movement and culture in the US, USHRN engages grassroots and national groups in the use of human rights standards, laws, and mechanisms to advance domestic advocacy and organizing goals; it is the primary organization coordinating the participation of groups in the review of the US Government on its compliance with CAT.
For example, grassroots groups like Justice Now, an organization in California that works with women prisoners and local communities to build a safe, compassionate world without prisons, will be utilizing the CAT review to advance their domestic work. Justice Now will show how violations of incarcerated women’s reproductive rights amount to torture, like the hundreds of cases of sterilization abuse in California prisons. Sharing stories of women like ‘Sheri,’ who was sterilized without her knowledge or consent, can be used on the international stage as a tool for human rights advocacy at home.
The USHRN CAT Taskforce has organized a webinar for July 22nd, at noon ET to help our preparation for the review; it will provide an overview of the treaty, the review process, shadow reporting, and information on how to get engaged and involved. The CAT Taskforce is co-chaired by Antonio Ginatta of Human Rights Watch and Claire Leslie Johnson of the University of Minnesota Human Rights Program.
How can you get involved in the CAT review process? You can write a shadow report (or sign-on to another organization’s report)! Reports are due to USHRN on September 17, 2014, and we will write an executive summary of all reports submitted to us and send them to the CAT Secretariat. You can also join an issue area working group. These groups serve three main purposes, to: 1) organize shadow reports; 2) advocate in Geneva; and 3) advocate at home.
We encourage you to register and attend Tuesday’s webinar and participate in the CAT review process. You can also join USHRN’s CAT Listerv to receive periodic updates on our work related to the CAT review.
Special thanks to my former Professor Margaret Drew for inviting me to write this piece and for continuing to serve as an inspirational human rights advocate.