Showing papers on "Torture published in 2001"

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Abstract: Alleged victims: The complainants State party: Canada Date of complaint: 14 November 2012 (initial submission) Date of present decision: 2 December 2015 Subject matter: Failure to initiate criminal proceedings against a former Head of State responsible for torture Procedural issues: Admissibility ratione personae Substantive issues: Impunity; obligations of States; jurisdiction (universal) Articles of the Convention: 5 (2), 6 (1), 7 (1) and 22

Diplomacy of Conscience: Amnesty International and Changing Human Rights Norms

Abstract: A small group founded Amnesty International in 1961 to translate human rights principles into action. "Diplomacy of Conscience" provides a rich account of how the organization pioneered a combination of popular pressure and expert knowledge to advance global human rights. To an extent unmatched by predecessors and copied by successors, Amnesty International has employed worldwide publicity campaigns based on fact-finding and moral pressure to urge governments to improve human rights practices. Less well known is Amnesty International's significant impact on international law. It has helped forge the international community's repertoire of official responses to the most severe human rights violations, supplementing moral concern with expertise and conceptual vision."Diplomacy of Conscience" traces Amnesty International's efforts to strengthen both popular human rights awareness and international law against torture, disappearances, and political killings. Drawing on primary interviews and archival research, Ann Marie Clark posits that Amnesty International's strenuously cultivated objectivity gave the group political independence and allowed it to be critical of all governments violating human rights. Its capacity to investigate abuses and interpret them according to international standards helped it foster consistency and coherence in new human rights law. Generalizing from this study, Clark builds a theory of the autonomous role of nongovernmental actors in the emergence of international norms pitting moral imperatives against state sovereignty. Her work is of substantial historical and theoretical relevance to those interested in how norms take shape in international society, as well as anyone studying the increasing visibility of nongovernmental organizations on the international scene.

The Justice Cascade: The Evolution and Impact of Foreign Human Rights Trials in Latin America

Abstract: I. INTRODUCTION During the Falklands/Malvinas War of 1982, the British captured Argentine Navy Captain Alfredo Astiz. Non-governmental human rights organizations accused Astiz, a notorious figure during Argentina's "dirty war," of involvement in the disappearance of two French nuns, the arrest and killing of a Swedish girl, and the interrogation, torture, and disappearance of hundreds of Argentines at the Naval School of Mechanics in Buenos Aires.1 After his capture, France and Sweden asked to question Astiz concerning their nationals, and the British transported him to London for that purpose. Astiz, availing himself of the protections afforded by the Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War, refused to answer. Although there was substantial evidence against him and the Geneva Conventions do not shield prisoners of war from prosecution for human rights crimes, neither country sought his extradition, nor did Britain entertain trying him in the United Kingdom.2 Instead, he was repatriated to Argentina. Seventeen years later, the British government arrested Chilean General and former President Augusto Pinochet on a Spanish extradition warrant for torture and other human rights crimes. This time, the British courts assiduously considered the jurisdictional issues posed by the Spanish request and determined that the Spanish courts had jurisdiction to try Pinochet for crimes committed in Chile over a decade before. Although British authorities ultimately allowed Pinochet to return to Chile, finding that he was too incapacitated to stand trial, the events in Europe had important political repercussions in Chile that are now rippling across Latin America and the rest of the world. Taking a lesson from Spain, a Netherlands court has determined that under a theory of universal jurisdiction it can try former Surinamese military dictator Desi Bouterse for human rights crimes committed in Suriname in 1982.3 From a political point of view, it would have been easier to try Astiz in 1982 than Pinochet in 1999. Astiz was a mid-level naval officer of a country then at war with Britain. Trying him for human rights violations would have given substance to the British government's rhetoric about the repressive nature of the Argentine regime. Pinochet was a former head of state and current senator-for-life of a country that had supported Great Britain during the Falklands/Malvinas War. This Article examines what changed between 1982 and 1999 that made Pinochet's arrest in Britain possible. We address two main questions: (1) why, in the last two decades of the 20th century, was there a major international norms shift towards using foreign or international judicial processes to hold individuals accountable for human rights crimes; and (2) what difference have foreign judicial processes made for human rights practices in the countries whose governments were responsible for those crimes. A. THE IMPETUS FOR THE "JUSTICE CASCADE" We argue that the surge of foreign judicial proceedings was neither spontaneous, nor the result of the natural evolution of law in the countries where the trials occurred. Rather, it was the result of the concerted efforts of small groups of activist lawyers who pioneered the strategies, developed the legal arguments, often recruited the plaintiffs and/or witnesses, marshaled the evidence, and persevered through years of legal challenges. These groups of lawyers resemble an advocacy network, in that they are interconnected groups of individuals bound together by shared values and discourse who engage in dense exchanges of information and services.4 The transnational justice network was atypical, however, because its membership was confined to a handful of groups of lawyers with appreciable technical expertise in international and domestic law who systematically pursued the tactic of foreign trials. In this sense, the transnational justice network resembles what political scientists call an epistemic community-a network of professionals engaged in a common policy enterprise with recognized expertise and competence in the particular domain and an authoritative claim to policy-relevant knowledge in that issue or domain. …

Asylum seekers and refugees in Britain. The health of survivors of torture and organised violence.

Abstract: This is the last in a series of three articles This final article in the series describes how torture and organised violence may affect the health of survivors. A definition of torture, often used for asylum purposes, is shown in the box. It should be noted, however, that not all those who employ torture are acting in an official capacity. #### United Nations' definition of torture1 Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as: obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act that he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official acting in an official capacity. #### Summary points Torture and organised violence are still prevalent in many countries and have previously been experienced by some refugees in the United Kingdom The problems of survivors of torture and organised violence are not fully appreciated within the health services Survivors of torture may not volunteer their history due to feelings of guilt, shame, or mistrust; consideration must be given to building a relationship of trust Much can be done by health workers to alleviate the physical and psychological difficulties that face survivors Organised violence is defined as violence which has a political motive. Survivors of torture or organised violence have often been ill treated by government agents such as the army, police, or security forces or other groups perpetrating organised violence, including rebel groups. States have a duty to prevent, investigate, and prosecute cases of torture, but if those who are supposed to do this are themselves the …

The Pitfalls of Universal Jurisdiction

Abstract: In less than a decade, an unprecedented movement has emerged to submit international politics to judicial procedures. It has spread with extraordinary speed and has not been subjected to systematic debate, partly because of the intimidating passion of its advocates. To be sure, human rights violations, war crimes, genocide, and torture have so disgraced the modern age and in such a variety of places that the effort to interpose legal norms to prevent or punish such outrages does credit to its advocates. The danger lies in pushing the effort to extremes that risk substituting the tyranny of judges for that of governments; historically, the dictatorship of the virtuous has often led to inquisitions and even witch-hunts. The doctrine of universal jurisdiction asserts that some crimes are so heinous that their perpetrators should not escape justice by invoking doctrines of sovereign immunity or the sacrosanct nature of national frontiers. Two specific approaches to achieve this goal have emerged recently. The first seeks to apply the procedures of domestic criminal justice to violations of universal standards, some of which are embodied in United Nations conventions, by authorizing national prosecutors to bring offenders into their jurisdictions through extradition from third countries. The second approach is the International Criminal

Refugee survivors of torture: Trauma and treatment.

Abstract: It is increasingly likely that psychologists may be faced with clients who have been tortured, although the significance of this background can be easily unrecognized or mishandled. With the growing incidence of refugees to the United States escaping from organized violence and human rights violations in many parts of the world, the need for psychological assistance in the recovery from torture is well documented. By integrating principles from trauma theory and multicultural theory with a conceptual analysis of power and liberation theory, the author offers an understanding of both the nature of the damage inflicted by politically based torture and strategies to help overcome that damage.

The mental health consequences of torture

Abstract: Foreword Senator P. Wellstone. Prologue S. Hyman. Part I: The Impact of Torture. 1. Introduction E. Gerrity, et al. 2. The Survivors' Perspective: Voices from the Center Sister D. Ortiz. 3. Torture and Mental Health: A Research Overview M. Basoglu, et al. Part II: Conceptual Models for Understanding Torture. 4. Psychosocial Models J.A. Fairbank, et al. 5. Neurobiological Models of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder S. Southwick, M.J. Friedman. 6. Economic Models A. Rupp, E. Sorel. Part III: Torture and the Trauma of War. 7. Refugees and Asylum-Seekers J.D. Kinzie, J.M. Jaranson. 8. Veterans of Armed Conflicts J.A. Fairbank, et al. 9. Former Prisoners of War: Highlights of Empirical Research B. Engdahl, J.A. Fairbank. 10. Holocaust Trauma and Sequelae B. Kahana, E. Kahana. 11. Survivors of War Trauma, Mass Violence, and Civilian Terror D. Silove, J.D. Kinzie. Part IV: Torture and the Impact of Social Violence. 12. Rape and Sexual Assault M.P. Koss, D.G. Kilpatrick. 13. Homicide and Physical Assault D.G. Kilpatrick, M.P. Koss. 14. Children, Adolescents, and Families Exposed to Torture and Related Trauma R.S. Pynoos, et al. 15. Domestic Violence in Families Exposed to Torture and Related Violence and Trauma M. Gordon. Part V: Clinical Issues for Survivors of Torture. 16. Assessment, Diagnosis, and Intervention J.M. Jaranson, et al. 17. Measurement Issues A.J. Marsella. 18. Mental Health Services Research: Implications for Survivors of Torture K.M. Magruder, et al. 19. Provider and Caregiver issues J.D. Kinzie, B. Engdahl. 20. Torture and Human Rights Violations: Public Policy and the Law D.G. Kilpatrick, M.E. Ross. Part VI: Discussion. 21. Future Directions E. Gerrity, et al. Index.

Human Rights in Iran: The Abuse of Cultural Relativism

Abstract: A Note on Transliteration Preface Human Rights Discourse Main Sources Used in This Book UN Reports Prison Memoirs and Their Significance The Structure of the Book Ch. 1. Islamic Cultural Relativism in Human Rights Discourse Ch. 2. The Shiite Theocracy Ch. 3. The Right to Life Ch. 4. The Right to Freedom from Torture Ch. 5. The Right to Liberty and Security of Person and to Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest Ch. 6. The Right to a Fair Trial Ch. 7. The Right to Freedom of Conscience, Thought, and Religion Ch. 8. Renounce Your Conscience or Face Death: The Prison Massacre of 1988 Ch. 9. The Right to Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion: Iranian Religious Minorities Ch. 10. Official Responses to the United Nations: Countering the Charges of Violations in the 1980s Ch. 11. Change of Tactics After Ayatollah Khomeini's Death Ch. 12. The Special Representative's Meetings with the Judiciary and Security Officials Ch. 13. The Right to Freedom of Opinion, Expression, and the Press Ch. 14. The Most Revealing Cases of Violations of the Right to Freedom of Expression and the Press Ch. 15. The Rights to Participate in the Political Life of the Country and to Peaceful Assembly and Association Ch. 16. The Rights of Women Ch. 17. UN Monitoring, 1984-2000: Mixed Results Conclusion Afterword Notes Selected Bibliography Index Acknowledgments

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Cases, Materials, and Commentary

Abstract: PART 1: INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION PART 2: ADMISSIBILITY UNDER THE ICCPR CHAPTER 2: THE RATIONE TEMPORIS RULE CHAPTER 3: THE VICTIM REQUIREMENT CHAPTER 4: TERRITORIAL AND JURISDICTIONAL LIMITS CHAPTER 5: CONSIDERATION UNDER ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL PROCEDURE CHAPTER 6: EXHAUSTION OF DOMESTIC REMEDIES PART 3: CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS CHAPTER 7: THE RIGHT OF SELF-DETERMINATION - ARTICLE 1 CHAPTER 8: THE RIGHT TO LIFE - ARTICLE 6 CHAPTER 9: FREEDOM FROM TORTURE AND RIGHTS TO HUMANE TREATMENT - ARTICLES 7, 10 CHAPTER 10: MISCELLANEOUS RIGHTS - ARTICLES 8, 11, 16 CHAPTER 11: FREEDOM FROM ARBITRARY DETENTION - ARTICLE 9 CHAPTER 12: FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT - ARTICLE 12 CHAPTER 13: PROCEDURAL RIGHTS AGAINST EXPULSION - ARTICLE 13 CHAPTER 14: RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL - ARTICLE 14 CHAPTER 15: PROHIBITION OF RETROACTIVE CRIMINAL LAWS - ARTICLE 15 CHAPTER 16: RIGHT TO PRIVACY - ARTICLE 17 CHAPTER 17: FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION - ARTICLE 18 CHAPTER 18: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION - ARTICLES 19, 20 CHAPTER 19: FREEDOMS OF ASSEMBLY AND ASSOCIATION - ARTICLES 21, 22 CHAPTER 20: PROTECTION OF THE FAMILY - ARTICLE 23 CHAPTER 21: PROTECTION OF CHILDREN - ARTICLE 24 CHAPTER 22: RIGHTS OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION - ARTICLE 25 CHAPTER 23: RIGHTS OF NON-DISCRIMINATION 0 ARTICLES 2(1), 3 AND 26 CHAPTER 24: MINORITY RIGHTS - ARTICLE 27 PART 4: ALTERATION OF ICCPR DUTIES CHAPTER 25: RESERVATIONS, DENUNCIATIONS, AND DEROGATIONS PART E: ANNEXES ANNEX A: INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS ANNEX B: FIRST OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE ICCPR ANNEX C: SECOND OPTIONAL PROTOCOL TO THE ICCPR ANNEX D: HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE MEMBERS (PAST AND PRESENT) ANNEX E: TABLE OF OPTIONAL PROTOCOL CASES

What brings asylum seekers to the United Kingdom

Abstract: This is the first in a series of three articles Asylum seekers and refugees have been the subject of much media and political attention over recent months, but they are often misrepresented In the first paper in this series we discuss the reasons that cause people to go into exile and the situation in which they find themselves as refugees in the United Kingdom In subsequent papers we will examine the health needs of refugees, appropriate care and responses, the specific health effects of torture and organised violence, the needs of health workers, and the structural organisation of health services The term refugee is used to include people at all stages of the asylum process The various definitions of refugee status are given in the box below #### Definitions of refugee status Asylum seeker—asylum claim submitted, awaiting Home Office decision Refugee status (accepted as a refugee under the Geneva Convention)—given leave to remain in the UK for four years, and can then apply for settled status (Indefinite leave to remain, see below) Eligible for family reunion for one spouse and all children under 18 years Indefinite leave to remain (ILR)—given permanent residence in Britain indefinitely Eligible for family reunion only if able to support family without recourse to public funding Exceptional leave to remain (ELR)—the Home Office accepts there are strong reasons why the person should not return to the country of origin and grants the right to stay in Britain for four years Expected to return if the home country situation improves Ineligible for family reunion Refusal—the person has a right of appeal, within strict time limits Britain, as a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention, and for many years before this, has offered asylum to those fleeing from persecution and violence Under the terms of the Convention, a refugee is defined as any person …

Tortured Subjects: Pain, Truth, and the Body in Early Modern France

Abstract: This text tells the story of how the idea that physical suffering could be a path to redemption became a fixed part of the French legal system during the early modern period. Lisa Silverman looks at the theory and practice of judicial torture in France from 1600 to 1788, the year in which it was formally abolished. Silverman studies criminal cases, through dossiers and transcripts of interrogations conducted under torture, through the writings of physicians and surgeons concerned with the problem of pain, and through diaries and letters of witnesses at public executions, to finally contend that torture was at the centre of an epistemological crisis that forced the French to reconsider the relationship between coercion and sincerity, and freewill and evidence.

Love in a Time of Hate: Liberation Psychology in Latin America

Abstract: Nancy Caro Hollander profiles ten Argentine, Chilean, and Uruguayan psychologists and psychoanalysts who experienced firsthand, and later strove to comprehend, the political and social oppression that occurred under the military dictatorships in their countries during the 1970s and 1980s. She recounts how psychoanalysts employed what she calls "liberation psychology" to understand the brutal trauma suffered by the populace under fiercely repressive regimes and then to help themselves and others to confront and overcome a culture of intimidation, coercion, torture, and, frequently, murder.

The Body Remembers: Dance/Movement Therapy with an Adult Survivor of Torture

Abstract: Torture ruptures boundaries. It is one of the most intense forms of human rights abuse, occurring in the context of relationship, and with the intention to inflict pain on the body. Relationship to one's self, and to others, is often dramatically affected. Integral aspects of the healing process for survivors of torture are to restore relative safety in the body and to rebuild relationship capacity. In this paper, individual dance/movement therapy is introduced as a modality for healing the wounds of torture. The impact of torture on the body, the self, and relationships, and how this can affect treatment using individual dance/movement therapy, is addressed. Dance/movement therapy with an adult survivor is illustrated in a case study. The author concludes that dance/movement therapy, following the experience of torture, can be beneficial in rebuilding an individual's sense of wholeness and self, and in improving interaction skills and relationship capacity.

Rape as a Weapon of War: Advancing Human Rights for Women at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Abstract: FROM THE CONQUEST TO THE PRESENT, WOMEN HAVE BEEN TARGETED IN GENDER-specific ways during militarized conflict. In every militarized conflict, women are systematically raped or sexually assaulted. Some feminist scholars and advocates contend that rape is not about sex, but rather about power and the dehumanization of women (Woodhull, 1988). By international standards, rape is a war crime, a form of torture, and a link to genocide. Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the former Special Rapporteur for the United Nations (U.N.) Commission on Human Rights, released a document on the former Yugoslavia that classified rape as "an abuse of power and control in which the rapist seeks to humiliate, shame, embarrass, degrade, and terrify the victim. The primary objective is to exercise power and control over another person" (U.N. Economic and Social Council, 1993a: 71). In this article, I argue that rape is one outcome of militarization along the U.S.-Mexico border. I examine specific cases of militarized border rape using data from nongovernmental organizations, government committees, and U.S. newspapers. (1) I also analyze the factors that facilitate militarized border rape and emphasize the need to advance human rights for women in the border region. Each of the women in the case studies took some form of action against the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Some even used an advocate to move their cases forward through an investigation. All of the cases involved INS officials or Border Patrol agents. (l) Though the cases highlighted do not include U.S. military or paramilitary forces, the influence of military culture on Border Patrol agents has affected that agency. Rape is a weapon of war and militarization at the border indicates that a form of war exists. Data indicate that some men have reported being raped at the border (Amnesty International, 1998), but most rapes violate women, whether at the border or throughout the world. Motivations for raping women differ in a war-torn country from those committed along the U.S.-Mexico border. However, the outcome remains the same -- the systematic degradation of women. National concern over the border has led to broad public support for militaristic tactics in this region. The militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border involves two key elements: the introduction and integration of military units in the border region (the War on Drugs is the primary motivator for involving military units) and the modification of the Border Patrol to resemble the military via its equipment, structure, and tactics. Cynthia Enloe (2000: 3) contends that militarization involves cultural, institutional, ideological, and economic transformations. The INS has undergone these transformations. For example, transferring the INS from the Department of Labor to the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 1940 resulted in institutional and ideological shifts (Dunn, 1996: 13). Various Department of Defense (DOD) Authorization Acts loosened the restrictions placed on the military's domestic enforcement roles. The DOD Authorization Act of 1982 started the process of altering a 100-year-old statute that prohibited cooperation between the army and civilian law enforcement. This had a major impact on the role of the military in domestic affairs and encouraged an alliance between civilian law enforcement and the military. Other DOD Authorization Acts advanced and expanded this cooperation. In addition, other national actions, such as Operation Alliance and Joint Task Force 6 advanced the militarization of the border, especially after 1986 when President Reagan declared drug trafficking to be a national security threat (Ibid.). Militarized antidrug strategies influence the policies for undocumented border crossers who are not involved in drug trafficking. For example, Operation Hold the Line and Operation Gatekeeper focus on the points of entry frequented by undocumented people in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California. …

Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics, and the Body of Christ

Abstract: Torture and Eucharist: Theology, Politics, and the Body of Christ By William T Cavanaugh Oxford and Malden, Mass: Blackwell Publishers, 1998 xi + 286 pp $3095 (paper) This work is a scholarly, readable examination of the relationship between Church and state, and specifically the role the Church can play in resisting the state's employment of physical and psychological torture to further the state's powerful hold on its people's imagination Cavenaugh develops his analysis by focusing on the situation in Chile and the Catholic Church there both before and during the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, 1973-1990 According to this author, the ascendance of Pinochet to political power corresponded to a time of relative political passivity on the part of the Catholic Church hierarchy in Chile Cavanaugh analyzes this passivity by tracing the influence of Jacques Maritain's writings on Church and state, and Maritain's notion of a 11 new Christendom," where the temporal and spiritual planes are drawn as quite distinct The Christian as an individual citizen may influence the political domain through private action informed by a sanctified, Christian life, but the Church itself remains above the political, practical plane, nurturing souls through sacramental and other means According to Cavanaugh, the importation and spread of Maritain's ideas among the Chilean hierarchy contributed to the Church's demise as an effective resistance to Pinochet's atrocious human rights violations, including the kidnapping ("disappearing"), torture, and murder of innocent citizens Cavanaugh's central thesis is that torture and the eucharist are opposing disciplines using different means and serving different ends Where torture can be viewed as a kind of practice or liturgy for the realization of state power over bodies (as well as the souls who inhabit them), the eucharist is a practice or liturgy mystically forming the Church as the Body of Christ, marked by resistance to worldly power that runs counter to God's kingdom "The Church and the Eucharist form the liturgical pair of visible community and invisible action or mystery which together re-present and re-member Christ's his- torical body" (p 212) Of course, the notion of the Church as a resistant force to secular evil and the powers that be is not at all novel here, as the writings of Stanley Hauerwas, Walter Wink, liberation theologians such as Gutierrez and others quickly come to mind (And since Hauerwas was Cavanaugh's dissertation advisor, one should not be surprised to hear echoes of his Resident Aliens and other works here) But what stands out in this work is Cavanaugh's focus on the effects of torture, both on the person tortured as well as on his or her community For Cavanaugh as well as others, torture not only intimidates the public at large for fear that anyone could be next, but mutes the individual tortured through the infliction of unspeakable pain, "atomizing" and isolating the one so tortured Cavanaugh argues that one major effect of such isolation and intimidation is the consequent destruction of opposition communities And it is in this analysis that I think Cavanaugh somewhat overstates his case Drawing heavily from the writings of Elaine Scarry (see The Body in Pain, Oxford, 1985) on the effects of pain and methods of torture, the author stresses their isolating effects through the obliteration of language (the experience of pain robs us of words), disruption of community loyalty through forced confession, disorienting effects of random assault, loss of sense of time through indefinite incarceration, and so on Cavanaugh seems to imply that such means employed by the state in Chile under Pinochet either affected or threatened to affect the Church as community, atomizing that community into isolated elements, with the aim of obliterating it and any other body that would threaten to counter state power …

Bullying as unacknowledge organizational evil : a researcher's story

Abstract: The role of the sociopathic bully is considered in terms of his/her responsibility for acts of evil in organizations. First, the literature on bullying is considered with the suggestion made that the term “bully” may be something of a euphemism, contributing to the problem of bullying not being taken sufficiently seriously. Bullying is then considered as a means of torture in organizations. The case study is introduced, where the author—an academic—is daring to share her story. Several of Biderman's constructs of coercion (Amnesty International, 1975. Report on Torture. London: Gerald Duckworth.) are used to showcase the case material shared which, when taken together, depict the relentless and deliberate nature of the bullying that took place. The paper concludes with an evil outcome of the bullying but, also, the success of the target in surviving. Some practical considerations as to what to do if bullying takes place are considered.

Torture and Mental Health

Abstract: Over the last two decades, much work has been done on various forms of extreme trauma, particularly after the recognition in the early 1980s of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a diagnostic entity. Since then, significant progress has been made in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of trauma survivors. Such progress, however, has not been paralleled by work specifically on the trauma of torture despite the widespread evidence of torture in the world and its mental health implications.

‘I Shout with Fear at Night’: Understanding the Traumatic Experiences of Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Abstract: Summary: In recent years, the plight of refugees and asylum seekers has garnered significant public attention. Yet many social workers find they have made limited preparations for meeting the needs...

Cases and materials on the European Convention on Human Rights

Abstract: 1. The Strasbourg system for determining applications under the Convention 2. Article 2. Right to Life 3. Article 3. Prohibition of torture 4. Article 4. Prohibition of slavery and forced labour 5. Article 5. Right to liberty and security 6. Article 6. Right to a fair trial 7. Article 7. No punishment without law 8. Article 8. Right to respect for private and family life 9. Article 9. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion 10. Article 10. Freedom of expression 11. Article 11. Freedom of assembly and association 12. Right to marry 13. Article 13. Right to an effective remedy 14. Article 14. Prohibition of discrimination 15. Article 15. Derogation in time of emergency 16. First Protocol Article 1: Protection of property 17. First Protocol Article 2: Right to education 18. First Protocol Article 3: Right to free elections 19. Article 41 (formerly Article 50): Just satisfaction Appendices Index

Holding the Junta accountable: Chile's "sitios de memoria" and the history of torture, disappearance, and death.

Abstract: Under the banner headline “Unexpected Vistas in Chile,” the travel section of the January 20, 2000, Sunday New York Times sought to lure both the adventurous and the sedate to a country of fabulous mountain resorts, lush rainforests, health spas, fine wines, and European-like cities. Nonetheless, Chile’s association with military rule, and the fame of its ex-dictator, Augusto Pinochet, were considered well enough known to the informed tourist so as to merit oblique references in several of the featured articles. Inserted in Edward Hower’s piece on studying Spanish and living in Chile’s capital city of Santiago, right after his account of a night enjoying folk music in the clubs, but before his description of his walk among the wealthy mausoleums in the aristocratic section of the municipal cemetery, is a description of the “memorial that has been erected to those who were executed and ‘disappeared’ during General Pinochet’s dictatorship. On a slab of white stone about three stories tall, several thousand names are inscribed.”1 He writes little more about the wall, except to point to it as place where Chileans commemorate their troubled past, and to compare it with the Vietnam Memorial wall in Washington, D.C. In a separate travel piece on the hot springs and health resorts of central Chile, Annick Smith comments: “My companion, Bill, drove while I navigated, both of us a bit frightened, for we were venturing down a foreign road in a country a mere handful of years beyond police-state status, and had only a rudimentary knowledge of the Spanish language.”2

The Protection of Children and the Quest for Truth and Justice in Sierra Leone

Abstract: "How the acts and experiences of children are addressed in Sierra Leone--within the processes established to seek truth and justice, by the UN and international agencies, by government ministries, through national legislative reform, or institutional strengthening efforts, by local communities--must all be carefully monitored, supported and evaluated to help ensure the best interests of Sierra Leonean children and to contribute to improved practice in similar situations elsewhere." ILENE COHN (1) Some of the many children who have endured a decade of armed conflict in Sierra Leone will soon be involved in efforts to establish truth and impart justice in the aftermath of egregious abuses committed by the warring parties. A Special Court for Sierra Leone, which will seek to prosecute crimes against humanity and war crimes, including those committed against and sometimes by children during the war, is being established by agreement between the United Nations (UN) and the Government of Sierra Leone. A national Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), which will seek to clarify the war's impact on children and pay particular attention to the role of children in perpetrating abuses, is in the early stages of formation. No previous or existing truth commission or war crimes tribunal has explicitly sought to expose or administer justice for abuses perpetrated on or by children. (2) The creation of these truth and justice-seeking mechanisms has generated an important debate, both internationally and in Sierra Leone, about the potential of such processes to assist in the recovery and reintegration of individual children, the post-conflict healing of families and communities, and social reconciliation in general. At present, both the TRC and the Special Court for Sierra Leone are in the planning stages. Though child rights advocates, human rights specialists, lawyers, and child protection experts differ over how best to advance the interests of children within Sierra Leone's truth and justice-seeking mechanisms, the respective constitutive instruments do ensure that the TRC and the Special Court can address the rights and advance the interests of child victims, witnesses and perpetrators. But the debate over how this should be done reveals how little is known at the international level about the ways in which juvenile justice or truth-telling procedures can help heal children exposed to or involved in armed conflict, and how these processes can be structured to help children rejoin and participate in civilian life. This article will review how the involvement of children in truth commissions and war crimes tribunals has been discussed and addressed in the context of Sierra Leone. It will also describe the outstanding questions in need of urgent attention if the positive potential of truth commissions and war crimes tribunals is to be harnessed for the benefit of war-affected children in Sierra Leone and elsewhere. BACKGROUND The horrors of the war that has ravaged Sierra Leone since1991 have been recounted time and again -- massacres, rape of girls as young as eight years, mutilations, including the wanton amputation of limbs, butchery of pregnant women, abduction of children, torture and arson. Many of the hundreds of thousands of displaced children have been separated from their families or orphaned. Amnesty International has estimated that over 5,000 girls and boys, some as young as six, have fought with armed groups and forces. On 7 July 1999 the Government of Sierra Leone and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) signed the Lome peace agreement, which recognized "the imperative that the children of Sierra Leone, especially those affected by the armed conflict, ... are entitled to special care and protection...." (3) Several of the accord's provisions would, if ever fully implemented, be of great benefit to children. For example, the Government was to mobilize resources to address the special needs of child soldiers within the demobilization and reintegration process. …

“The Wildest Show in the South”: Tourism and Incarceration at Angola

Abstract: Since 1967, prisoners doing hard time at the Louisiana State Penitentiary have volunteered to take part in a rodeo staged for tourists. Few of the inmates have ever ridden a horse before, much less a bucking bronco or bull. Is this spectacle of criminalized bodies per-forming under duress “fun” or public torture?

The Pinochet Precedent and Universal Jurisdiction

Abstract: In October 1998, General Augusto Pinochet, military ruler of Chile from 1973 to 1990, was arrested in a London clinic on orders of a Spanish court. That court, acting under a Spanish law permitting universal jurisdiction over certain crimes, has since 1996 been investigating the top leadership of the Chilean and Argentine militaries for their role in the murder, disappearance and torture of thousands of real or perceived opponents throughout the Southern Cone of South America. Pinochet's detention merely exposed to the world the tip of a larger iceberg. The Pinochet case and the related cases in Spanish and other European courts provide a fascinating case study of the benefits and risks of universal jurisdiction. My talk today will focus on a few aspects of these cases: first, the jurisdictional bases of the Spanish and other European suits in national law, and the implications of this grounding in national law; second, the effects of the Spanish cases, in particular, within Chile and Argentina; and third, some of the particular factors that have made the Spanish prosecutions relatively successful. The Spanish cases began when members of the Spanish Union of Progressive Prosecutors filed a complaint in April 1996, accusing members of the Argentine military junta of genocide, terrorism, and other crimes regarding the detention and subsequent disappearance during the 1970s of a number of Spanish citizens and citizens of Spanish descent who were living in Argentina. The case was filed under Spanish laws allowing public interest organizations, as well as aggrieved individuals, to file and maintain criminal complaints even without the backing of, and in this case over the strenuous opposition of, the state prosecutors office. Thus, a group of exiles and human rights activists, backed by the Spanish political party United Left and by professional associations, could maintain the prosecution without state consent, merely with a commitment by the state not to interfere with the independence of its own judiciary. Article 23.4 of the Spanish Judicial Law allows prosecution of nonSpanish citizens for some crimes committed outside Spain, among them

Torture as Tort: Comparative Perspectives on the Development of Transnational Human Rights Litigation

Abstract: Part 1 Frames and foundations: introduction to "Torture as Tort" - from Sudan to Canada to Somalia, Craig Scott translating torture into transnational tort - conceptual divides in the debate on corporate accountability for human rights harms, Craig Scott international human rights tort claims and the experience of United States courts - an introduction to the US case law, key statutes and doctrines, Michael Swan taking "filartiga" on the road - why courts outside the United States should accept jurisdiction over actions involving torture committed abroad, John Terry torture - prevention versus punishment, Malcolm Evans and Rod Morgan. Part II Jurisdiction and immunity: taking jurisdiction in transnational human rights tort litigation - universality jurisdiction's relationship to "ex juris service, forum non conveniens" and the presumption of territoriality, Ann C. McConville geographies of injustice - human rights at the altar of convenience, Upendra Baxi the commercial activity exception to sovereign immunity and the boundaries of contemporary international legalism, Robert Wai in search of a defence of the transnational human rights paradigm - may "jus cogens" norms be invoked to create implied exceptions in domestic state immunity statutes?, Wendy Adams impunity and the United Nations convention against torture - a shadow play without an ending?, Peter Burns and Sean McBurney. Part III Characterisation, choice of law and causes of action: torture, tort choice of law and "tolofson", Jennifer A. Orange characterisation, choice of law and human rights, Graham Virgo the emperor's new clothes - defabricating the myth of "Act of State" in Anglo-Canadian law, martin Buhler grounding a cause for action for torture in transnational law, Sandra Raponi international human rights law and the tort of torture - what possibility for Canada?, Edward M. Hyland. Part IV Evolving international law on civil recourse against non-state actors: holding leaders liable for torture by others - command responsibility and "respondeat superior" as frameworks for derivative civil liability, Valerie Oosterveld and Alejandra Flah responsibility and liability for violations of human rights in the course of UN field operations, Chanaka Wickremasinghe and Guglielmo Verdirame linking state responsibility for certain harms caused by corporate nationals abroad to civil recourse in the legal systems of home states, Muthucumaraswamy Sornarajah revising "Human Rights in the Private Sphere" - using the European Convention on Human Rights to protect the right of access to the civil courts, Andrew Clapham civil remedies for torture committed abroad - an obligation under the convention against torture, Andrew Byrnes. Part V legitimacy, intervention and the forging of national histories: doing the right thing? - foreign tort law and human rights, Jan Klabbers just amnesty and private international law, Jennifer Llewellyn (Part Contents).

Working with Victims of Persecution: Lessons from Holocaust Survivors

Abstract: It is estimated that 25 to 30 million people are forced to leave their homes because of human rights violations or threats to their lives. Such massive dislocations at the international level result in significant numbers of diverse, persecuted populations seeking asylum in the United States. It is estimated that as many as 400,000 victims of torture now reside in the United States, with many survivors suffering in silence. The challenge for social workers is to discover this often hidden, vulnerable population and to serve them. Key words: Holocaust; persecution; psychological trauma; refugees Among all the populations experiencing the trauma and stress of persecution, most is know about Holocaust survivors. Through examining the long-term effects of massive psychic trauma gleaned from research on Holocaust survivors and their children, this article addresses the skills, techniques, and insights about current refugee populations that can be incorporated into social work practice and training. Fueled partly by geopolitical manipulation, the numbers of people experiencing severe political, religious, ethnic, and social persecution are rising. These displaced populations are created by civil wars, ethnic conflict, economic depressions, and wars between countries (Amnesty International, 1997; Drachman, 1995; U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1998). Social workers have a long history of advocating for and promoting the psychosocial adjustment of displaced and traumatized populations, as was the case in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Similarities exist between problems observed in Holocaust survivors and those seen in current victims of persecution in regard to behaviors exhibited under extreme stress and transmission of the trauma to subsequent generations (Danieli, 1988, 1994; Rosenbloom, 1995; Solkoff, 1992). Other lessons that may be extrapolated from the Holocaust include the consequences of unquestioning conformity, abdication of individual responsibility, and the ruthless application of the prodigious creations of the 20th century--science and technology (Milchman & Rosenberg, 1996; Rosenbloom, 1995). Scope and Importance of Immigration Data Considerations: Practical Problems in Counting Refugees Statistics on refugees and other displaced populations are often inexact and controversial because of the following. First, because definitions vary from country to country--one country's refugee is another country's illegal alien. Today's internally displaced person may be tomorrow's refugee. Therefore, government tallies cannot always be trusted to give full and unbiased accounts of refugee movements (U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1998). Second, in emergency situations it is not always possible to provide a reliable estimate because of the ongoing nature of the influx. Third, significant forced displacements may be over- or underreported. Fourth, in large-scale refugee situations, camp populations are often fluid-moving in and out often without notifying relevant organizations or authorities. Finally, statistics can become quickly outdated as a result of sudden new arrivals or departures (U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, 1998). Overview of Displaced People at the International Level Currently available statistics underscore the overwhelming magnitude of these dislocations. It is estimated that 25 to 30 million people are forced to leave their homes because of human rights violations or threats to their lives. Many of these people are displaced within their own borders. It is estimated further that in their search for safety, an additional 13 million people have been displaced. Almost 90 percent of these people come from the poorest countries in the world, including Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Somalia (Table 1). Such massive dislocations at the international level result in significant numbers of diverse, persecuted populations seeking asylum in the United States, including Cambodians, Caribbean Islanders, Central Americans, Eastern and Central Europeans, Iranians, sub-Saharan Africans, and Vietnamese (Amnesty International, 1997; Castex, 1994; Fong & Mokuau, 1994; Padilla, 1997; Partida, 1996; U. …

Children, Adolescents, and Families Exposed to Torture and Related Trauma

Abstract: The child and adolescent population of South Africa will be the first generation to enter into adulthood in the postapartheid period. The academic achievement and economic productivity of these young people, as well as the stability they bring to marriage and family life, their views of their social institutions, and their role in society, are all vital to the future of this region. Thus, their recovery from the years of political violence and apartheid, together with their adaptive response to the challenges of the adverse social conditions of the postapartheid era, is essential for the well-being of South Africa. (Used with permission.)

Problems of violence, states of terror: torture in colonial india

Abstract: The 'discovery' of torture and its prevalence in the extraction of confessions produced a dilemma for the colonial state in India. Especially with the publication of the two-volume Report of the Commissioners for the Investigation of Alleged Cases of Torture in the Madras Presidency in 1855, colonial administrators became uncomfortably aware of the contrived nature of the 'truth' produced before magistrates and the police. This paper traces the significance of colonial efforts to contain such practices by examining in detail a case of torture that scandalized the Bombay government in 1855, on the heels of the publication of the Madras Report. Attempts to define the practice of excessive violence as 'torture' in order to discipline and reform the police encountered the simultaneous denial of these practices as specifically 'colonial'. Excessive violence was instead attributed to precolonial penal regimes regularly used excessive violence, thereby blurring the boundaries between law and brutal violence. Tor...