Our Rights To Protest
By admin | July 19, 2008
Our Rights to Protest
“One has moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” (Letter from Birmingham Jail) Martin Luther King, Jr.
Many American activists and social change organizations support the international struggle for human rights and work to ensure that the US government abides by the principles embedded in the various conventions, covenants and declarations adopted by the international community.
These include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR (1966).
US citizens are able to complain to the UN Human Rights Committee if their human rights are infringed.
Why talk about rights?
It is commonly believed that we have rights and responsibilities, not because a state or some law bestows them, but because they are inherent in our human and social being. The international human rights framework has been developed to protect ordinary people from the abuses of the state.
Although by no means adequate to stop or prevent human rights abuses by the state, the range of human rights mechanisms and processes are often utilized by activists in politically repressive countries and situations around the world.
Awareness of our rights as activists is vital for two reasons:
- We may need to assert them when they are denied us;
- We can utilise them as benchmarks for how we expect to be treated by the government or how we want the government to behave.
Asserting our rights
As progressive activists we are engaged in a process of participatory democracy that does not require the permission of any state, police force or court system.
We do not need to rely upon legal rights or international human rights in order to protest or resist injustice. But we can use them.
Activists have asserted and quoted international human rights to police at protests, to judges in the courtroom. Sometimes acting under the mandate of the ‘international community’ can give our action greater credibility. Every time we refuse to answer police questions we are asserting our common law right to silence.
Asserting basic human, civil and political rights can also help targeted or more vulnerable sections of the activist movement. The rights of marginalized or minority activists are more often denied or abused. Asserting our rights as activists can sometimes mean protecting the rights of others who are more vulnerable.
Using international human rights
As activists, it is worth learning about these basic international rights documents. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is particular useful and relevant to activists in US. Police in US commonly use arbitrary arrests and detention, special bail conditions to deny our right to peaceful assembly and other actions which could arguably contravene sections of the ICCPR. Activists who are familiar with this document and able to refer to it when confronting police abuse of power can use it to deter individual police officers, confront commanding officers and highlight these abuses in the media. Human Rights Observer Teams and Legal Support Teams can use the ICCPR as part of their mandate, in activist legal briefings and on the ground at protests, highlighting abuses as they occur. The effect of using international human rights as deterrence to state violence and abuse will always be hard to determine, but combined with:
- Legal or Human Rights Observer Teams,
- effective legal and civil action,
- complaints against the police,
- activist legal support and
- the courage of individual activists,
can form a part of the ‘web of constraint’ that we can form to deter police violence and abuse.
Civil and political rights in the United States (US)
Our rights to protest, demonstrate and take part in political activities are recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) as well as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR )and other covenants.
In US, these international human rights are seldom enforceable and any mechanisms that exist are slow and difficult. Although we have these rights and we can assert them as citizens and activists, we shouldn’t expect them to be respected without question.
Our rights in international law
Under international law our rights are better articulated but more difficult to assert in US. The rights of freedom of assembly, speech, expression and association are embodied in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (1966). These are not enforceable under US law, but may be usefully cited and relied on in broader argument in court. As the US is a signatory to the ICCPR, the US government is required to comply with its Articles and report to the UN on how they have met its obligations.
In the US, any individual is also able to lodge a complaint under the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights directly (albeit through a long process).
A right to freedom of assembly and association
A right to freedom of peaceful assembly is part of international law under the UN Declaration of Human Rights , Article 19 and 20 which states that: ” Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.” No one may be compelled to belong to an association. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights includes Article 21 which states: “The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order.” Article 22 of the ICCPR states that: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.”
The right to participatory democracy
ICCPR Article 25 acknowledges the right to engage in participatory democracy “without unreasonable restrictions”. The right to freedom of opinion and expression Article 19 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Rights around arrest and detention
ICCPR Article 7 states that: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”
ICCPR Article 9 also states that:
1. Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law.
2. Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.
3. Anyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to trial within a reasonable time or to release. It shall not be the general rule that persons awaiting trial shall be detained in custody, but release may be subject to guarantees to appear for trial, at any other stage of the judicial proceedings, and, should occasion arise, for execution of the judgement.
4. Anyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.
5. Anyone who has been the victim of unlawful arrest or detention shall have an enforceable right to compensation.
The duty to protest
Activists who engage in civil disobedience and seek to use the defence assert, through the defence, that domestic law should be broken by an individual to prevent the state or its agent from violating international law.
The principles specify that to act on the orders of your government does not relieve you of this responsibility in the eyes of international law. It provides a legal adjunct to Martin Luther King’s remark,
“One has moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” (Letter from Birmingham Jail)
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Vigil & Demonstration
By admin | July 17, 2008
Contact: Lauren J. Tenney, MA, MPA, Psychiatric Survivor FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cell: 516-319-4295
e-mail: lauren@theopalproject.org
website: www.theopalproject.org
VIGIL TO MOURN THE LOSS OF MS. ESMIN ELIZABETH GREEN AND CONDEMN VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS
WE THE PEOPLE Call for an End of Abuse, Torture, and Neglect in the Wake of Ms. Green’s Death While Detained at Kings County Hospital Center’s Psychiatric Emergency Room.
Advocates, human rights activists, and community members are holding a vigil and demonstration to mourn the death of Ms. Esmin Elizabeth Green. WE the PEOPLE are calling attention to the reported horrific inactions and complete neglect that Ms. Green was subjected to while detained at the Kings County Hospital Center’s Psychiatric Emergency Room.
According to the Associated Press, after being involuntarily committed to the institution, Ms. Green sat waiting for a bed to become available for nearly 24 hours before she collapsed on to the floor. She lay there helpless for nearly an hour until she received medical attention, which came too late[i]. Further, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, facility staff possibly falsified documents, stating that Ms. Green was “up and went to the bathroom” and was “’sitting quietly in the waiting room’ - more than 10 minutes after she last moved”[ii]. The surveillance tape shown on CNN Video portrays Ms. Green dying on the floor as people pass her by[iii]. In fact, on the Internet, one can find a mass of comment on this tragedy by individuals all over the world - a question repeatedly asked, “Where is the humanity?”
All people must be treated with dignity, humanity, and respect. We must not tolerate violations of human rights that individuals who are assigned psychiatric labels often endure.
We ask you, wouldn’t you be depressed and possibly even ‘agitated’ if you were going to lose your home and employment? Reportedly, this is what led to Ms. Green’s commitment[iv]. Any one of us could be labeled with a psychiatric diagnosis and subjected to inhumane ‘treatment’ if we are thought to be ‘agitated’, particularly if we are poor. How many more people labeled with “mental illness” will be subjected to torture and neglect before something is done to protect human rights within psychiatric systems? David Oaks, Executive Director of MindFreedom International states, “I encourage us all to reflect on the need for a deep nonviolent revolution in the field of mental health, far beyond the “reforms” that have gotten us to where we are today, with televised death via neglect of a mother of six”.In 1875, a New York Times article cites abuses of inmates at the Kings County Asylum, spurred by Mr. Nelson Magee, a former inmate. Then-Commissioner Norris reacts to the investigation, “This sort of thing is very common among lunatics; they are always imagining themselves in great danger of being killed by their keepers”v. How many more centuries have to go by before action is taken to end these abuses and neglect?
WE the PEOPLE stand for change. We have been abused by the psychiatric system. Our brothers and sisters continue to be abused and murdered, as evidenced by Ms. Green’s untimely demise. Massive human rights violations happen every day in psychiatric institutions but this horrific inaction was captured on videotape. We will call attention to the every day tortures committed in the name of psychiatric “help” including diagnosing life’s challenges as ”illness,” forced pharmaceuticals, restraint, seclusion, and electric shock treatment (ECT) with a Vigil to honor Ms. Green’s memory beginning at 5 PM.
There are many questions as to what led to Ms. Green’s death. Was it in any way related to the toxic and debilitating drugs that people labeled with “mental illness” are intimidated, coerced, and forced into taking? A thorough investigation is necessary to determine the extent of the torture, ill treatment and other human rights violations involved in this case and in the practices of the institution as a whole. We must stand united to demand social justice, equal rights, and environments free from torture and detention.
On July 25, 2008, we invite all people to join us and stand united in support of the demand that everyone receive the full benefit of their human rights and the preservation of their liberty, dignity and respect.
Who: All People.
What: Candle Light Vigil to mourn the loss of Ms. Esmin Elizabeth Green and condemn violations of human rights.
Why: WE THE PEOPLE call for an end of abuse, torture, and neglect in the wake of Ms. Green’s Death on June 19, 2008, while detained at Kings County Hospital Center’s Psychiatric Emergency Room.
Where: Kings County Hospital Center, Psychiatric Emergency Room, Building G. 606 Winthrop Street Brooklyn, NY 11203
Date: July 25, 2008Time: 5 PM - 10 PM, Candle Light Vigil, 8:30 PM
We welcome your involvement as an organizational co-sponsor or an individual endorser of this effort. If you would like to speak at this event, please contact us.
WE THE PEOPLE
###
For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Contact: Lauren J. Tenney
Cell: 516-319-4295
e-mail: lauren@theopalproject.org
website: www.theopalproject.org
Contact: David W. Oaks
Phone: 541-345-9106
e-mail: office@mindfreedom.org
website: www.mindfreedom.org
REFERENCES
[i] Retrieved July 8, 2008 from http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HOSPITAL_WARD_DEATH?SITE=OHRAV&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
[ii] Retrieved July 8, 2008 from http://www.nyclu.org/node/1876)
[iii] Retrieved on July 8, 2008 from http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/01/waiting.room.death/index.html.
[iv] Retrieved July 8, 2008, from http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/03/hospital.woman.death/index.html
[v] Retrieved July 9, 2008 from http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F00E6D8103CE63ABC4851DFBE66838E669FDE
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Human Rights Documentation
By admin | July 17, 2008
Documenting human rights violations can be a powerful way to make the abuses faced buy our community visible and credible, and can help to expose and challenge the perpetrators of the abuse. By collecting information about human rights violations in your community, it is possible to introduce a human rights perspective to your work, while empowering community members to speak for themselves in confronting human rights abuses. Documentation of abuse also provides a quantifiable, yet human face to a situation, providing a tool for further action.
Human rights documentation can be used in a variety of ways to build public and legal support to stop abuse. For example, the results of documentation are often used as a way to raise public and media awareness about a problem, putting pressure on those responsible to change the situation.
While human rights documentation can prove to be challenging, time-intensive and exacting work, the results of a community fact-finding mission can become an important tool in all aspects of a human rights campaign, from community organizing to political and legal advocacy. In the past, large, well funded human rights organizations have used their resources to draw attention to specific human rights violations, but increasingly grassroots organizations are using participatory methods of research to gather information in their communities and pursue advocacy campaigns on their own behalf. Through these participatory methods, documentation becomes a powerful organizing tool wherby affected communities get actively involved in exposing, analyzing, and combating abuse. The following list provides some strategies that local community groups and others have used to ensure accountability and empowerment in human rights documentation, whether documentation is conducted by community members or by external activists.
Strategies:
. Provide community-appropriate human rights education to all involved in the documentation process;
. Train community members and activist in human rights documentation standards, methods, and techniques (including less traditional methods like video);
. Engage the leadership and involvement of community members and activists to document abuses as an organizing opportunity;
. Develop a communication, media, and advocacy strategy that involves and empowers community members when publicizing the results of documentation; and
. Develop participatory methods of research with an emphasis on transparency and accountability in the documentation process, and acknowledge biases of researchers.
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Survivors of Psychiatric Torture Network
By admin | April 9, 2008
Welcome to www.stopforce.org
[R]ecognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world…
[D]isregard and contemp for human rights has resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the consience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people… . [I]t is essential, if a man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law. - Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Human Rights Conventions and Treaties:
United Nations Convention Against Torture
The United Nations Conventnion against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) came into force in June 1987. The most relevant articles are Articles 1, 2, 3, and the first paragraph of Article 16.
Article 1
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term “torture” means 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 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 or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
2. This article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application.
Article 2
1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.
2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.
Article 3
1. No State Party shall expel, return (”refouler”) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
2. For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights.
Article 16
1. Each State Party shall undertake to prevent in any territory under its jurisdiction other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment which do not amount to torture as defined in article I, when such acts are committed by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. In particular, the obligations contained in articles 10, 11, 12 and 13 shall apply with the substitution for references to torture of references to other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Topics: Torture, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
