Please find below a list of selected reports and filings from the work of the International Human Rights Clinic.
For more information on the International Human Rights Clinic, please check out our current and
previous clinical projects.
Jennifer K. Harbury v. Michael V. Hayden, et al
The International Human Rights Clinic recently helped research and draft an amicus curiae brief on behalf
of United States Representative Barney Frank (MA-04)
regarding the case between Jennifer K. Harbury and Michael V. Hayden. In March 1996, Ms. Harbury brought suit against the Central Intelligence Agency, the
Department of State, the National Security Council, and individual employees thereof for ordering and/or abetting the torture and extrajudicial execution of her
husband, Efraín Bámaca Velásquez, in Guatemala. On August 1, 2006, the District Court for the District of Columbia accepted the Attorney General’s certification
that any torture committed by the defendant employees fell within the scope of their employment. This resulted in the substitution of the United States as the
defendant under the Westfall Act and the dismissal of Ms. Harbury’s claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
The brief submitted on behalf of Rep. Frank argued that the District Court erred in dismissing Ms. Harbury’s claims because the conduct at issue – torture –
falls outside any governmental official’s
scope of employment under the Westfall Act. The legislature intended the Westfall Act to provide compensation from the federal treasury to injured citizens,
while also protecting federal employees from burdensome lawsuits for garden-variety torts. However, Congress withheld protection for egregious or seriously
criminal acts such as torture. Tortfeasors who commit such acts remain individually liable for the resulting damages. To view the amicus curiae brief,
click here.
Security in Paraguay:
Analysis and Responses in Comparative Perspective
In partnership with the Universidad Columbia del Paraguay, the International Human Rights Clinic has released
“Security in Paraguay: Analysis and Responses in Comparative Perspective,” which chronicles a
distorted perception of violence, crime, and security in Paraguay. Among its many recommendations, the report calls for greatly improved statistical
information gathering within the National
Police and Public Ministry regarding crime, and urges an end to calls for a return to harsher, more authoritarian practices and policies on crime without
an analysis of trends in criminality. To view the entire report, please click here.
No Place to Hide:
Gang, State, and Clandestine Violence in El Salvador
Following a series of fact-finding missions to El Salvador in 2006, and months of follow-up research, the International Human Rights Clinic released,
"No
Place to Hide: Gang, State, and Clandestine Violence in El Salvador," a report documenting the phenomenon of youth gangs in El Salvador, human rights
abuses associated with gang violence, and the Salvadoran government's response to gang activity. To view a short announcement about this report,
please click here. To view the entire report, as a PDF document, please
click here.
"We are now hoping for death";
Grave Human Rights Abuses in Gambella, Ethiopia
The International Human Rights Clinic has released "We are now hoping for death"; Grave Human Rights Abuses in
Gambella, Ethiopia, documenting potential war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF). The report
also examines retaliatory attacks by armed Anuaks on the non-indigenous "highlanders."
Caesar v. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
HLS Advocates and the Global Justice Center partnered with the law firm of Latham & Watkins LLP on this amicus curiae brief, submitted in Caesar v. The Republic of
Trinidad and Tobago, pending before the Court. The brief argues that flogging with a cat-o-nine tails – a plaited rope made of nine knotted thongs of
cotton cord approximately 30 inches long – standing alone or with other abuses suffered, constitutes “torture” under the American Convention on Human
Rights and other international law. The brief also agued in support of the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which Trinidad and
Tobago disputes.
Keeping the Peace in Haiti?
An International Human Rights Clinic delegation traveled with a Brazilian NGO, the Global Justice Center, to Haiti to document human rights
abuses that are taking place on MINUSTAH’s watch. The Clinic and the Global Justice Center interviewed victims and authorities as well as staff
of MINUSTAH, the United Nations, the police, and the current government. In March 2005, CAP and the Global Justice Center released this report,
“Keeping the Peace in Haiti?: An Assessment of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti Using
Compliance with its Prescribed Mandate as a Barometer for Success.”
Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Bangladesh
Students traveled to Bangladesh in March - April 2004 to research incidents of abuse, speak with NGO activists, lawyers, and government authorities
for this report. The report, “Breach of Faith: Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Community in Bangladesh,” details the various events of violence and
agitation against the Ahmadiyya community and the government’s failure to fulfill its obligation to protect the rights of the Ahmadis to freely
practice and profess their own religion.
Se San River Dams in Cambodia
The International Human Rights Clinic undertook a field mission in the spring 2005 to investigate human rights violations associated with dams in
Vietnam and their effects on communities living along the Se San River in Cambodia’s northeast. The investigation led to the publication of
Down River, by the NGO Forum on Cambodia, and
concluded that over the past ten years dam operations have caused numerous drowning deaths from water releases, as well as reduced food availability
and living standards generally--contravening Vietnam's and Cambodia's international legal obligations.
South African Apartheid Litigation
During the fall 2005 term, the Clinical Advocacy Project, working with human rights lawyer Paul Hoffman, researched and briefed issues for
plaintiff-appellants reply brief in the South African
Apartheid litigation currently on appeal with the 2nd Circuit.
Bordering on Failure: The U.S.-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement Fifteen Months After Implementation
This report is based on fact-finding visits in
2005 to three ports of entry along the United States-Canada border, follow-up interviews, and
additional research—provides information and analysis of the preliminary impact of the STCA. The statistics and observations collected from the
fact-finding investigations indicate that, fifteen months after implementation, the STCA not only fails to accomplish its stated goal of securing
the border, but indeed makes the border less secure, endangering the lives of refugee claimants and threatening the security of the United States and Canada.
