Projects

Detainees and Counter-Terrorism

The Center’s cutting edge legal analysis exposes the practices of extraordinary rendition, disappearances, and detainee abuse as violations of domestic, regional and international law. The Center works closely with human rights organizations, litigators, regional groups, parliamentary bodies, and other actors working to end abuses by the United States and collaborating countries in the "War on Terror"

The four main areas on which the Center works are:

Extraordinary Rendition

The Center has been a pioneer in exposing and defining extraordinary rendition (the transfer of individuals to another country where they face a real risk of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment) as an illegal practice.

Disappearances

The Center plays a key role in identifying "disappeared" persons; addressing the practice as a violation of domestic, regional and international law; and pursuing remedies for persons held in "black sites".

Detainee Abuse and Accountability

The Center works with Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch to comprehensively document credible allegations of torture and abuse in U.S. custody in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo, and to track accountability for those abuses.

State Participation in U.S. Human Rights Abuses in Counter-Terrorism

The Center was a leader in demonstrating how other states' facilitation of extraordinary renditions and disappearances violates international law. The Center actively supports investigations into allegations of torture assistance.

Gender, National Security and Counter-Terrorism

In December 2007, the UN Human Rights Council renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, inter alia, to “integrate a gender perspective throughout the work of his/her mandate.” In support of the Special Rapporteur’s work the Center is investigating the gendered nature of many national security and counter-terrorism techniques.

Extraordinary Rendition

LAWSUIT

Rights Groups Urge Congress Not to Block Disclosure of Details about CIA Rendition, Secret Detention, and Torture
Express Concerns about Congressional Involvement in FOIA Case against CIA

(January 7, 2010, New York and Washington DC) – Congress should not prevent disclosure of its knowledge and oversight of the CIA’s use of rendition, secret detention, and torture, three leading human rights groups urged today. The groups – Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at NYU School of Law – expressed concern after a federal court granted the government more time to consult with Congress about CIA records sought in the groups’ Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation.

“These records purport to describe the CIA’s notifications and briefings to Congress about U.S. rendition, secret detention, and torture,” stated CCR attorney, Gitanjali Gutierrez, speaking on behalf of the groups. “Congress should promote full disclosure of information about whether or not it exercised appropriate oversight authority and its involvement with torture and secret prisons. The American public deserves to know whether political leaders were keeping the CIA in check or actually encouraging the agency’s shocking acts.”

The court has granted the government more time to consult with Congress about the ten records, a process the government describes as being “unexpectedly complex.” The records include 26 pages of charts related to prior congressional notifications and briefings, summaries of briefings to and closed hearings before Congress, and memoranda describing meetings of senior officials.

Read more...

LAWSUIT

Rights Groups Challenge CIA Again for Failure to Release Torture Documents

On November 20, 2009, Amnesty International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the International Human Rights Clinic at NYU School of Law opposed the CIA’s attempt to end their FOIA lawsuit on secret detention, rendition and torture. The groups’ filing is accompanied by a comprehensive account of government statements about the U.S. secret detention, rendition and interrogation program, in the form of a 46-page declaration by IHRC’s Margaret Satterthwaite.

LAWSUIT

Court of Appeals Decides to Rehear Jeppesen En Banc

On October 27, 2009, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decided to rehear en banc Jeppesen Dataplan v. Mohamed, an ACLU-led Alien Tort Claims Act suit brought by five victims of the CIA's extraordinary rendition and secret detention program, including the Center's client Mohamed Bashmilah. The Court of Appeals' decision to rehear the case makes moot the prior positive decision of a three-judge panel of the Court. That decision had reversed and remanded the district court's dismissal of the case because of state secrets.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CENTER

CHRGJ Releases Legal Advisory on Minimum Standards for Transfer

On January 2009, President Obama promulgated a number of Executive Orders that created several Task Forces to advise him on certain aspects of U.S. counter-terrorism policy. One of the key issues currently under review is the U.S. practice of rendition. Despite the fact that several bodies of international law binding on the United States set out rules relevant to the transfer of individuals outside the United States to U.S. territory or to the custody of another state in the context of counter-terrorism operations, confusion often prevails concerning the legal norms applicable to this practice.

In an effort to clarify the legal issues involved, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice is pleased to present its latest Legal Advisory. Examining human rights, refugee law, and humanitarian law norms, Minimum Standards for Transfer: International Law Concerning Rendition In The Context of Counter-Terrorism sets out a minimum baseline standard applicable to such transfers, articulating threshold requirements, substantive norms, and procedural guarantees that apply whenever the United States conducts an extraterritorial transfer of an individual within its effective control.

LAWSUIT

Appellate Court Ruling Clears Way for Case Against Jeppesen Dataplan

 Opinion by Judge Hawkins

Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and remanded Jeppesen Dataplan v. Mohamed, ruling that the district court improperly dismissed the suit at the pleading stage on the U.S.'s assertion of the state secrets privilege. The ruling clears the way for the case to proceed to discovery. CHRGJ represents co-plaintiff Mohamed Bashmilah in the ACLU-led suit.

OPINION

HAWKINS, Circuit Judge:

"Plaintiffs Binyam Mohamed, Abou Elkassim Britel, Ahmed Agiza, Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, and Bisher al-Rawi (“plaintiffs”), appeal the dismissal of this action, brought under the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, against Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc. (“Jeppesen”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boeing Company. Before Jeppesen filed an answer to the complaint, the United States intervened, asserting that the state secrets privilege required dismissal of the entire action on the pleadings. The district court agreed and dismissed the complaint. On appeal, plaintiffs argue the district court misapplied the state secrets doctrine and erred in dismissing the complaint. Concluding that the subject matter of this lawsuit is not a state secret because it is not predicated on the existence of a secret agreement between plaintiffs and the Executive, and recognizing that our limited inquiry under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) precludes prospective consideration of hypothetical evidence, we reverse and remand."

Click here to continue reading

CHRGJ Report - On the Record

REPORT

On the Record: U.S. Disclosures on Rendition, Secret Detention, and Coercive Interrogation

Based on publicly available information, On the Record aggregates this wide range of disclosures on U.S. rendition, secret detention, and coercive interrogation activities. It includes statements by current U.S. officials and a plethora of other publicly available information from foreign government officials, former U.S. officials, the media, inter-governmental organizations, human rights organizations, and former detainees and rendered individuals themselves. As an informational resource, this report sheds light both on what has been revealed and what has been obscured by the U.S. government, underlining both the selectivity and undue secrecy informing what it chooses to disclose on the record.


LAWSUIT

On Behalf of Rendition Victim, Clinic Joins ACLU Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary

(New York, NY, August 1, 2007) - On behalf of Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, the NYU International Human Rights Clinic today joined an ACLU lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc., a subsidiary of Boeing Company. Filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit alleges that Jeppesen knowingly provided extensive flight services that enabled the CIA's rendition of Yemeni citizen Bashmilah and four others into the U.S. government's publicly-acknowledged secret detention program. The lawsuit was originally filed by the ACLU on May 30, 2007 on behalf of three victims of extraordinary rendition. Today's filing adds Bashmilah and Bisher al-Rawi, another victim, to the suit.

The complaint alleges that Jeppesen provided services enabling Bashmilah's rendition to Afghanistan, where he was subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment before being sent to a CIA "black site" in an undisclosed location. It further alleges that through this assistance, Jeppesen violated the Alien Tort Statute, which allows aliens to bring claims in the United States for violations of the law of nations. Bashmilah was unlawfully detained in U.S.-run facilities outside of the U.S. for seventeen months, without any contact with his family, government, lawyers or humanitarian organizations. He was released to his country of origin, Yemen, in May 2005. Although Bashmilah was subject to torture and endured a long and painful enforced disappearance, no charges were ever brought against him by the U.S. government.

For more information about the lawsuit, click here.

NEW

HEARING

CHRGJ Participates in U.S. Hearings on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights

On September 6, 2006, the CHRGJ participated in the U.S. hearing of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-terrorism and Human Rights (the Panel). The oral statement of Jayne Huckerby, CHRGJ Research Director, addressed the legal implications of the detention and renditions of terrorism suspects. The Center also provided a written submission to the Panel covering the following topics:

  • Government inquiries into cases of alleged torture or ill-treatment, accountability through criminal investigation and prosecution, and civil remedies for abuses;
  • The transfer of terrorist suspects to third countries from the custody of the United States and its impact on the principle of non-refoulement, including standards and procedures to assess risks of torture and ill-treatment and the use of diplomatic assurances;
  • The scope of and justifications for the policy of rendition of terrorist suspects; alleged secret or incommunicado detention of terrorist suspects; and
  • The impact of counter-terrorism measures on the right to non-discrimination, including the use of racial, religious and ethnic profiling.

REPORT

Torture by Proxy: International Law Applicable to "Extraordinary Renditions" (2005)

This 11-page report was prepared for the U.K. All Party Parliamentary Group on Extraordinary Rendition for distribution to members of the U.K. Parliament. It defines extraordinary rendition; provides examples of the practice; outlines how extraordinary rendition violates international human rights, humanitarian, and refugee law; identifies the international law obligations of States with regard to acts of extraordinary rendition by other States; and explains the extent to which international law applies in the "War on Terror".

For the Guardian coverage of this report click here.

REPORT

Beyond Guantánamo: Transfers to Torture One Year After Rasul v. Bush (2005)

This 30-page report released on the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Rasul v. Bush reveals and examines the strategies that the Administration employs to keep detainees outside the ambit of the U.S. legal system. These strategies include extraordinary rendition, "reverse rendition," and transfers into secret detention.

The findings of this report have been cited by key actors, including The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); Center for Constitutional Rights; Council of Europe; and Human Rights First

REPORT

Torture by Proxy: International and Domestic Law Applicable to "Extraordinary Renditions" (2004) (with Association of the Bar of the City of New York)

This 131-page report presents a synopsis of alleged instances of extraordinary rendition; an in-depth analysis of applicable domestic and international legal standards; and concludes that extraordinary renditions are contrary to U.S. and international laws and policy. This report contributed to legislative efforts to end rendition.

The findings of this report have been cited by key actors, including ACLU; Center for Constitutional Rights; Council of Europe; and Human Rights First

Disappearances

LAWSUIT

CHRGJ Makes "Ghost FOIA" Documents Available to the Public

On August 24, 2009, the CIA and the U.S. Department of State released documents through the Ghost FOIA litigation, Amnesty v. CIA, in which the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice is a Plaintiff and co-counsel. The FOIA litigation seeks records about ghost detention, "enhanced" interrogations, and renditions carried out as part of the U.S. government’s "War on Terror." Among other things, the documents detail guidelines for CIA conditions of prison confinement and interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, and disclose limited legal assessments of these techniques.

DOCS

VP 1, Doc 21, Doc 27, Doc 28, Doc 35, Doc 45, Doc 59, Doc 70, Doc 71, Doc 73, Doc 74, Doc 75, Doc 78, Doc 80, Doc 83, Doc 85, Doc 86, Doc 87, Doc 88, Doc 89, Doc 93, Doc 99, Doc 125, Doc 127, Doc 141, Doc 157, Doc 174, Doc 182, Doc 186, Doc 195, Doc 247, Doc 250, Doc 269, Doc 274

REPORT

Surviving the Darkness: Testimony from the U.S. “Black Sites” (2007)

 CHRGJ Report - Surviving the Darkness

In the first-ever report of its kind, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice today released a comprehensive, first-hand account of a survivor of enforced disappearance and torture at several CIA “black sites.” The 63-page report Surviving the Darkness: Testimony from the U.S. “Black Sites” is the first to present an in-depth account of a former CIA detainee’s experience in his own words.

Surviving the Darkness is the narrative of Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah, a Yemeni national who spent more than a year and a half in the CIA’s secret detention program. Mr. Bashmilah, along with four other individuals, is a plaintiff in an ACLU lawsuit against Jeppesen Dataplan, Inc.—a subsidiary of the Boeing Corporation—alleging that Jeppesen provided flight services enabling the transfer of Bashmilah and the four other plaintiffs to secret CIA detention centers around the world.

On October 19, 2007, the U.S. government filed motions to intervene and dismiss the action or, in the alternative, for summary judgment on the basis that the case concerns state secrets. On December 14, 2007, Bashmilah’s account—alongside a legal memorandum and the accounts of other plaintiffs in the suit—was filed by the ACLU in support of the plaintiffs’ opposition to the government’s motion.

For more information about the lawsuit, click here.

For more information about CHRGJ’s work in this area, click here.

REPORT

Off the Record: U.S. Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in the "War on Terror" (2007)

 CHRGJ Report - Off the Record

The 21-page report, titled 'Off the Record': U.S. Responsibility for Enforced Disappearances in the " War on Terror," − drafted by Amnesty International, Cageprisoners, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, Human Rights Watch, and Reprieve − provides new names of missing detainees, new information about those known to be disappeared, and names relatives of suspects who were themselves detained in secret prisons, including children as young as seven.

In a related action, the International Human Rights Clinic and two of the groups − Amnesty International USA and CCR − today filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking the disclosure of information concerning "disappeared" detainees. See more.

Prof Manfred Nowak, Jayne Huckerby and Prof Meg Satterthwaite on the panel CIA “Black Sites” and Rendition in the Spotlight

NEW


LAWSUIT

Freedom of Information Act: Ghost Detention and Extraordinary Rendition Case

(New York and Washington, DC)—The Department of Justice (DOJ) must stop its stonewalling tactics and produce documents related to the U.S. government’s ghost detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition program, three prominent human rights groups urged today, just after collectively filing a motion to require the DOJ to make certain information public. The motion also seeks to compel the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to process the groups’ request for particular documents.

The groups—Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), CCR, and the International Human Rights Clinic at NYU School of Law’s Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (NYU IHRC/CHRGJ)—filed a motion for preliminary injunction on July 19, 2008 in the Southern District of New York, where the case is being heard. The lawsuit was filed in June 2007 under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), after repeated attempts to obtain information from the DOJ and other agencies had failed.

Since 2004 and 2006, AIUSA, CCR, and NYU IHRC have filed FOIA requests with several U.S. government agencies, including the DOJ, the CIA, and the Department of Homeland Security, seeking information about the government program of secret or irregular detention.

NEW

Opposition to CIA Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiffs' Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (June 26, 2008)

2007

2006

REPORT

Fate and Whereabouts Unknown: Detainees in the "War on Terror" (2005)

This 34-page report provides the names and detailed backgrounds of 28 individuals who may be held in U.S. secret sites. The 28 include well-known terrorism suspects such as Ramzi Binalshibh and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, as well as individuals who have not been widely reported as among those "disappeared," including Suleiman Abdalla, Abu Naseem, and Aafia Siddiqui. The report also draws attention to the connections between extraordinary renditions and disappearances.

The findings of this report have been cited by key actors, including Amnesty International; the Council of Europe and Human Rights First

Detainee Abuse and Accountability

CHRGJ: Why We Need Prosecutions and a Commission for U.S. Accountability

POSITION PAPER

CHRGJ: Why We Need Prosecutions and a Commission for U.S. Accountability

The Right to Justice: Pursue Prosecutions of Those Responsible for Torture and other Abuse of Detainees

  • The Department of Justice should initiate criminal investigations and prosecutions of individuals believed to be responsible for the abuse of detainees.
  • Victims have a right to redress, including criminal justice.
  • International law requires countries to investigate and punish crimes involving the abuse of detainees.
  • We need both prosecutions and a commission of inquiry to deliver a full spectrum of justice for the abuses committed.

The Right to Truth: Establish an Independent Commission of Inquiry

  • President Obama and Congress should take immediate steps to establish a non-partisan, independent commission of inquiry.
  • This Commission should not be seen as a substitute .
  • Victims have a right to know the truth .
  • The American public has a right to know.

REPORT

By the Numbers: Findings of the Detainee Abuse and Accountability Project (2006) (with Human Rights Watch and Human Rights First)

This 31-page report presents preliminary findings of the Detainee Abuse and Accountability Project, a joint project of the Center, Human Rights Watch and Human Rights First. The project is the first comprehensive accounting of credible allegations of torture and abuse in U.S. custody in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo. By April 2006, the project had collected hundreds of allegations of detainee abuse occurring since late 2001-allegations implicating more than 600 U.S. military and civilian personnel and involving more than 460 detainees. This ongoing project is also tracking criminal and administrative measures taken to punish abusers. This report was also referenced by the U.N. Committee Against Torture in its examination of the United States' second periodic report in May 2006.

State Participation in U.S. Human Rights Abuses in the "War on Terror"

HEARING

CHRGJ Submits Information for ICJ Hearings on Jordan and Yemen (2007)

On May 25, 2007, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice and International Human Rights Clinic made two written submissions to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights for use in its sub-regional hearing in Cairo, 4 − 5 June 2007 to examine and assess the impact of counter-terrorism laws and policies on human rights and the rule of law in Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Yemen.

REPORT

Enabling Torture: International Law Applicable to State Participation in the Unlawful Activities of Other States (2006)

This 28-page report outlines the factual allegations of other countries' involvement in U.S. activities; considers when and where a state’s human rights obligations apply; comprehensively assesses the role of international aviation law; outlines a state’s primary human rights obligations; and identifies when a state will be derivatively responsible for acts of another State.

The findings of this report have been cited by key actors, including Amnesty International.

Gender, National Security and Counter-Terrorism

CONSULTATION

Gender, National Security, and Counter-Terrorism: Expert Consultation Meeting

The Center is hosting an expert consultation on “Gender, National Security, and Counter-Terrorism” on March 20-21, 2009 at New York University School of Law. The purpose of the consultation is to provide input into the project and to advise the Special Rapporteur on this topic, which is integral to his mandate. A key starting point for this analysis is to recognize that gender is not synonymous with women but rather encompasses the social constructions that underlie how women and men’s roles, functions and responsibilities are defined and understood. The Center aims to identify the underlying causes of gender rights violations that occur in connection with combating terrorism; and to design strategies for countering terrorism that are truly rights protective and inclusive of all actors (including men) with stakes in gender outcomes.
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