Embassy of the United States

Human Rights

Civil, Political & Religious Rights Archive

“IT’S AN EVERYDAY BATTLE”: CENSORSHIP AND HARASSMENT OF JOURNALISTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN SUDAN. Human Rights Watch. February 18, 2009.
Available online
The report documents the Sudan government's efforts to repress those who seek to report on issues it considers sensitive, including human rights, the conflict in Darfur, and the International Criminal Court’s (ICC's) investigation. "Today in Khartoum it is unsafe to criticize the Khartoum government or to call for justice for the victims of horrific crimes in Darfur," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
[Note: contains copyrighted material]

DEFENDING LIFE 2009 PROVEN STRATEGIES FOR A PRO-LIFE AMERICA: A STATE-BY-STATE LEGAL GUIDE TO BIOETHICS, AND THE END OF LIFE. American United for Life. Clarke D. Forsythe et al. Web posted January 23, 2009.
Full Text [HTML format, various paging]
Americans United for Life (AUL) reports its sixth annual ranking of the most and least pro-life states. Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and South Dakota top the ranking, while California, Hawaii, and Vermont ranked lowest. While AUL’s criteria cover states’ treatment of all life issues, final rankings depend largely on each state’s enactment of prudent and well-supported laws. Such laws fence in the abortion license granted by the U.S. Supreme Court in its 1973 decision, Roe v. Wade. Among the laws AUL looks for are informed consent, parental involvement for minors, medically-supported regulation of abortion providers, and limitations on the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion.
[Note: contains copyrighted material]

AA09004
Grodsky, Brian JUSTICE WITHOUT TRANSITION: TRUTH COMMISSIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF REPRESSIVE RULE (Human Rights Review, Vol. 9, no. 3, September 2008, pp. 281-297)
Full text available on request
Using Uzbekistan as an example, Grodsky, with the Department of Political Science at the University of Maryland, shows that truth commissions, designed to be a “third way” to come to terms with past abuses, are also used by repressive leaders either due to public pressure, desire for better international relations or as a means of condemning previous regimes. Repressive leaders must balance between having a commission with some legitimacy but which also does not threaten their own power base. Launching his truth commission in 1999, Uzbek President Karimov was motivated by a desire for closer relations with the West and affixing public blame for past offenses on Soviet and tsarist Russia rather than the local Communist officials who have retained power. Thus a new idea of transitional justice has developed, where regimes unearth previously hidden crimes and abuses, and even discuss compensation for victims, but control the process and divert attention from the blood on their own hands.

SINAI PERILS: RISKS TO MIGRANTS, REFUGEES, AND ASYLUM SEEKERS IN EGYPT AND ISRAEL. Human Rights Watch. November 2008.
Full Text [PDF format, 95 pages]
Since 2006, over 13,000 refugees have passed through Egypt and crossed the Sinai border into Israel. Both Egypt and Israel have responded to this cross-border flow with policies that violate fundamental rights. Both countries are states parties to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and as such should not punish refugees fleeing from persecution. Guidelines by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) state that detention of asylum seekers should be used only as a last resort. Israeli NGOs, student groups, volunteers, and other private citizens have challenged the government’s treatment of new African arrivals, and have tried to fill the void left by the government’s failure to provide support services to them. In Egypt, where 40 percent of the population lives below or near the poverty line, the plight of foreign migrants and refugees has not gained significant public sympathy.
[Note: contains copyrighted material]

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. Global Migration Group. Web posted November 2, 2008.
Full Text [PDF format, 144 pages]
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in its sixtieth anniversary, remains the primary international articulation of the fundamental rights of all members of the human family. Among its main findings is the assessment that despite the many positive contributions migration makes to the development of countries of origin and destination, it is essential that migrants are seen not solely as agents of development. They are human beings with rights that States have an obligation to protect even when they exercise their sovereign right to determine who enters and remains in their territory. Cooperation between governments in countries of origin, transit and destination, and among non-governmental organizations, civil society and migrants themselves, is vital for ensuring that international human rights instruments are implemented and that migrants are aware of their rights and obligations.
[Note: contains copyrighted material]

FACT SHEET: PROTECTING VOTING RIGHTS AND PROSECUTING VOTER FRAUD. U.S. Department of Justice. November 2008.
Full Text [PDF format, 3 pages]
Among the Department of Justice’s highest priorities are protecting voting rights and combating voter fraud. The Department’s Civil Rights Division enforces specific federal laws that help to ensure all qualified voters have an opportunity to cast their ballots and have them counted, while the Department’s Criminal Division oversees the nationwide enforcement of federal laws integrity of the federal election process.

AA08167
PLAYING FOR KEEPS (The American, vol. 2, no. 3, May/June 2008, pp. 80-90)
Full Text [html format]

In August, China will host the 29th Summer Olympics, an event that promises to be both political and athletic. Close to 11,000 athletes are expected to flock to China’s capital city. At the same time, proponents of human rights, open media, and environmental quality in China, are also competing for the world’s attention. With this background, eight China experts were challenged to determine whether the Beijing Olympics will ultimately hurt the cause of freedom in China. If the Games present China as a powerful and capable state, this will increase expectations that the country lives up to international human rights standards. In return, the Olympics will allow the Chinese to take pride in their progress and to show the world that China is a peaceful rising power, not an inevitable enemy of the West. However, it is highly unlikely that the Games will expedite China’s social liberalization. In fact, if there are massive protests against the Games, especially over the human rights debate, most Chinese will rally behind their government.

SELECTED INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES.
Amnesty International. Web posted May 30, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 22 pages]

States which have ratified or acceded to a convention are party to the treaty and are bound to observe its provisions. States which have signed but not yet ratified have expressed their intention to become a party at some future date; meanwhile they are obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the treaty.

[Note: contains copyrighted material]

HUMAN RIGHTS AND NATURAL DISASTERS.
Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, Brookings Institution. Web posted May 12, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 93 pages]

Although disasters could happen suddenly, their consequences can be long to remedy and can linger on for months and years. The effects can increase inequalities in life and society. Therefore, it is important to review how governments and humanitarian efforts integrate human rights into their disaster preparedness and response. Human rights have to be the basis for all humanitarian work pertaining to natural disasters. If humanitarian assistance is not based on a human rights framework, there is a risk that the focus will be too narrow and the basic needs of the victims will not be integrated into a holistic planning process. In order to provide guidance on how to protect the rights of individuals affected by natural disasters, the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) adopted Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters and Human Rights and Natural Disasters is drafted as an accompaniment to the IASC guidelines.

[Note: contains copyrighted material.]

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 2008: DRAFT COUNTRY REPORTS.
Freedom House. Web posted May 1, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 239 pages]

According to the study, global press freedom underwent a decline in 2007, with journalists struggling to work in increasingly hostile environments in almost every region in the world. The decline continues a six-year negative trend. However, there was some improvement in the regions with the least amount of press freedom: the Middle East and North Africa. The study attributes the improvement to a growing number of journalists who were willing to challenge government restraints.

[Note: contains copyrighted material.]

WORLD REPORT 2008: EVENTS OF 2007. Human Rights Watch, January 31, 2008
Table of Contents
Full Report

"Rarely has democracy been so acclaimed yet so breached, so promoted yet so disrespected, so important yet so disappointing. Today, democracy has become the sine qua non of legitimacy. Few governments want to be seen as undemocratic. Yet the credentials of the claimants have not kept pace with democracy’s growing popularity. These days, even overt dictators aspire to the status conferred by the democracy label. Determined not to let mere facts stand in the way, these rulers have mastered the art of democratic rhetoric that bears little relationship to their practice of governing. " -- From the Introduction.

ECONOMIC FREEDOM UNDERPINS HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE.
Kim, Anthony B., The Heritage Foundation, March 18, 2008
Full Text [pdf format, 4 pages]

This brief paper argues that "as a fundamental element of enhancing human rights, economic freedom is an indispensable means toward promoting effective, lawful, and democratic governance."

PRIVACY AND CIVIL LIBERTIES OVERSIGHT BOARD: NEW INDEPENDENT AGENCY STATUS.
Congressional Research Service, RL34385, Library of Congress. Harold Relyea. February 20, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 11 pages]

Recommended by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission), the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) was initially established as an agency within the Executive Office of the President (EOP) in 2004. Critics, however, maintained that the board appeared to be a presidential appendage, devoid of the capability to exercise independent judgment and assessment or to provide impartial findings and recommendations. The PCLOB was reconstituted as an independent agency within the executive branch by the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act (IR9/11CA), signed into law on August 6, 2007. Monitoring the transition of the PCLOB to, and its initial operations in, its new independent status, this report will be updated.

FREEDOM IN RETREAT: IS THE TIDE TURNING?
Freedom House. Arch Puddington. Web posted January 16, 2008.
Full Text [pdf format, 18 pages]

According to Freedom House’s “Freedom in the World” 2007 survey, the year “was marked by a notable setback for global freedom,” a decline that was most pronounced in South Asia. The year also marked the second consecutive year in which the survey registered a decline.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

2007 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
U.S. Department of State
Full Text
South Africa

The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The law provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, by February 25 "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act." Reports on several countries are included that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement.

PRIVACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS 2006: AN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF PRIVACY LAWS AND DEVELOPMENTS.
Electronic Privacy Information Center and Privacy International. December 2007.
Full Text [pdf format by chapters and countries, various pagings]

This annual report reviews the state of privacy in more than 75 countries. “It outlines legal protections for privacy, and summarizes important issues and events relating to privacy and surveillance. Each country report covers the constitutional, legal and regulatory framework protecting privacy and the surveillance of communications by law enforcement, new landmark court cases, most noteworthy advocacy work of non-governmental organizations and human rights groups, various new developments, and major news stories related to privacy.”

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2008: GLOBAL FREEDOM IN RETREAT.
Freedom House, January 2008
Press Release [html format]

Paints a gloomy picture of political rights and civil liberties around the world, noting reversals in 20% of countries surveyed.

INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT 2007. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State. Web posted September 14, 2007.
Full Text by Section and Country [pdf format, various pagings]

“The promotion of religious freedom is a core objective of U.S. foreign policy and is part of the U.S. Department of State's mission.” This report documents the actions of governments that repress religious expression, persecute believers, or tolerate violence against religious minorities. The report also identifies governments that provide a high level of protection to religious freedom.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN II. Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations. August 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 54 pages]

This report presents the results of the 2006 human rights field monitoring activity in Afghanistan. The report includes recommendations to strengthen economic and social rights and to promote their advancement and protection. The report focuses on the standard of living; child labor; the right to property, housing, water, health, and education; and future priorities.

PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA: THE OLYMPICS COUNTDOWN-ONE YEAR LEFT TO FULFIL HUMAN RIGHTS PROMISES. Amnesty International. Web posted August 7, 2007.
Full Text [html format, various pagings]

This report summarizes recent developments on four key human rights issues in China. Amnesty International (AI) has noted positive steps in the reform of the death penalty system and greater freedom for foreign journalists. However, there have also been negative developments such as the growing crackdown on human rights activists and journalists as well as the use of “Re-education through Labour (RTL)” and other forms of detention without trial. AI has vowed to continue to monitor the situation.

THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS: REPORT 2007. Amnesty International (AI). Web posted May 23, 2007.
Full Text: Overview [pdf format, 55 pages]

Country Entries [pdf format, 242 pages]

This report covers human rights issues during 2006 in a country or region based on specific issues. “AI addresses particular issues in specific countries. Its coverage of individual issues, as reflected in the content of the report, is focused rather than comprehensive.” The absence of a country does not mean that there are no human rights abuses in that country. Each country’s entry begins with basic information about the country.

[Note: Contains copyrighted material.]

PRESS FREEDOM IN 2006: GROWING THREATS TO MEDIA INDEPENDENCE. Freedom House. May 1, 2007
Overview Essay [pdf format, 12 pages]

Draft Country Reports and Ratings [pdf format, 216 pages]

Charts and Graphs [pdf format, 22 pages]

According to this report, global press freedom declined in 2006; assaults on independent news media were relentless in Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and China; and independent news showed declines in Argentina, Brazil, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Governments have also restricted internet freedom by censoring, harassing, or shutting down sites that provided alternative news or commentary. 

This report consists of an overview essay of media independence, country reports and ratings, and graphs and charts.

BACKSLIDERS: THE 10 COUNTRIES WHERE PRESS FREEDOM HAS MOST DETERIORATED.
Special Report 2007, Committee to Protect Journalists. Web posted May 3, 2007.
Full Text [html format, various pagings]

The Committee to Protect Journalist (CPJ) issued this report to call attention to long-term erosion of press conditions and to identify “backsliders,” which are countries that have had an open relationship with the press, but who have become increasingly repressive. The list also includes nations where press conditions have traditionally been restrictive.
Patterns that emerged from this analysis are:

• Authorities in some countries have silenced critical coverage;
• Violent attacks are not punished;
• Judicial harassments have increased; and
• Censorship and restrictive legislation have been used.

TROUBLING SIGNS FOR SOUTH AFRICAN DEMOCRACY UNDER THE ANC. Marian L. Tupy. Development Policy Briefing Paper, Center for Global Liberty & Prosperity, CATO Institute. April 25, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 12 pages]

“Thirteen years ago, South Arica underwent a peaceful transition from white minority rule to majority rule. Today, the country is a stable multiparty democracy. It has the largest and the most sophisticated economy in Africa, which generates almost 40 percent of all the wealth produced on the African continent south of the Sahara.” 

The African National Congress (ANC) deserves most of the credit for the economy, but the author fears that its record for democratic principles is less impressive. The ANC puts great value on its international reputation. When it does not act in a liberal, democratic spirit; international groups, diplomatic corps, and business communities should voice their concerns.

TOWARD A REFORM AGENDA FOR THE NIGER DELTA: A REPORT OF THE AFRICA PROGRAM.
Jennifer Cooke and J. Stephen Morrison. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Web posted April 19, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 13 pages]

On March 14, the CSIS Africa Program held a conference concerning the Niger Delta. The sponsoring institutions of this conference were CSIS, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Council on Foreign Relations, the U.S. Institute of Peace, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and Northwestern University. The purpose of the conference was “to elevate the focus on Nigeria in the lead-up to and immediately beyond Nigeria’s April elections.” The participants concluded that the injustices and dangers of the Niger Delta have long been neglected; as a result, they examined how to build consensus around reform prospects to address criminal violence, corruption, and poverty in the Delta.

AA07170
Gottfried, Paul. THE INVINCIBLE WILSONIAN MATRIX: UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS ONCE AGAIN
(Orbis, vol. 51, no. 2, Spring 2007, pp. 239-250)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author, professor of history at Elizabethtown College, argues that a conservative or realist approach has little appeal in the current debate over American foreign policy. In the twentieth century, according to George F. Kennan, the United States succumbed to “the evils of utopian enthusiasms.” Nonetheless, he asserts that in recent years, this worldview has been associated most closely with the neoconservatives, but even the Clinton administration leaned in the same direction. Crusading moralism has been the recurrent theme of America's self-image as a global power. Whether or not neoconservatives and liberals today are really dedicated to the same democratic political culture as the one that Wilson idealized, a recognizable Wilsonian manner of conceptualizing international relations has come to dominate American politics, reflected in a shared rejection of any foreign policy that is not based on the temporal salvation of humanity. Gottfried asserts that many Wilsonians seem unable to imagine that one can be “moral” without trying to make everyone resemble one’s self.

SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY: THE U.S. RECORD: 2006.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State. Web posted April 5, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 280 pages]

This is the fifth annual submission of this report, which is required by Section 665 of the FY03 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, P.L. 107-228. The report requires the U.S. Department of State “to report on actions taken by the U.S. Government to encourage respect for human rights.” This report takes the next step by “moving from highlighting abuses to publicizing the actions and programs the United States has employed to end those abuses.”

COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES: 2006.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State. Web posted March 5, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, By Regions by Country, various pagings]

These reports are submitted annually to the U.S. Congress by the U.S. Department of State. They provide full and complete status of internationally recognized human rights in countries that receive assistance through sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 as amended and the Trade Act of 1974 as amended or who are members of the UN. The reports present a country-by-country account of the state of civil, political, individual, and worker rights, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The appendices and related materials are also available.

AA07125
Cullum, Blanquita. HASTA LA VISTA, FREE SPEECH: HUGO CHAVEZ CONSOLIDATES HIS HOLD ON VENEZUELA'S MEDIA
(Weekly Standard, Vol. 12, No. 24, March 5, 2007, pp 18-20)
Full text [html format]

The author, a radio talk-show hostess and a member of the Broadcast Board of Governors, which overseas Voice of America and other government broadcast entities, visited Caracas early in 2007 and talked with independent Venezuelan journalists and media owners. She notes that President Hugo Chavez has announced he is nationalizing Venezuela's telecommunications and electricity companies. This follows the legislature’s decision to allow him to rule by decree for the next 18 months. In January, Chavez announced that when the broadcasting license of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) expires May 27, he will not renew it. This will “pull the plug” on Venezuela's oldest private television station with the largest audience share in the country. The author says that in her private conversations with journalists and station owners, she was told that the Chavez government “imposes punitive taxes and fines, arbitrarily applies laws and regulations, and brings charges of criminal defamation.” And the lapse of RCTV’s license “is sending a message to all other media that [Chavez] has the power to do what he wants with Venezuela's radio and TV stations.

VENEZUELA: HUGO CHÁVEZ’S REVOLUTION.
Latin America Report, International Crisis Group. February 22, 2007.
Full Text: [pdf format, 41 pages]

President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela won re-election overwhelmingly in December 2006. His high approval ratings reinforced his confidence in “Socialism of the 21st Century.” On the other hand, there is concern throughout the hemisphere that Chávez will sacrifice democratic principles and will lean toward autocracy. This report examines what Chávez’s success means for regional and hemispheric politics with a concentration on what has changed in Venezuela’s institutional landscape, politics, and economics.

IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 60/251 OF 15 MARCH 2006 ENTITLED “HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL”: REPORT OF THE HIGH-LEVEL MISSION ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN DARFUR PURSUANT TO HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL DECISION S-4/101*.
Human Rights Council, The United Nations. March 9, 2007.
Full Text [pdf format, 37 pages]

The members of the High-Level Mission on the situation in Darfur met in Geneva from February 5 to March 5, 2007. “The Mission decided to employ the analysis drawn from the responsibility to protect. Confirming that Sudan has accepted the responsibility to protect, the Mission proceeds to an assessment of the situation in Darfur, noting the complex historical, economic, political and other causes of the conflict. With the emergence of armed rebellion in the region, and the recruitment by the Government of proxy militias to respond to the rebellion, civilians emerged as the primary targets and victims.”

The international community has not been successful in ending this conflict. Today millions have been displaced, at least 200,000 are dead, and the conflict is spreading to Chad. “The United Nations and the African Union, has intervened with diplomatic, humanitarian, human rights and development assistance, but the vast majority of its recommendations remain unimplemented by the Government, and effective protection for civilians is yet to be secured.”

2006 County Reports on Human Rights Practices.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. U.S. Department of State. March 6, 2007
Full text

The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These rights include freedom from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, from prolonged detention without charges, from disappearance or clandestine detention, and from other flagrant violations of the right to life, liberty and the security of the person.

This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliance with Sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA),as amended. The law provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate by February 25 "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act." It also includes reports on several countries that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement.

RISE OF THE BLACK REPUBLICANS
Dingle, Derek T. (Black Enterprise, vol. 37, no. 4, November 2006, pp. 101-114)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

It is a historical time for black Republicans in the United States, with GOP candidates thought to have a shot at many local and national races. The rise of black Republican candidates is seen as an attempt by the GOP to make inroads into the African-American community. Black Republican view this as progress, making the community less reliant on the Democrats and giving African Americans a voice in politics regardless of which party is in power. Issues of discrimination remain a problem for Black politicians, with Republicans 25 percent more likely to vote Democratic when a black candidate is running for the GOP. Support from the black electorate isn’t guaranteed for African-American candidates either. Some voters are reluctant to break with the Democrats to support an African-American Republican candidate. However, it can no longer be assumed that African-American voters will exclusively support the Democratic Party.

PROTECTING CIVIL RIGHTS: A LEADERSHIP GUIDE FOR STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT.
United States Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS). Web-posted September 27, 2006.
Table of Contents [three sections, all in pdf format, various pagings]

Prepared by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), this guide is a comprehensive overview of the civil rights issues and challenges faced by law enforcement leaders. It describes the process by which agencies with alleged pattern or practice civil rights violations are investigated and monitored and offers lessons learned, resources, and strategies for protecting and promoting citizens' civil rights. The guide examines the experiences of a wide cross section of agencies engaged in protecting civil rights.

The chapter headings provide a glimpse into the coverage of this document:

• Protecting Civil Rights: A Leadership Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement.
• Sustaining Community Outreach and Engagement: The Intersection of Civil Rights and Community Policing.
• Developing an Early Intervention Strategy.
• Managing the Complaint Process.
• Managing Use of Force.
• Addressing Racial Profiling: Creating a Comprehensive Commitment to Bias-Free Policing.
• Personnel Management Issues in the Context of Protecting Civil Rights and Serving the Community.
• Data-Management Issues in the Context of Protecting Civil Rights and Serving the Community.

AA06218
THE DOABLE DOZEN (American Prospect, vol. 17, no. 6, June 2006, pp. 44-50)
View on publisher’s website

A collection of contributors to the American Prospect lists the issues Democrats and Republicans should be thinking about as the fall 2006 mid-year elections approach. The problems of income inequality in America and holding potential witnesses in criminal proceedings in custody indefinitely are the top two. Writers suggest re-tooling the proposed Aspire Act, which creates savings accounts for every child with a $500 starter deposit from the U.S. government, with children from below-median-income households eligible for additional government contributions. Writer Tara McKelvey suggests Democratic Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont has it right when he proposed fixing the material-witness law on the books by imposing time limits on holding material witnesses and setting due-process standards on the detention of material witnesses. Among other key issues for candidates to talk about are tax inequality, global conflict resolution, patents on pharmaceutical drugs, Medicare drug benefits, unfair credit-card rates, and universal access to broadband technology.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS WORLDWIDE IN 2006. Reporters Without Borders. May 2006.
Download [pdf format, 153 pages]

This annual report reviews the status of press freedom in more than 150 countries. Imprisonment is the favorite weapon of authoritarian rulers to silence journalists and more than 100 currently languish in jails around the world. The picture is much the same from year to year and China, Cuba, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran and Burma are still the countries holding most journalists. In these places, a sharp commentary, an over-strong adjective or an irritating news item are immediately dubbed "threats to public order," "sedition" or "undermining state security." Punishment can be five, 10 or even 20-year prison sentences, as well as cancellation of civil rights, all aimed at breaking the journalist involved and frightening others who might utter some critical or disobedient commentary. The report has a section on the Internet and the growing roster of nations censoring online communications.

AA06201
Zeitz, Joshua THE FOUR: HOW CIRCUIT COURT JUSTICES FIRED AT JIM CROW FROM THE BENCH (American Legacy, vol. 12, no. 2, Summer 2006, pp. 61-70)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Zeitz profiles the lives and work of four justices of the Deep South's Federal Circuit Court: Richard Rives, John R. Brown, John Wisdom, and Elbert P. Tuttle. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, these four justices, "both individually and in various combinations," struck down many of the "Jim Crow" laws that had established mandatory segregation dating back to the mid-1870s. Despite being subjected to ostracism, late night calls, and death threats, they integrated universities and school districts, enforced legal protection for black voters, and opened up access to public places for African-Americans. These rulings, the author asserts, were responsible for "vastly broadening the freedoms enjoyed by black and white Americans alike and forcibly dragging the Deep South into the twentieth century."

AA06172
Powers, William THIS LEAKY WORLD (National Journal, Vol. 38, No. 18, May 6, 2006, p. 60)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

Powers, a National Journal columnist, describes how democracies in various parts of the world are dealing with questions about anonymous sources, the law, and the press. While Americans tend to see the problem as peculiar to the U.S., he points out that Australia has recently enacted anti-terrorism legislation that some observers see as already having a "chilling effect on the news." In Mexico, the government has passed a law which allows journalists to protect their sources because of the danger from drug cartels and gangs. A recent court case in Japan allowed some journalists to protect their sources. Powers concludes, "Freedom of the press is a delicate dance, a never-ending series of judgment calls. The more tightly a society ... tries to define that freedom, the harder it becomes for journalists to do their jobs."

GOVERNMENT ACCESS TO PHONE CALLING ACTIVITY AND RELATED RECORDS: LEGAL AUTHORITIES. Elizabeth B. Bazan, Gina Marie Stevens and Brian T. Yeh. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. May 17, 2006.
Report [pdf format, 19 pages]

According to the information in the May 11 edition of the newspaper USA Today, the National Security Agency (NSA) is alleged to have sought and obtained records of telephone numbers called and received from millions of telephones within the United States from three telephone service providers, while a fourth had refused to provide such records. The USA Today article indicated that no names or addresses were obtained in connection with these telephone calls, nor were the contents of these telephone calls sought or obtained. The USA Today story indicated that this information was being compiled in a database and being used for pattern analysis.

This report summarizes statutory authorities regarding access by the Government, for either foreign intelligence or law enforcement purposes, to information related to telephone calling patterns or practices. It also discusses statutory prohibitions against accessing or disclosing such information, along with relevant exceptions to those prohibitions.

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS 2006: A GLOBAL SURVEY OF MEDIA INDEPENDENCE. Freedom House. Web-posted April 27, 2006.
Narrative Country Reports [pdf format, 190 pages]

Global Ranking Table [pdf format, 6 pages]

Regional Ranking Tables [pdf format, 9 pages]

The Freedom of the Press survey, first launched in 1980, assesses the degree of print, broadcast, and Internet freedom in every country in the world. It assigns each country a numerical score from 0 to 100 that determines a category rating of Free, Partly Free, or Not Free. Ratings are determined by examining three broad categories: 1) the legal environment in which media operate, 2) political influences on reporting and access to information, 3) economic pressures on content and the dissemination of news. The survey, which analyzes events during the 2005 calendar year, bases its ratings not only on government actions and policies but also on the behavior of the press itself in testing boundaries, even in restrictive environments.

Out of the 194 countries and territories examined, 73 (38 percent) were rated Free, while 54 (28 percent) were rated Partly Free and 67 (34 percent) were rated Not Free. In terms of population, 17 percent of the world's inhabitants live in countries that enjoy a Free press, while 40 percent have a Partly Free press and 43 percent have a Not Free press. The numbers show a decline in the number of people living in Free media environments, but also a decline in those living in Not Free conditions, indicating that more countries are in the "grey zone" of partial media freedom.

In a key finding, the survey showed a pattern of continued decline in media freedom in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past fifteen years. The number of Free countries dropped from 23 in 1990 to 17 in 2005, the most significant decline for any region. Another region to undergo a notable decline was the former Soviet Union, which showed an increase of Not Free countries from 7 in 1995 to 10 in 2005.

[2006] ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). May 2006.
Report [pdf format, 260 pages]

This annual report is prepared for the President, Secretary of State, and Congress in compliance with section 202(a)(2) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, 22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq., P.L. 105-292, as amended by P.L. 106-55 and P.L. 107-228.

The report cited here covers the period May 2005 through April 2006. The Commission, which began its work in May 1999, is not a part of the State Department and is independent from the Executive Branch. One of the Commission's chief statutory responsibilities is to make recommendations to the Secretary of State on countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of the universal right to freedom of religion or belief. Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA), those countries that meet the statutory criteria must be designated by the Secretary of State as "countries of particular concern," or CPCs.

In May 2006, concurrent with the release of this report, the Commission proposes that 11 countries be designated as CPCs this year. Eight countries would remain on the CPC list: Burma, China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Eritrea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Vietnam. The Commission also identifies three countries not previously designated by the U.S. government: Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The Commission has also drawn attention to the Secretary of State's responses to the CPC designations of Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and Eritrea, three countries that require direct responses by the Secretary under IRFA, as none is subject to pre-existing sanctions.

The Commission has added Afghanistan to its Watch List. Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia, and Nigeria remain on the Watch List. The report contains reports on religious issues for each of those countries. There is also a section on Iraq that examines Sunni-Shi'a sectarian violence and intra-Shi'a strife, as well as attacks on religious minorities.

10 MOST CENSORED COUNTRIES. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). May 2, 2006.
Report [html format, 7 printed pages]

In this report prepared for World Press Day, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) deems North Korea as the world's "most censored" country, with not one independent journalist. Burma, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, and Libya round out the top five nations on CPJ's list. They are followed by Eritrea, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Syria and Belarus. For each of the ten countries, CPJ provides a summary of the way in which the government maintains control over the media, and provides one or more examples of censorship in practice.

AA06141
Miller, John J. EVERY MAN'S BURDEN (National Review, vol. 58, no. 6, April 10, 2006, pp. 22-23)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

Miller describes the controversies surrounding the renewal of the Voting Rights Act. Both Democrats and Republicans will probably vote for the renewal of the act, but Miller questions its relevance. In Georgia and other Southern states, black and white Americans register to vote and vote in elections in equal percentages. Blacks and Republicans have benefited from the "majority-minority" redistricting lines. While the "majority-minority" district aids a minority candidate, it also has had the unintended consequence of creating districts with only a few minorities and containing predominately conservative voters. The new battle, according to Miller, is about foreign-language ballots in districts with large populations of non-English speakers.

AA06123
Kahne, Joseph; Middaugh, Ellen IS PATRIOTISM GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY? A STUDY OF HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS' PATRIOTIC COMMITMENTS (Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 87, no. 8, Spring 2006, pp. 600-608)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

From their 2005 survey of 2,366 California high school seniors, authors Kahne and Middaugh conclude that educators have serious work to do if they hope to foster a strong and committed sense of democratic patriotism in their students. The point of Kahne and Middaugh's study was to assess high school seniors' views on patriotism and to determine the connection between love of country and democratic ideals. "Is patriotism good or bad?" the authors asked, focusing on commitment to country, attitudes toward critique of country, and active involvement. The authors found that while more than 73 percent of the seniors surveyed agreed that "the United States is a great country" and that 68 percent agreed that they "oppose some U.S. policies because I care about my country and want to improve it," these students were also three times more likely to endorse the idea that it is "un-American to criticize the country." Only 41 percent of the surveyed seniors agreed that "to be truly patriotic, one has to be involved in the civic and political life of the community." The authors are concerned that the United States is becoming a nation of passive patriots or spectators; "the risk this tendency poses to democracy is substantial," they write.

AA06106 Tessler, Joelle PRIVACY EROSION: A 'NET LOSS (CQ Weekly, vol. 64, no. 8, February 20, 2006, pp. 480-485)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

According to Tessler, Congress has fallen behind in applying privacy laws to the ever-evolving Internet technology. This results in government's ability to tap private information from e-mail storage, Internet search engine logs, and online wiretapping. Since most targeted individuals are not aware that they are being tracked, there haven't been many court cases to shed stronger light on the situation. Although a number of lawmakers in Congress recognize this as a problem, "it doesn't attract a lot of attention or excitement," notes Sen. John Sununu (R-NH). However, with more high-profile cases, like Google resisting subpoenas, stronger focus would be set on privacy protection.

AA06104
Cohen, Roberta STRENGTHENING PROTECTION OF IDPS: THE UN'S ROLE (Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 7, No. 1, Winter/Spring 2006, pp. 101-109)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

The author, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and Co-Director of the Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, describes the plight of the 20-25 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), noting that providing them with food, medicine and shelter, while ignoring violent abuse, has led to the tragic description of them as the "well-fed dead." Cohen cites U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's description of IDPs as often falling "into the cracks between different humanitarian bodies" in his 2005 report on UN reform, IN LARGER FREEDOM, but points out that the 2005 U.N. World Summit document does not deal with how to improve the UN's ability to address their plight. Cohen concludes that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees needs the authority, resources and international military support to expand its role with IDPs; she points out that "a more reliable and predictable system for those trapped inside borders will require stronger legal, institutional, and protection measures from the international community."

AA06103
Adesnik, David; McFaul, Michael ENGAGING AUTOCRATIC ALLIES TO PROMOTE DEMOCRACY (Washington Quarterly, vol. 29, no. 2, Spring 2006, pp. 7-26)
Download the document [pdf format, 20 pages]

The U.S. should improve its efforts to promote democracy abroad, especially under regime-change conditions and in autocratic allies such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Algeria and Pakistan, through diplomatic engagement, according to authors Adesnik and McFaul. NGOs lack the ability to confront regimes directly, but the U.S. government can challenge autocratic regimes through what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has called transformational diplomacy. Although U.S. diplomats often underestimate their leverage, allowing their preference for stability to blind them to a regime's vulnerabilities, write Adesnik and McFaul, using close ties with a regime to exert pressure can influence the course of political liberalization. The authors look closely at Cold War democratic breakthroughs in the Philippines, South Korea and Chile, and suggest that U.S. officials should engage autocratic allies while pushing for evolutionary change as a preemptive strategy to avoid revolutionary change.

AA06101
Chappell, Kevin. THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE: "STILL FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT"
(Ebony, July 2005, pp. 110-118)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

In the early twentieth century, hundreds of thousands of American Blacks left the American South for industrial cities of the North, such as Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit. With few skills, the migrants endured harsh living conditions in settings very different from small Southern towns. To help Blacks survive and obtain employment, the Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes was formed, which eventually became the National Urban League, which celebrated its 95th anniversary in 2005. Since its inception, the Urban League has been at the forefront of the civil-rights movement, helping African-Americans joint the economic and social mainstream. Today the Urban League is as active as ever in dealing with problems such as crime, poverty, public health issues and education.

AA06084
Adams, Rebecca. WASHINGTON'S RULES PUT THE SQUEEZE ON STATES
(CQ Weekly, Vol. 64, No. 10, March 6, 2006, pp. 586-7)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author notes that the Bush administration's push to limit the ability of people to sue is raising the ire of supporters of states' rights, and is generating opposition across the political spectrum. State officials feel blindsided by the administration's use of the arcane federal rulemaking process, and critics view this as another attempt to shield corporations from litigation. In fact, the most pointed criticism of the administration's use of agency rulemaking to preempt state laws comes from conservative lawmakers and academics on the political right, who lament that the White House is betraying the ideal of decentralizing government, and predict the rules designed to limit lawsuits will trigger expensive legal challenges.

AA06071
Sen, Amartya. CHILI AND LIBERTY: THE USES AND ABUSES OF MULTICULTURALISM
(New Republic, February 27, 2006, pp. 25-30)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Indian and British food can genuinely claim to be multicultural, writes Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen, since India had no chili until the Portuguese brought it to India from America, and curry powder is a distinctly English invention, but the two styles, or traditions, co-existing side by side in Britain, must be seen as plural monoculturalism. Integration in Britain, which has been at the forefront of inclusive multiculturalism, has been helped by the fact that all British residents from the Commonwealth countries have full voting rights in Britain, even without British citizenship, and by the nondiscriminatory treatment of immigrants in health care, schooling and social security. But, according to Sen, people are categorized by their religious identity in Britain, which may explain the actions of young Muslims from immigrant families -- born, educated and reared in Britain -- who killed more than 50 people in London in suicide bombings in July 2005. India, on the other hand, with a greater Muslim population than almost every other Muslim-majority country in the world, has produced few homegrown terrorists acting in the name of Islam, and almost none linked with Al Qaeda. The nature of Indian democratic politics and the wide acceptance in India that there are many identities other than religious identity might explain the country's multicultural success. The real issue is not whether multiculturalism has gone too far in Britain, but what particular form multiculturalism should take there. The disastrous consequences of defining people by their religious ethnicity over all other identities, Sen writes, may have come to haunt Britain.

CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT.
Frederick M. Kaiser. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. January 3, 2006.
Full report: [pdf format, 298 pages]

The author provides a primer on congressional oversight -- the review, monitoring, and supervision of federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation. Congress exercises this power largely through its standing committee system. However, oversight, which dates to the earliest days of the U.S. Republic, also occurs in a wide variety of congressional activities and contexts. These include authorization, appropriations, investigative, and legislative hearings by standing committees; specialized investigations by select committees; and reviews and studies by congressional support agencies and staff.

Congress's oversight authority derives from its "implied" powers in the Constitution, public laws, and House and Senate rules. It is an integral part of the American system of checks and balances.

This report will be updated as events require.

AA06036
Gibeaut, John NEW FIGHT FOR VOTING RIGHTS (ABA Journal, Vol. 92, January 2006, pp. 42-48)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is up for renewal and is expected to receive bipartisan support in Congress. However, it is the U.S. Supreme Court which will ultimately decide the future of the act, which appears less than certain, Gibeaut notes, as some states want to do away with the act's strict mandates. Under the Voting Rights Act, minority participation has increased but, although there is now little overt racism, civil rights leaders say that discrimination remains pervasive. In the article, Gibeaut chronicles the events that led up to the creation of the Voting Rights Act. Gibeaut notes that the Census Bureau predicts that the percentage of whites will drop to 50 percent of the nation's population by 2050, making the U.S. a truly multiracial society. As the Act's critics become more vocal, its supporters are grappling with whether it is still needed. Gibeaut writes that "the hope is that this act is going to be so successful that it no longer will be needed."

AA06037
Smith, Christopher E.; Hensley, Thomas R. DECISION-MAKING TRENDS OF THE REHNQUIST COURT ERA: CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES (Judicature, Vol. 89, No. 3, November/December 2005, pp. 161-169)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

In this article outlining the legacy of late Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the authors compare the decision-making trends of the Rehnquist court to that of the Burger and Warren courts. The authors argue that despite Rehnquist's conservative orientation, an empirical study of Supreme Court rulings on civil rights and civil liberties demonstrates that during his tenure as chief justice, the court upheld several major liberal tenets. For example, although the court appears to be more conservative on issues such as the scope of warrant requirements in criminal cases, the court never actually overruled the Fourth Amendment protections from previous, more liberal courts. According to the authors, "The Rehnquist court did not overturn [certain] major liberal precedents...[and] the Rehnquist Court justices recognized Fourth Amendment limitations on warrantless searches especially in regard to a person's private dwelling." The authors use tables and graphs to provide a snapshot of the Warren, Burger and Rehnquist courts' rulings on major issues, as well as an analysis on individual Rehnquist court justices' voting patterns.

AA05376
Presser, Stephen B. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS MISH-MOSH: THE SUPREME COURT FINESSES THE DECALOGUE (The American Spectator, vol. 38, no. 8, October 2005, pp. 12-17)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

Presser examines the "arbitrariness" with which the modern Supreme Court interprets the role of religion in American society. While the First Amendment prohibits Congress from respecting the establishment of religion, Presser asks why the Court allows states to begin their sessions with a prayer but prohibits high schools from beginning a game with the same prayer. Army chaplains -- federally funded -- are another glaring contradiction. The Court now uses the Fourteenth Amendment (prohibiting Congress from making laws that abridge the rights of citizens) as the way to broaden the reach of the First Amendment -- the "incorporation doctrine." Those who challenge the doctrine (such as Alabama Justice Roy Moore) are subject to "academic and political vitriol" while a "mish-mosh" was created by the Court itself -- ordering the Commandments removed from Kentucky courtrooms but allowing tablets to stand before the Texas General Assembly. Ultimately, Presser presents a case for returning to a stricter interpretation of the constitution and a return to "justices committed to leaving the making of law to the legislative branches...rather than a shifting five-person coalition on the court." This, he says, was the original idea.

AA05341
THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES. Havel, Vaclav. Journal of Democracy. vol. 16, no. 4, October 2005, pp. 5-8.
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Havel draws parallels between the American Declaration of Independence, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference, noting that all were written in simple language that made it possible for people to take them to heart. Especially in regimes where such documents are not taken seriously and whose function is similar to "flag-waving" at parades, Havel calls on democracies to know the true state of affairs in such governments and to speak out at home among their own constituents and in the international field. Noting that we are living in a "single global civilization," Havel writes if countries base their international relations on the idea that their counterparts should have access to their constitutions and rights documents but turn a blind eye to human rights violations, for example, then "genuinely" democratic governments should base all their partnerships, especially in China, on truth and openness.

AA05324
Gerken, Heather RACE: OPTIONAL (New Republic, vol. 233, no. 13, September 26, 2005, pp. 11-14)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author explores the history of the Voting Rights Act and questions if the VRA is still applicable, in its current form, today. Gerken argues that the act is an outdated piece of legislation that should be should be reworked to ensure more efficient election reform. Currently, all state election law changes must be approved by the federal government, creating a large backlog that hinders election law reform. Gerken believes that local government and civil rights groups can work together to ensure there is no voter discrimination.

AA05268
Thornburgh, Dick BALANCING CIVIL LIBERTIES AND HOMELAND SECURITY: DOES THE USA PATRIOT ACT AVOID JUSTICE ROBERT H. JACKSON'S "SUICIDE PACT"? (Albany Law Review, vol. 68, no. 4, Fall 2005, pp. 801-813)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

Thornburgh, former US Attorney General under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, describes the balance between the public's rights of assembly and free speech and government order. Thornburgh discusses Justice Jackson's interpretation of the Terminiello case in which a crowd was incited to violence. Jackson wrote "The choice is note between order and liberty. It is between liberty with order and anarchy without either." Thornburgh sees a connection between the Terminiello case and the USA Patriot Act. He outlines the major programs covered by the act and argues for Justice Jackson's common-sense perspective when faced with the threat of terror.

AA05204
Feldman, Noah A CHURCH-STATE SOLUTION (New York Times Magazine, July 3, 2005, pp. 28-33, 50-53)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

Feldman, professor at New York University School of Law and a fellow at the New America Foundation, notes that the cultural divide in the U.S. today boils down to the inability of two opposing camps to accept the American rules for religious expression in public life, and public funds in religious life. He terms those who believe that religious expression should be central in politics and schools "values evangelicals", and those who view religion as a purely personal choice, and who believe that public values derived from religion as divisive "legal secularists". Feldman offers a mirror-image proposal to ameliorate the intractable debate: that greater latitude be offered for religious expression and symbols in public, and that a stricter ban be imposed on expenditure of public funds on religious activities, such as parochial schools. He believes that such a solution would acknowledge religious values and respect the separation of religion and government as a common American value, while avoiding favoritism and competition between religious groups over how limited public funds will be spent.

AA05139
Lane, Charles A VIEW TO A KILL (Foreign Policy, May/June 2005, pp. 37-42)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

Lane, a staff writer for the Washington Post, describes capital punishment in Japan. Capital punishment in Japan is on the rise as a result of a surge in street crime and events such as the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. 81% of the Japanese public approve of capital punishment. Other Asian democracies such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand also have capital punishment. The author describes how the Japan differs from the United States -- more of the details of the execution are kept secret from the public and the prisoner. The article also describes the difference in how the Japanese handle criminal investigations and interrogations of the accused.

[2005] ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). May 2, 2005.
Download the document [pdf format, 192 pages]

This annual report is prepared for the President, Secretary of State, and Congress in compliance with section 202(a)(2) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998, 22 U.S.C. 6401 et seq., P.L. 105-292, as amended by P.L. 106-55 and P.L. 107-228. The report cited here covers the period May 2004 through April 2005.

One of the Commission's chief responsibilities under IRFA is to draw attention to those countries whose governments have engaged in or tolerated systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom and recommend that they be designated as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs). In compliance with IRFA, the Commission has assessed the facts and circumstances, including those in the State Department's 2004 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom, regarding violations of religious freedom around the world. As a result of this review process, and in furtherance of the Commission's statutory responsibility, the Commission wrote to the Secretary of State in April 2005 recommending that she designate as CPCs the following 11 countries: Burma, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. In addition, the Commission has placed the following countries on its Watch List: Bangladesh, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria. The report contains country reports on each of the above-named countries, as well as additional chapters on Laos, Georgia and the Russian Federation.

AA05136
Stewart, Jeffrey C. FIFTY CIVIL RIGHTS MOMENTS AFTER ROSA PARKS: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE IGNORANT (Savoy, vol. 1, no. 1, February 2005, pp. 84-95)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

After ceasing publication in 2003, Savoy magazine is back. This premier issue features the 50th year since Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man, sparking the birth of the contemporary Civil Rights Movement. Historian Jeffrey Stewart spotlights 50 good, bad and ignorant civil rights moments that have taken place since December 1955 -- ranging from the 1956 incident in which Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth and his wife sat-in on seats in the "white" section of a bus terminal waiting room -- through the arrest of six black middle-school students for attacking three white students in what is billed as a "hate crime" in Jacksonville, Florida in August of 2004.

SUPPORTING HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY: THE U.S. RECORD 2004 - 2005.
United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. March 28, 2005.
Download the document [Table of Contents, sections available in pdf and html format, various pagings]

This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliance with Section 665 of P.L. 107-228, the Fiscal Year 2003 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, which was signed into law on September 30, 2002. It requires the Department to report on actions taken by the U.S. Government to encourage respect for human rights. This report complements the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. However, unlike the 196 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2004-2005 highlights U.S. efforts to promote human rights and democracy in only 98 countries and entities-those with the most human rights abuses. References to Hong Kong, Macau and Tibet have been incorporated into the China report, and Western Sahara is mentioned in the Morocco report. To make this report consistent with the criteria in the legislation, this report also includes a number of additions: Bahrain, the Maldives, and Serbia-as well as a number of deletions: Belize, Comoros, Djibouti, Fiji, Lesotho, and Niger.

The bulk of the report comprises country reports within the geographic divisions of Africa, East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Western Hemisphere.

AA05061
Lewis, Carol W. THE CLASH BETWEEN SECURITY AND LIBERTY IN THE U.S. RESPONSE TO TERROR (Public Administration Review, Vol. 65, No. 1, January/February 2005, pp. 18-30)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

Lewis, a professor of political science and public administration at the University of Connecticut, studied US public opinions on civil liberties and security in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Public opinion is a critical element in the political and administrative decision-making process. Lewis analyzes shifts in public attitudes and concludes that the public is not readily disposed to restrict civil liberties as the price of security.

AA05030
Puddington, Arch; Piano, Aili WORRISOME SIGNS, MODEST SHIFTS (Journal of Democracy, vol. 16, no. 1, January 2005, pp. 103-108)
View article on ProQuest (password required)

Freedom House researchers Puddington and Piano say the 2004 Freedom House Survey showed the "general state" of world freedom last year as not significantly different from 2003. Three countries changed their status. Russia was the most significant, shifting from "Partly Free" to "Not Free" because of worsening political rights, a culmination of the government's trend toward centralization, media restrictions, and law enforcement politicization, the authors say. Antigua and Barbuda moved up to a "Free" rating, while Liberia improved to "Partly Free." The Survey rated 89 countries as "Free," 54 "Partly Free," and 49 "Not Free," with 119 qualifying as electoral democracies.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WORLD REPORT 2005.
Human Rights Watch (HRW). January 13, 2005.

Note: Contains copyrighted material.

Full Report [English-language, pdf format, 540 pages]

Table of Contents [English-language, all sections available, all in pdf format, various pagings]

The Human Rights Watch World Report 2005 contains survey information on human rights developments in more than 60 countries in 2004. HRW notes that the inclusion of only 60 countries does not mean that these are the only countries with human rights issues; rather it reflects staffing limitations that prevent the organization from addressing every human rights problem in the world. Each country entry identifies significant human rights issues, examines the freedom of local human rights defenders to conduct their work, and surveys the response of key international actors, such as the United Nations, European Union, Japan, the United States, and various regional and international organizations and institutions.

The report begins with four essays. The first is an essay on Darfur and Abu Ghraib, which argues that the large-scale ethnic cleansing in Darfur in western Sudan and the detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq both require firm responses. The second essay, a companion piece to the first, details what has taken place in Darfur and the continuing reluctance of the U.N. Security Council and other powerful international actors to mount a decisive response.

The third and fourth essays address two of the most controversial issues of the year: evidence of growing conflicts between religious communities and the human rights movement, and the global backlash against movements for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. While the essays call for stringent protection of religious freedom, both argue that rights groups should oppose efforts in the name of religion, tradition, or morals to censor expression or limit the behavior of others when the only "offense" is in the mind of the person seeking to impose their views.

Interstate Travel: Constitutional Challenges to the Identification Requirement and Other Transportation Security Regulations. [RL32664]
Todd B. Tatelman. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. Updated December 21, 2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 15 pages]

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, security measures in and around our nation's transportation facilities have dramatically increased. Nowhere has the increase been more noticeable than with respect to air transportation. New federal statutes and agency regulations have been implemented, each with the purpose of ensuring the safety and security of passengers, facilities, and workers of our national transportation systems. Not all of these security measures, however, have been publicly disclosed. In fact, pursuant to its statutory authority, the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) has issued a series of regulations relating to transportation security in which a majority of the information, including rules, orders, and directives has been classified as "sensitive security information" (SSI), and thus, withheld from public scrutiny. For example, the regulation requiring that all passengers produce photo identification before being allowed to enter the airport gate area or board an aircraft, bus, or train has been classified as SSI, and consequently, cannot be disclosed to the general public. In addition, the standards utilized for creating, maintaining and requiring airlines to screen passengers against government-provided "watch lists" and "no-fly lists" do not appear to have been made publicly available.

A California resident has brought a suit against the government alleging that the secret nature of these laws violates established rights under the Fifth Amendment's due process clause, as well as the constitutionally protected right to travel and the First Amendment. In addition, there is pending federal litigation with respect to the constitutionality of both the "watch" and "no-fly lists," as well as pending state litigation regarding the scope of TSA's authority to seize evidence obtained during a routine search of a passenger's luggage. While it is unclear precisely what the courts will decide, these lawsuits raise constitutional questions not only about the scope of the federal government's authority to prescribe regulations that impact the ability of citizens to freely move within our country's borders, but also about the government's ability to keep those regulations from public scrutiny. This report examines the legal basis for the transportation security measures, including the SSI regulations, and analyzes the constitutional provisions under which these measures are currently being challenged.

PRESERVING SECURITY AND DEMOCRATIC FREEDOMS IN THE WAR ON TERRORISM. FINAL REPORT OF THE LONG-TERM LEGAL STRATEGY PROJECT.
Philip B. Heymann and Juliette N. Kayyem. Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. November 16, 2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 195 pages]

Since 9/11, there has been a lot of talk about the difficult "balancing act" between civil liberties and national security, but few have considered exactly where and how that balance should be struck. With this challenge in mind, Juliette Kayyem of the Belfer Center and Philip Heymann of Harvard Law School directed a project to take a hard and detailed look at how to go about balancing the competing concerns of U.S. liberties and national security in the age of terrorism. The project brought together a broad spectrum of bipartisan experts to consider ten critical issues and recommend clear rules to reconcile critical democratic norms and security concerns around each. The authors hope that this report will be a starting point for Congressional legislation clarifying the law in these areas to guide government conduct in the field.

Among the issues considered are:

• Is assassination ever acceptable? Against whom?
• When can coercion be used in interrogation - and who decides?
• After the Supreme Court cases, when is detention allowable? When should it be?
• Should the government infiltrate religious and political groups?
• What exactly do we mean by "profiling"? When should it be allowed?
• Should government collect biometric information to identify citizens?

REDEFINING RIGHTS IN AMERICA-THE CIVIL RIGHTS RECORD OF THE GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION, 2001-2004.
United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR). Web-posted November 12, 2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 181 pages]

This report analyzes scores of policy reports, scholarly papers, briefs and executive orders to chart the current administration's responses to a broad spectrum of civil rights issues. Similar criteria have guided evaluations of previous administrations. The Commission's review is expressed in terms of: (1) whether civil rights enforcement is a presidential priority; (2) federal efforts to eradicate entrenched discrimination; (3) expanding and protecting rights for disadvantaged groups; and (4) promoting access to federal programs and services for traditionally underserved populations.

The Commission's report criticizes the first Bush Administration on all counts: "This report finds that President Bush has neither exhibited leadership on pressing civil rights issues, nor taken actions that matched his words. The report reaches this conclusion after analyzing and summarizing numerous documents, including historical literature, reports, scholarly articles, presidential and administration statements, executive orders, policy briefs, documents of Cabinet-level agencies, federal budgets and other data." The report does note some achievements in the area of civil rights. For example: "The President's appointments say much about his commitment. A number of his key appointments are admirably diverse by race, ethnicity, and gender."

AN UNCERTAIN ROAD: MUSLIMS AND THE FUTURE OF EUROPE.
Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. December 17, 2004
Download the document [pdf format, 17 pages]

Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Europe. Driven by immigration and high birthrates, the number of Muslims on the continent has tripled in the last 30 years. Most demographers forecast a similar or even higher rate of growth in the coming decades. The social impact of this growing population is magnified by a low birthrate among native Europeans. After a post-World-War-II baby boom, birthrates in Europe have dropped to an average of 1.45 children per couple, far below the 2.1 needed to keep population growth at replacement levels.

This report stresses the importance for Europe of successfully absorbing Muslim immigrants. European governments have grappled with this migration in various ways and with varying degrees of success. Some countries, like France and Britain, have had relatively well established policies toward immigrants for decades. And Britain, in particular, has had some success in integrating Muslim newcomers into the broader society. Other states, like Germany, Spain and Italy, have, until recently, treated their Muslim communities as temporary phenomena, groups of "guest workers" or foreigners who would eventually return to their homelands. But the growing presence of Muslims coupled with increased social tensions and terrorism-related fears have forced governments around the continent to focus more intently on trying to bring this community into the mainstream. Efforts have ranged from new laws aimed at hastening the pace of assimilation, such as the recent French head scarf ban, to proposals to assist in creating a more homegrown, European brand of Islam.

PROTECT OR NEGLECT? TOWARD A MORE EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO THE PROTECTION OF INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS.
Simon Bagshaw and Diane Paul. Brookings-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement; UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Inter-Agency Internal Displacement Division. November 23, 2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 114 pages]

This study finds that the UN's approach to protecting vulnerable populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs) "is still largely ad hoc and driven more by the personalities and convictions of individuals on the ground than by an institutional, system-wide agenda." It notes that staff efforts in the field are often undermined by a lack of political and financial support from headquarters and UN member states. The authors propose that the United Nations make the protection of civilians and the prevention of displacement "a core part of its mandate," in particular through:

• More assertive advocacy on behalf of the displaced by both staff in the field and by senior officials at headquarters, including intensive dialogues with governments, public statements, bringing protection concerns to the attention of the Security Council and a more supportive attitude towards field representatives who may be threatened with expulsion as a result of their advocacy.
• Greater willingness by the donor and diplomatic community to advocate for the rights of the displaced and other populations at risk.
• The creation in the field of focal points and working groups on protection.
• Greater accountability of UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinators in carrying out their protection responsibilities.
• The establishment of early warning and response capacities.
• Systematic monitoring and reporting of protection of IDPs and others at risk.
• Greater international presence in the field, especially outside of capital cities.
• The integration of protection concerns into the programs and plans of UN humanitarian, development, human rights, peacekeeping and political offices.
• More systematic engagement with non-state actors.
• A greater role for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in protecting displaced populations.
• Strengthening local and national institutions to deal with displacement, in particular national human rights commissions.
• Developing national laws and policies based on the "Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement"

   

  .

LIBERIA ONE YEAR AFTER ACCRA - IMMENSE HUMAN RIGHTS CHALLENGES REMAIN.
Amnesty International (AI). August 18, 2004.
Download the document [html format, 20 printed pages]

On August 18, 2003, a peace agreement was signed in Accra by the Liberian government, the armed opposition group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), a second armed group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL), and various political parties. The agreement provided for a power-sharing National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL), to take power by October 14, elections in 2005 and inauguration of a new government in early 2006. According to this report, one year after that signing, acute frustration is being expressed by Liberian civil society, the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and other UN agencies, national and international non-governmental organizations. These groups aver that the generous pledges made at the International Reconstruction Conference have not been matched by disbursement of funds. According to AI, this is seriously impeding implementation of plans to establish the mechanisms and institutions needed to protect human rights in Liberia.

Harassment, intimidation, extortion, forced labor and looting are reported to continue in Lofa County, still controlled by LURD, and in the south-eastern counties of Sinoe, Grand Kru, River Gee and Maryland, where forces of MODEL are strong. In Nimba County, where former government and MODEL forces remain, civilians still feel threatened and restricted, unable to move freely and harassed for food and other possessions. The report includes recommendations for implementing the disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration (DDRR) process.

PROPERTY SEIZURE IN CHINA. ROUNDTABLE BEFORE THE CONGRESSIONAL-EXECUTIVE COMMISSION ON CHINA.
Congressional-Executive Commission on China. June 21, 2004.
Download the document [pdf format, 75 pages]

Note: The Congressional-Executive Commission on China was created by Congress in October 2000 with the legislative mandate to monitor human rights and the development of the rule of law in China, and to submit an annual report to the President and the Congress. It consists of nine Senators, nine members of the House of Representatives, and five senior Administration officials appointed by the President. The current Chair is Congressman Jim Leach (R-Iowa), and the Co-Chair is Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska).

Over the past year, urban demolitions and rural land requisitions have become two leading causes of social unrest in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Alarmed by an explosion in the number of petitions, administrative lawsuits, and street protests sparked by property seizures, the Chinese government has taken several limited steps to address popular concerns. But the rapid pace of development and the high value of land in China continue to fuel corruption and abuse in land transactions.

This Roundtable examines the law and politics of land seizure in urban and rural China and assess whether recent reforms, including the amendment of China's Constitution to explicitly protect private property rights, will help to more fairly balance the interests of the government, developers, and individual tenants. Panelists include: Sara (Meg) Davis--Researcher, Asia Division, Human Rights Watch; Jacques deLisle--Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School; Royy Prosterman--President, Rural Development Institute. Also included in this document is the prepared statement of Patrick Randolph--Elmer E. Pierson Professor of Real Estate Law, University of Missouri, Kansas City, School of Law.

AA04222
Apodaca, Clair THE RULE OF LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS (Judicature, vol. 87, no. 6, May/June, 2004, pp. 292-299)
Full Text available from your nearest American Library

The author examines the relationship between the presence of independent and effective judiciaries in the developing world and the protection of human rights. She discusses the methodology of a number of studies and surveys of 154 countries. Certain factors, such as armed conflict, always negatively impact the human rights conditions of local populations. Countries with constitutional guarantees, greater numbers of lawyers and law schools, and judicial independence have better human rights performance. There is a new emphasis on encouraging economic rights as a method of improving human rights, based on studies from NGOs and the World Bank. The author concludes that supporting judicial reforms is a feasible strategy to encourage human rights.