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On October 6, 1998, Amnesty International launched Rights for All, its campaign on human rights violations and the struggle to ensure rights for all in the USA. Basic on-line resources for the campaign include: (* added 10/98 *) Campaign web site Full text of the AI report (10/98) AI's formal recommendations to the US government Concise summary of recommendations Press releases for the campaign launch: Amnesty International Launches First Worldwide Campaign for Human Rights in the USA Selected statistics on human rights violation in the USA Human rights in the USA: World leader in high tech repression Statement by Pierre Sané, AI Secretary General A pick-and-choose approach to human rights The present page provides a collection of links to related research and background information, organized as follows: General Areas of campaign focus: Police Conduct and Accountability Prison Conditions and Ill-treatment (* updated 10/98 *) Asylum Seekers (* updated 9/98 *) The Death Penalty (* updated 10/98 *) Women In Detention (* updated 10/98 *) U.S. Arms Trade and Military Training Juvenile Justice (* updated 10/98 *) Other topics: Border Region With Mexico (* updated 10/98 *) Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Comments and suggestions (including suggestions for other relevant links) are welcome at ljr@ljr.net.

General Text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Amnesty International AI reports and news releases on the USA AI Annual Report entry on the USA (1998) AI Annual Report entry on the USA (1997) AIUSA Human Rights Watch HRW reports on the USA HRW World Report entry on the USA (1998) American Civil Liberties Union United Nations UN High Commissioner for Human Rights International instruments pertaining to human rights Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

Police Conduct and Accountability "Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States," HRW report (July 1998) The accompanying (clickable) press release/summary "Police Brutality and Excessive Force in the New York City Police Department," AI report (June 1996) ACLU work for police reform and against misconduct "Fighting Police Abuse: A Community Action Manual" Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

Prison Conditions and Ill-treatment A two-part feature article in the L.A. Times on conditions at Corcoran State Prison in California (July 1998): "State Whitewashed Fatal Brutality and Mismanagement at Corcoran" "Ex-Guard Tells of Brutality, Code of Silence at Corcoran" "Ill-Treatment of Inmates in Maricopa County Jails - Arizona," AI report (August 1997) "Use of Electro-Shock Stun Belts," AI report (June 1996) "Stun Belt Used for First Time on Defendant in L.A. Court," L.A. Times article (July 1998) Partial Transcript of Clash at Hearing Three-strikes defendant Ronnie Hawkins clashed verbally with Long Beach Municipal Judge Joan Comparet-Cassani almost as soon as his sentencing hearing began, court transcripts show. Six times, the judge ordered Hawkins, who was acting as his own attorney, to stop interrupting her. Here is a partial transcript of the hearing: Comparet-Cassani: "You are wearing a very bad instrument, and if you want to feel it, you can, but stop interrupting me." Hawkins: "You are going to electrocute me for talking?" Comparet-Cassani: "No, sir, but they will zap you if you keep doing it. . ." [Hawkins interrupts the judge again.] Comparet-Cassani: "One more time. One more time. Go ahead." Hawkins: "That is unconstitutional." After this comment, the judge orders her bailiff to activate the belt and administer a 50,000-volt jolt of electricity to Hawkins, according to the transcript. L.A. Times, Thursday, July 9, 1998 Human Rights Watch Prison Project, including overviews of Prisons in the USA Relevant international human rights standards "Cold Storage: Supermaximum Security Confinement in Indiana", HRW report (October 1997) (abstract & ordering information) "High Country Lockup: Children in Confinement in Colorado", HRW report (August 1997) (abstract & ordering information) "Florida Reintroduces Chain Gangs," AI report (January 1996) Prison Activist Resource Center (* added 10/98 *) (See also "Women In Detention") Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

Asylum Seekers AIUSA-S.Cal. Refugee Monitor Team AI 1997 refugee campaign (home page) Questions and Answers about AI and refugees "INS Detention: The Impact on Asylum Seekers" (report by Nick Rizza, National Refugee Coordinator, AIUSA) "Locked Away: Immigration Detainees in Local Jails in the United States," HRW report (Sept 1998) (* added 9/98 *) The accompanying (clickable) press release/summary Two articles from the LA Times, 9/9/98: (* added 9/98 *) "Sentenced to a Life in Limbo" "Asylum-Seekers Held Long Periods Despite Clean Records" UN High Commissioner for Refugees International instruments pertaining to refugees "Seek Asylum, Go to Jail: The actress confronts the INS," by Vanessa Redgrave (L.A. Weekly, October 10-16, 1997) University of Minnesota Human Rights Library: Page on INS Alerts, Profiles and Perspectives Page on Refugee and Asylum instruments and documents National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights INS home page, with information on laws, press releases, frequently asked questions, forms, etc. etc. (See also "Border Region With Mexico") Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

The Death Penalty Amnesty International AIUSA-S.Cal. Death Penalty Team AI Death Penalty campaign site Program to Abolish the Death Penalty (AIUSA) Death Penalty Newsletter "The Execution of Ángel Breard : Apologies Are Not Enough," AI report (May 1998) "Robert Anthony Carter - Juvenile Offender scheduled to be executed in Texas," AI report (April 1998) "A Macabre Assembly Line of Death: Death Penalty Developments in 1997," AI report (April 1998) "Death Penalty in Texas: Lethal Injustice," AI report (April 1998) "Violation of the Rights of Foreign Nationals under Sentence of Death," AI report (January 1998) "The Death Penalty in Georgia: Racist, Arbitrary and Unfair," AI report (June 1996) "A World Leader in Executing Juveniles," HRW report (March 1995) (abstract & ordering information) Report of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (Addendum: Mission to the United States of America) (January 1998) ACLU Death Penalty page Death Penalty Focus Prison Activist Resource Center page on the Death Penalty (* added 10/98 *) Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

Women In Detention "New reports of children and women abused in correctional institutions: Findings from Amnesty International Research trip," AI press release (10/98) (* added 10/98 *) "All Too Familiar: Sexual Abuse of Women in U.S. State Prisons," HRW report (December 1996) (summary & recommendations; ordering information) California Coalition for Women Prisoners (* added 10/98 *) Prison Activist Resource Center page on Women and Prison (* added 10/98 *) Stop Prisoner Rape (See also "Prison Conditions and Ill-treatment;" "Asylum Seekers") Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

U.S. Arms Trade and Military Training "AI Calls for Monitoring of US-Mexico Arms Trade," AI news release (March 1998) HRW Arms Project (from 1998 World Report) section on United States Policy "U.S. Blinding Laser Weapons," HRW report (May 1995) (abstract & ordering information) Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

Juvenile Justice "New reports of children and women abused in correctional institutions: Findings from Amnesty International Research trip," AI press release (10/98) (* added 10/98 *) "Robert Anthony Carter - Juvenile Offender scheduled to be executed in Texas," AI report (April 1998) "High Country Lockup: Children in Confinement in Colorado", HRW report (August 1997) (abstract & ordering information) "Slipping Through the Cracks: Unaccompanied Children Detained by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service," HRW report (April 1997) (abstract & ordering information) "Children in Confinement in Louisiana," HRW report (October 1995) (abstract & ordering information) "A World Leader in Executing Juveniles," HRW report (March 1995) (abstract & ordering information) (See also "Prison Conditions and Ill-treatment;" "Women In Detention") Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

Border Region With Mexico "Human Rights Concerns in the Border Region With Mexico," AI report (May 1998) "Secretary General of AI to visit US-Mexico border as Amnesty launches worldwide campaign on the US," AI press release (10/98) (* added 10/98 *) AIUSA-S.Cal. Refugee Monitor Team "Slipping Through the Cracks: Unaccompanied Children Detained by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service," HRW report (April 1997) (abstract & ordering information) "Crossing the Line: Human Rights Abuses Along the U.S. Border with Mexico Persist Amid Climate of Impunity," HRW report (April 1995) (abstract & ordering information) "Fatal Shootings by U.S. Border Patrol Increase Sharply," HRW press release (Sept. 1998) (* added 9/98 *) American Friends Service Committee U.S.-Mexico Border Program (San Diego) Immigration Law Enforcement Monitoring Project (Houston) (See also "Asylum Seekers") Please note that listing of a link to a non-AI site is not an endorsement of its contents by Amnesty International. Back to top

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