International Legal Updates Carlin Moore American University Washington College of Law
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Human Rights Brief Volume 16 | Issue 2 Article 6 2009 International Legal Updates Carlin Moore American University Washington College of Law Bryan Bach American University Washington College of Law Megan Chapman American University Washington College of Law Soumya Venkatesh American University Washington College of Law Kate Kovarovic American University Washington College of Law See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief Part of the Human Rights Law Commons, and the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Moore, Carlin, Bryan Bach, Megan Chapman, Soumya Venkatesh, Kate Kovarovic, Angad Singh, and Juvaria Khan. "International Legal Updates." Human Rights Brief 16, no. 2 (2009): 29-39. This Column is brought to you for free and open access by the Washington College of Law Journals & Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Human Rights Brief by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Authors Carlin Moore, Bryan Bach, Megan Chapman, Soumya Venkatesh, Kate Kovarovic, Angad Singh, and Juvaria Khan This column is available in Human Rights Brief: http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/vol16/iss2/6 Moore et al.: International Legal Updates INTERNATIONAL LEGAL UPDATES UNITED STATES Commission received over 200 reports of became significantly less than the sala- human rights violations that occurred in a ries of the male managers with equal or U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation: large-scale police operation in the Mexican less experience. “Ledbetter was the only The Mérida Initiative town of San Salvador Atenco in 2006. The woman working as an area manager and Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights the pay discrepancy between Ledbetter and The Mérida Initiative is a central ele- Center represents eleven women before the her 15 male counterparts was stark,” stated ment in a broader strategy of growing IACHR. One is Maria Patricia Romero who Justice Ginsburg’s dissent in Ledbetter v. cooperation between the U.S. and Mexico spent two years in prison after her convic- Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The 2007 to address the shared threat presented by tions for insulting police and carrying pro- Supreme Court decision ruled that employ- organized crime. Major drug cartels control hibited weapons during an operation in San ees subject to pay discrimination must file the narcotics trade in Mexico, and demand Salvador Atenco, Mexico State. a claim within 180 days of the employer’s for drugs in the U.S. is a significant cata- original decision to pay them less. Even if Although the aid package is largely in lyst for their continued trafficking across the employee continued to receive reduced the form of military assistance, the Mérida the border. Additionally, the drug cartels paychecks or did not discover the discrimi- Initiative requires the Mexican government purchase weapons in the U.S. and smuggle natory reduction in pay until after the 180 to meet several benchmarks that address them into Mexico. The Mérida Initiative days, the individual was still subject to the the human rights violations taking place. will allow the U.S. to provide significant 180-day limitation. support to Mexico as the fight against drug Specifically, the legislation prohibits 15% crime in Mexico grows more and more of the funds from being disbursed until The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, signed violent. the U.S. State Department reports that the into law by President Barack Obama on Mexican government is (1) improving the January 29, 2009, effectively reverses the In October 2007, former U.S. President transparency and accountability of police Supreme Court’s Ledbetter decision by George W. Bush announced the Mérida forces; (2) ensuring that civilian prosecu- allowing individuals to file complaints 180 Initiative to “. combat the threats of drug tors and judicial authorities are investigat- days after any discriminatory paycheck or trafficking, transnational crime, and terror- ing and prosecuting members of federal practice occurs. In other words, each new ism in the Western Hemisphere.” Signed police and military forces credibly alleged paycheck violates the law if it is the result into law on June 30, 2008, the initiative to have committed human rights viola- of a discriminatory decision made in the includes aid for seven Central American tions; (3) enforcing the prohibition against past. Individuals can also receive back pay countries including Belize, Costa Rica, El using testimony obtained through torture as compensation for discrimination that Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicara- as evidence in court; and (4) establish- occurred up to two years preceding the fil- gua, and Panama. The Mérida Initiative ing a mechanism for regular consultation ing of the complaint. provides $1.4 billion over three years in between the Mexican government and civil In addition to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair equipment and training from the U.S. to society to monitor implementation of the Pay Act, the House of Representatives the Mexican government to support both Mérida Initiative. law enforcement efforts directed against passed the Paycheck Fairness Act intro- organized crime and long-term institution duced by Representative Rosa DeLauro building for federal police and the judicial Wage Discrimination and former Senator Hillary Clinton in 2007. system. Safeguards The Senate is still debating the bill which would provide more effective remedies to The U.S. Congress recognizes that Mexican President Felipe Calderón, who victims of discrimination when the pay- “despite the enactment of the Equal Pay took office in 2006, implemented an aggres- ment of wages was based on the sex of Act in 1963, many women continue to earn sive law enforcement strategy against orga- the individual. The bill seeks to allow significantly lower pay than men for equal nized crime and took significant steps to unlimited punitive and compensatory dam- work. In many instances, the pay disparities make the federal police more effective and age awards under the Equal Pay Act, even can only be due to continued intentional dependable. The increased police presence when the wage disparity is unintentional. discrimination or the lingering effects of has led to serious human rights violations by The bill calls for a study of data collected past discrimination.” The Lilly Ledbetter authorities. Civil society groups have gone by the Equal Employment Opportunity Fair Pay Act gives individuals more time before the Inter-American Commission on Commission related to employee pay infor- to file lawsuits claiming job discrimination. Human Rights (IACHR) to demand the mation for use in the enforcement of Fed- The Paycheck Fairness Act makes it easier investigation and punishment of torture and eral laws prohibiting pay discrimination. for women to prove violations of the Equal sexual abuse committed by state authorities It also proposes voluntary guidelines for Pay Act of 1963. during police operations at several loca- employers on how to evaluate jobs with the tions, including Oaxaca and Jalisco. The Lilly Ledbetter worked as an area man- goal of eliminating unfair disparities. Presi- Mexican government has acknowledged ager at Goodyear, a position mostly held dent Obama supports this bill and is eager that Mexico’s National Human Rights by men. After several years, her salary to sign it into law once it passes the Senate. 29 Published by Digital Commons @ American University Washington College of Law, 2009 1 Human Rights Brief, Vol. 16, Iss. 2 [2009], Art. 6 The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and Pay- The law allows the U.S. to withhold tech- victed. He has repeatedly denied charges check Fairness Act ensure that women like nical and monetary assistance if a country and openly professed his innocence, stating, Ms. Ledbetter and other victims of pay fails to meet those minimum standards of “I never ordered the death of anybody.” discrimination can effectively challenge improvement. The legislation also calls for The trial addresses two high-profile unequal pay. studies of the commercial sex industry and massacres carried out by “La Colina,” an the psychological and medical conditions Army Intelligence Service death squad Enhanced Measures to Combat of victims. allegedly under Fujimori’s direct control Human Trafficking To assist with prosecution, the law during the height of the counterinsurgency United States Congresswoman Caro- expands federal jurisdiction to U.S. citi- campaign. In 1991, La Colina raided a lyn B. Maloney stated, “Thousands of zens and permanent residents who commit barbeque in a poor suburb of Lima, killing human trafficking victims are being held forced labor or sex trafficking crimes while 15 people, including a young boy. Then, in in often deplorable conditions in cities and they were living abroad. The law requires 1992, the group kidnapped and summar- towns throughout America. Let there be no prosecutors to show “reckless disregard for ily executed nine students and a professor mistake: human trafficking is modern-day the victim” in order to convict traffickers, from La Cantuta University. Their remains slavery.” The William Wilberforce Traf- making it easier to prosecute offenders. were discovered in an unmarked grave. ficking Victims Protection Reauthorization It also places restrictions on offenders’ Fujimori is also