Human Rights and the War on Terror
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H UMAN R IGHTS & H UMAN W ELFARE Human Rights and the War on Terror Introduction by Jack Donnelly Andrew Mellon Professor Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver War rarely is good for human rights. The decision of the United States to launch a “global war on terror” in response to the suicide airplane bombings in New York and Washington has had predictably negative human rights consequences. In combating a tiny network of violent political extremists, human rights have in various ways, both intentional and unintentional, been restricted, infringed, violated, ignored, and trampled in many countries, sometimes severely. Civil liberties have been restricted in numerous countries. We document this in both Europe and the United States. For the U.S., we consider not only the USA Patriot Act but also the rights of detainees. Forces of repression have been emboldened by this new global context. The language of anti- terrorism has been used to smear, and justify violating the rights of, ordinary political opponents. In addition, intensified efforts directed against real terrorists have, as in Chechnya, increased the suffering of innocent civilians. The problems have been exacerbated by the increased tolerance shown by Western states, particularly the United States, for repression by regimes that are “partners” in the war on terrorism. Pakistan and Uzbekistan are striking examples. There have been some positive human rights consequences. Afghanistan has been freed from Taliban rule. The ongoing processes of conflict resolution in Sri Lanka has been strengthened. Pakistani support for Kashmiri terrorists has been constrained. Most often, however, and on balance, the global war on terror has harmed human rights. Like the other HRHW Research Digests, this bibliography offers an introduction to a rapidly growing literature rather than a comprehensive assessment. Our goals are to guide those embarking on research and to offer a general sense of the principal issues considered in the available literature. Within each topic we have emphasized careful selection and annotation rather than completeness. We have chosen cases that range across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. We cover most of the countries that have received the greatest attention in public and policy debates in the United States. But others might easily have been selected. For example, the Caucasus region is represented by Georgia and Central Asia by Uzbekistan. Indonesia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Peru are among the more obvious cases that might have been included in a more comprehensive effort. The absence of a section on Iraq perhaps requires explicit explanation. Practically, this is a bibliography, and there simply isn’t yet enough non-journalistic literature to be reviewed. Furthermore, the situation is so fluid that we feared whatever was done would very soon be outdated. Substantively, there is no way to address the issue without getting into complex and highly controversial, even partisan, issues of American foreign policy and a war in Iraq that in its genesis had no connection at all with terrorism. This would have required human resources well beyond 1 R EVIEW D IGEST: H UMAN R IGHTS & T HE W AR ON T ERROR those available for this project. It would also have resulted in a section that was wildly out of balance with the others. The navigation bar to the left is generally self-explanatory. Three headings, however, merit comment. Within “Europe,” we consider not only the general issue of civil liberties and the particular issues of religious liberty and xenophobia, but three countries that have long struggled with internal separatist terrorists, namely, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The U.S. foreign policy section includes separate subsections that address the role of oil and other narrow national interests, the choice of military and non-military means, and the doctrine of preventive war, in addition to the issues of rights-abusive allies and detainees already noted above. Finally, we offer a Background section that covers the more general literature on terrorism, the national and international legal background, and reports of a general or comparative nature from both governments and non-governmental groups. In literally dozens of countries, the war on terror has dramatically transformed the context of the struggle for human rights. This bibliography aims to improve understanding of the nature and consequences of these transformations. Researchers Instructors Editors Simon Amajuru Chris Saeger Sarah Bania-Dobyns Susannah Compton Jack Donnelly Eric Dibbern Robin Davey David Gillespie Syd Dillard Toni Panetta Amanda Donahoe Chris Saeger Charles Hess Sydney Fisher Kelley Laird Victoria Lowdon Chris Maggard Alexandra Nichols Travis Ning Toni Panetta Greg Sanders James Smithwick Angela Woolliams © 2005, Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver 2 H UMAN R IGHTS & H UMAN W ELFARE Background for The “War on Terror” September 11 changed the United States’ understanding of terrorism. Prior to these attacks, Americans typically viewed terrorist events and actors through the lens of foreign affairs, quite removed from “everyday” concerns. Terrorist events involving Americans did occur, occasionally on American soil, but a sense of American invulnerability never truly wavered. September 11 challenged this presumption; as well as perspectives on the history of terrorism, compelling some to reexamine past events in order to find portents of the future tragedy. A look at the development of the literature on terrorism beginning in the early 1980’s until now reveals some cognitive dissonance. In introducing this material, it is not my intention to explain terrorism or define terrorism in this section. In fact, it is the very definition of terrorism is challenged by the assortment of initiatives collected under the title of the American War on Terror. Prior to September 11, “terrorism” was understood more broadly by more people. Although a single definition has never been uniformly applied, hence the inclusion in this digest of such organizations as the IRA and PLO, and the absence of certain other frequently, though reckless labeled as terrorist. I will presume that the “terror” is primarily associated with topics associated with the War on Terror. The history sections are particularly honest to this conviction, though they also point to some areas that are neglected by the current paradigm. The History component is divided into two sections, prior to and after 2002. Sources are mostly limited to books, as they provide a more expansive treatment of topics than would typically be found in articles. The Reports section provides reports from government agencies, non-governmental organizations and think tanks. The reports present a diversity of opinion and differing recommendations on how best to confront terrorism. Sources date from 1979 onwards, the year of the Iran Hostage crisis, a clearly identifiable point in time in which Americans were confronted by a terrorist act. The section on Law presents laws passed within the Unites States and the United Kingdom, as well as United Nations Conventions and NATO Plans intended to address and deter terrorism. Additional sources analyze how international laws and legal cooperation among nations help fight terrorism. General Background: Pre-2001 This section focuses on literature written before 2001. The section on the Periphery of Terror focuses principally on terrorist activity outside the purview of the Bush administration’s War on Terror. The section on the Roots of September 11 is concerned with how terrorism has become of special interest to the West. The section on Technology discusses its role in dealing with terrorism. Periphery of Terror Yonah Alexander. 1989. Terrorism: The PLO Connection. New York: Crane Russak. 3 R EVIEW D IGEST: H UMAN R IGHTS & T HE W AR ON T ERROR Yonah Alexander and Robert A. Kiln. 1979. Political Terrorism and Business: The Threat and Response. New York: Praeger. Many subjects are addressed by the authors in this collection, including corporate and executive targets; medical preparedness; and responses to terrorist events by airlines, banks and insurance companies. Also includes a chronology of transnational terrorist attacks on American business people. Yonah Alexander and Alan O’Day. 1989. Ireland’s Terrorist Trauma: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Authors in this collection look at the conflict of Northern Ireland through the lens of terrorism. Chapters discuss the roles of the international community and the Catholic Church, with special focus on both the IRA and Ulster Loyalists. Yonah Alexander and Alan O’Day. 1991. The Irish Terrorism Experience. Brookfield, Vt., USA: Dartmouth. Yonah Alexander and Alan O’Day. 1984. Terrorism in Ireland. London and New York: Croom Helm; St. Martin’s Press. Yonah Alexander and Dennis A. Pluchinsky. 1992. Europe’s Red Terrorists: The Fighting Communist Organizations. Portland, Ore. : F. Cass. Yonah Alexander and Dennis A. Pluchinsky. 1992. European Terrorism Today & Tomorrow. Washington: Brassey’s (US). A collection of essays with chapters providing reviews of two European terrorist groups, evaluating the implications of historical terrorist activity on Europe’s future. The authors suggest tools for combating terrorism in consideration of European integration and more fluid borders. Howard L. Bushart. 1998. Soldiers of God: White Supremacists and Their Holy War for America. New York,