When the Senate returns to this treaty in the new Congress, it should approach arguments against ratification with caution. The US is already committed to protecting human rights through its ratification of important human rights treaties. Opponents to CRPD missed that boat many years ago.
Late last year, Congress passed and the president signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2012. The NDAA codified, for the first time since a never-used McCarthy era law, indefinite detention without charge or trial.
Congress is at an impasse over renewing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), the country’s primary national legislation addressing domestic abuse, sexual violence, and stalking. With the remainder of the 112th Congress now a matter of weeks, it is a very real possibility that the act will not be renewed.
Second terms are when presidents start to think about their legacy. And with a first term that earned President Barack Obama strong national security bona fides, he has the opportunity to pursue a robust foreign policy that more closely aligns U.S. values and interests.
Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States imprisoned hundreds without trial at Guantánamo and created a new military-commission system there to try terrorism suspects. The system lacked fundamental protections required for fair trials.
Solitary confinement is a bad idea for prisoners of any age. It is costly, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners and exacerbates mental health problems. All of that is never more evident than when young people are isolated in tiny cells. This practice should be banned.
The ambiguous authority in the Guantanamo courtroom is not surprising given the scant trial record of the post 9/11 military commissions, which have been refashioned in various forms since 2004.
Prisons across the country rely too much on solitary confinement for prisoners young and old. It costs too much, does nothing to rehabilitate prisoners and exacerbates mental health problems. All of that is never more evident than when young people are locked away in solitary. It is time to ban the practice.
On his second full day in office, President Barack Obama signed an executive order banning the use of torture and closing the CIA “black sites” that were the locus of so much abuse. Standing behind him as he signed the order were retired admirals and generals, highly decorated officers who had dedicated their lives to keeping the United States safe.
The smoking habits of the presidential candidates keep coming up. Far less attention, however, is being paid to the nicotine exposure of children who work alongside adults cultivating and harvesting tobacco.
Late last year, Congress passed and the president signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2012. The NDAA codified, for the first time since a never-used McCarthy era law, indefinite detention without charge or trial.