• Nov 10, 2006
    “Diplomatic assurances" are an increasingly popular way for governments to get around the international ban on torture. They smooth the way for undesirable foreigners to be sent to another country where they will be at risk of torture and other abuse. Because it is illegal to send someone to a country where she or he will be at risk of torture, the sending government first gets a promise from the receiving government that it won’t use torture. This briefing paper presents a set of "Questions and Answers" detailing why such assurances are inherently unreliable and do not provide an effective safeguard against torture and other forms of ill-treatment. This document is also available in the following languages: Arabic, French, German, Russian, and Turkish.
  • Oct 19, 2006
  • Aug 18, 2006
  • May 4, 2006
  • Jun 15, 2005
    Women’s ability to access safe and legal abortions is restricted in law or in practice in most countries in the world. In fact, even where abortion is permitted by law, women often have severely limited access to safe abortion services because of lack of proper regulation, health services, or political will.
  • Mar 11, 2003
    There is growing concern in the United States, and a growing belief around the world, that the United States itself has engaged in torture or condoned its use by others as part of its war against terrorism. Newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post have published credible reports, based on interviews with former detainees and unnamed U.S. officials, alleging that U.S. agents abuse terrorist suspects or hand them over to foreign governments with documented records of torture. None of the reported allegations suggest the United States has utilized such horrific techniques as electric shock or burning. They do, however, suggest that the United States has been willing to inflict other forms of physical or mental pain in an effort to obtain intelligence from captured terrorist suspects.
  • Oct 30, 2001
    On September 5, Peruvian Attorney General Nelly Calderón formally accused former president Alberto K. Fujimori of murder, causing grave injuries, and "disappearances." The criminal charges against Fujimori were filed in the wake of the unanimous August 27 decision of the Peruvian Congress to lift his immunity as former head of state. On September 13, Supreme Court Justice José Luis Lecaros issued an international warrant to Interpol for the arrest of Fujimori, who is now residing in Japan.
  • Sep 1, 2001
  • Feb 28, 2000
    Questions and answers on the viability of having Pinochet's trial in Chile.
  • Nov 6, 1998
    The House of Lords has completed two days of hearings about the detention of Augusto Pinochet.