Wednesday
Sep242008
Senate confronts lack of confrontation on human rights violations
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said the U.S. must assume a role in business to fight violations of human rights. He added that this issue is very complicated, "not a black and white issue." Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said that there is no excuse for companies, both national and international, to fail at protecting human rights. The Senate Judiciary Committee met to discuss international violations of human rights and the response from the United States.
In 2003, fatalities in the Niger Delta were "comparable to Iraq and Afghanistan," said Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action Nnimmo Bassey. Bassey said that the abundance of oil in the Niger Delta has made things worse. Oil has contributed to "50 years of dashed hope," continued Bassey. Senior Vice President for Social Research and Policy for Calvert Bennett Freeman called the Niger Delta "one of the most dangerous places to work in the world.
Co-Founder and Executive Director of EarthRights International Ka Hsaw Wa spoke about the conditions in Burma. He said that companies, such as Chevron, that work in Burma along the Yadana Pipeline are allowing human rights violations, including murder and torture, to happen without confrontation. These companies are "representatives of the United States," said Wa. He urged the U.S. government to hold these companies accountable.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department Jeffrey Krilla said the government has established an organization called Voluntary Principles (VP) to thwart human rights violations abroad. Currently, VP has four member nations; the U.S., the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Norway. He said the goal of VP was to work with international governments to find ways of enforcing human rights laws committed by private corporations. While VP has helped dialogue on human rights abroad, it is "not a cure-all," said Krilla.
In 2003, fatalities in the Niger Delta were "comparable to Iraq and Afghanistan," said Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action Nnimmo Bassey. Bassey said that the abundance of oil in the Niger Delta has made things worse. Oil has contributed to "50 years of dashed hope," continued Bassey. Senior Vice President for Social Research and Policy for Calvert Bennett Freeman called the Niger Delta "one of the most dangerous places to work in the world.
Co-Founder and Executive Director of EarthRights International Ka Hsaw Wa spoke about the conditions in Burma. He said that companies, such as Chevron, that work in Burma along the Yadana Pipeline are allowing human rights violations, including murder and torture, to happen without confrontation. These companies are "representatives of the United States," said Wa. He urged the U.S. government to hold these companies accountable.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department Jeffrey Krilla said the government has established an organization called Voluntary Principles (VP) to thwart human rights violations abroad. Currently, VP has four member nations; the U.S., the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Norway. He said the goal of VP was to work with international governments to find ways of enforcing human rights laws committed by private corporations. While VP has helped dialogue on human rights abroad, it is "not a cure-all," said Krilla.
tagged 
Burma, Human Rights, Nigeria, Senate Judiciary Committee, VP in Congress
Burma, Human Rights, Nigeria, Senate Judiciary Committee, VP in Congress
Mukasey dodges bullets
A barrage of questions from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) proved ineffective. When asked by Schumer whether he would make records from certain cases from the Office of Professional Responsibility available to committee, Mukasey stated that it would depend on evidence. In response to his testimony, Schumer stated that he was very disappointed with the Attorney General’s answers. These sentiments were echoed by other members of the committee.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) criticized the Office of Legal Counsel’s actions, referring to it as ‘George Bush’s Shop of Legal Horrors'. He also called for Mukasey to learn from past mistakes in the deparment.
Mukasey was also questioned about new terrorist investigation criteria. These criteria would allow the department to access information on things like travel records and weapons possession. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WIS) addressed the issue, asking about the limits to which these criteria would go. Mukasey dismissed the questions as dealing with hypotheticals.