Passed April 21, 2002 in Seattle Washington at the AI-USA Convention
B4: THE WAGING OF A WAR ON ILLEGAL DRUGS, KNOWN AS THE WAR ON DRUGS, AND ITS EFFECT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY Resolution passed overwhelmingly.
WHEREAS Amnesty International contributes to the observance throughout the world of human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and
WHEREAS the declaration of war on the issue of illegal drugs has created a burgeoning domestic prison population and increased numbers of displaced persons in Latin America. The US government's increase in military aid and training to governments, including but not limited to Colombia, has contributed to the manufacturing, marketing and exportation of types of weapons and devices used in torture. It has justified interference in targeted economies with concurrent degradation of the environment and an overall diminution of human rights in those countries and the USA;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Amnesty International immediately recognize the correlation between this war and human rights abuses within and outside the U.S.A.
BE IT FURTHER resolved that at the next ICM,* the AIUSA delegation ask the ICM to call for research to be done to identify AI's position on the war on drugs because of its resultant human rights violations.
* Amnesty International's governing committee
>From: "boddhisatva" <boddhisatva at netzero.net>
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
>Subject: RE: [lbo-talk] Chomsky: USA "best country in the world"
>Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 14:33:39 -0800
>
>
>
>
> Guys, you're just being loony. First, whether the population of
>non-violent drug offenders in prison is too high is not a matter of RIGHTS.
>No reasonable person would contend that our democratically-arrived-at drug
>laws are a violation of a misconception of RIGHTS. Clearly, the government
>has a valid interest in regulating possibly dangerous drugs, as indeed is
>the consensus within ALL developed nations.
>
> Second, the argument that a black person has fewer rights in America is
>unpersuasive. The problem is that the government is not meeting what seems
>to me to be its clear responsibility in providing adequate defense for
>those
>charged with crimes. It is also clear that education in this country is so
>inadequate that most people cannot effectively "aid in their own defense"
>and without serious efforts by counsel are not competent even to make
>pleas.
>
> There is a reasonable case to be made that juries are biased and that
>this
>should be dealt with along the lines of the "jury or his peers"
>requirement.
>What this would mean practically is unclear, however. After all, many
>states allow the defense a lot of leeway in striking potential jurors
>before
>trial.
>
> I absolutely stand by my contention that most black prisoners, indeed
>most
>prisoners, are guilty. Yes, those who are poor and victims of racism are
>less likely to be guilty individually, but at the same time poor
>communities
>are also likely to have inadequate law enforcement. With the large number
>of recidivist prisoners in America, that almost certainly means that many
>people in prison should probably be there for more crimes than they were
>convicted of.
>
> Wojtek's point about parole violations is completely misguided. The
>enforcement of terms of parole in this country is a joke. Paroles are
>violated with abandon and most jurisdictions put far too few resources into
>their parole systems. Up here in Washington, one of our counties simply
>expunged many hundreds of outstanding warrants, many for parole violations,
>simply to cut the budget, effectively freeing hundreds of criminals into
>our
>state's poor communities.
>
> Chuck O's contention that what I said was racist is beneath contempt.
>
>
>
> peace,
>
> boddi
>
>
>
>
>
>___________________________________
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