The New York and Washington-based Human Rights First organization works tirelessly to defend human rights and the rule of law. Toward that end, its leaders highlighted the the 20th anniversary of the first detainees arriving at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility — and once again called to end military commissions and close the facility.
Almost all of the nearly 800 men who have passed through the prison in its two decades of operation have been held without charge or trial, and many of the detainees were subjected to torture. Of the 39 men still detained there, thirteen have been cleared for transfer.
“After twenty years of operation, the Guantanamo experiment long ago tarnished the United States’ reputation as a global leader on human rights,” said Michael Breen, President and CEO of Human Rights First. “Guantanamo has proven itself to be a costly moral and strategic failure; after two disastrous and detrimental decades, it must finally be closed.”
Bipartisan calls for closing Guantanamo have ranged from President Bush to President Obama. Among the former government officials who support closure are five Secretaries of Defense, eight Secretaries of State, six national Security Advisors, five Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and dozens of retired generals and admirals.
President Biden has nonetheless made little progress towards closing the prison during his first year in office, transferring only one detainee, Abdul Latif Nasir, who had been cleared for transfer since 2016
DEFENDING OUR DEMOCRACY
In other news, on the first anniversary of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Human Rights First reprised our call for justice, honored those working to save our democracy, and detailed our work to challenge the violent white extremism that was proven to be an existential threat to our democracy.
“We note the anniversary of the events of last January 6, but every day since has proven to be another January 6 as violent extremists continue to pursue their anti-democratic aims,” said Breen. “We salute those who defend our democracy, but we understand the challenges are great and the work far from complete.”
Our Innovation Lab advisor Chris Jones, a Marine veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan, was reporting from the Capitol that day and described it as “the worst day of my life, and I’ve had a lot of bad days.”
Kareem Shora, Executive Vice President for Programs and Policy — and former acting Deputy Director for Programs and Policy at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, which focuses on domestic violent extremism — also published a blog post on that day.
“We know that white nationalist extremism did not start on January 6, 2021, and it will not end by using traditional law enforcement investigative and prosecutorial methods, which have historically targeted minority communities and negatively impacted human rights,” wrote Shora. “A rights-centered society-wide public health approach is necessary.”
Human Rights First’s work has put the organization at the forefront of that effort. Our Innovation Lab prototyped and released AI software tools to monitor extremism and disinformation online.
We worked to contain individual extremists and keep their recruitment and radicalization efforts offline. The organization also initiated the de-platforming from a major social media platform of one of the most influential white supremacist figures in the U.S. and an architect of the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
Breen testified at the Department of Homeland Security about strategies to counter domestic terrorism and our experts briefed individual Congressional offices on violent white extremists’ danger to democracy, among other issues.
On the Monday following the anniversary, Senior Advisor to Human Rights First’s Innovation Lab and our Veterans for American Ideals project Kris Goldsmith’s research was featured in a Guardian article about extremism, especially in the U.S. military. “We’re in the early stages of an insurgency in the United States,” said Goldsmith, also a veteran. “Every failed coup is just practice for the next one.”
In another Human Rights First connection, CNN reported yesterday that Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, head of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and a member of our Board of Directors until he took this position in government, told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that a newly formed unit of Justice Department lawyers would focus on the growing threat of domestic terror.
On the Monday following the anniversary, Senior Advisor to Human Rights First’s Innovation Lab and our Veterans for American Ideals project Kris Goldsmith’s research was featured in a Guardian article about extremism, especially in the U.S. military. “We’re in the early stages of an insurgency in the United States,” said Goldsmith, also a veteran. “Every failed coup is just practice for the next one.”
In another Human Rights First connection, CNN reported yesterday that Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, head of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and a member of our Board of Directors until he took this position in government, told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that a newly formed unit of Justice Department lawyers would focus on the growing threat of domestic terror.
MAKING HUMAN RIGHTS PERSONAL
Beyond leading our call for the release of Bahraini Human Rights Defender Abduljalil Al Singace, jailed for life for his peaceful activism against the kingdom’s dictatorship, our senior advisor Brian Dooley is working to make Singace’s situation a little more comfortable and test the humanity of his Bahraini captors.
Authorities in Bahrain refuse to give Singace a simple hot water bottle to alleviate his severe back pain, so Dooley explains on Twitter that he sent him one for his sixtieth birthday. Previously, Dooley blogged about sending Singace rubber tips for his crutches when Bahraini authorities withheld them for months.