#widney brown

Ebola: The Imperative of Immediate Action, Here and Abroad

October 9, 2014

A panel discussion examining the human rights standards applicable to the epidemic, and the threat posed not only to Africa, but also to the rest of the world with Widney Brown, Director of Programs, Physicians for Human Rights, and former Senior Director for Law and Policy, Amnesty International and Deputy Program Director at Human Rights Watch; Jay Varma, MD, Deputy Commissioner for Disease Control, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and former Medical Epidemiologist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Amnesty International’s Senior Director of International Law and Policy Widney Brown said:

“The government’s priorities are upside down. The US government has refused to investigate credible allegations of torture and other crimes under international law despite overwhelming evidence.

“Yet they decided to prosecute Manning who it seems was trying to do the right thing - reveal credible evidence of unlawful behaviour by the government. You investigate and prosecute those who destroy the credibility of the government by engaging in acts such as torture which are prohibited under the US Constitution and in international law.

“The government’s pursuit of the ‘aiding the enemy’ charge was a serious overreach of the law, not least because there was no credible evidence of Manning’s intent to harm the USA by releasing classified information to WikiLeaks.

“Since the attacks of September 11, we have seen the US government use the issue of national security to defend a whole range of actions that are unlawful under international and domestic law.

“It’s hard not to draw the conclusion that Manning's trial was about sending a message: the US government will come after you, no holds barred, if you're thinking of revealing evidence of its unlawful behaviour.”