Policy Proposals to Bring Justice to Victims of US Torture in Iraq

For over two decades, the wounds of the Global War on Terror have been carried by victims of torture. Human Rights Watch intends to revive and revitalize the issue of torture of detainees during the United States military occupation of Iraq between 2003-2011. The Capstone were asked to devise policy proposals that would encompass the Department of State, Congress, and Department of Defense to bring justice to victims of torture.

The team unanimously adopted a ‘victims-first’ approach, utilizing hundreds of testimonies, military archives, and hearings of torture victims from Iraq to develop a rubric ascertaining the kind of traumatizing, life-altering, and irreparable harm that victims were subjected to. The team then analyzed decades of failed Congress resolutions and existing mechanisms, such as the Foreign Claims Act and the Leahy War Victims Fund, and utilized archival sources, like the ACLU Torture Database, to examine means of reparations and compensation that victims have been granted in the past. 

The team provided a short memo that the Human Rights Watch could use in their advocacy. This memo comprises shortcomings of existing mechanisms, the novel contribution of altering the classification of detainees as “Enemy Combatants,” removing statute limitations that prevent victims from seeking reparations, and the creation of a civil society coalition to address stakeholders. Finally, the team recommended a national recognition of the systematized nature of civilian torture during the occupation.