Amnesty International USA today called on a halt to a vote on President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States unless and until any information relevant to Kavanaugh’s possible involvement in human rights violations—including in relation to the U.S. government’s use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, such as during the CIA detention program—is declassified and made public.
Margaret Huang, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA said:
“Amnesty International takes no position on the appointment of particular individuals to government positions, unless they are reasonably suspected of crimes under international law and could use their appointment to the position in question to either prevent accountability for these crimes or to continue perpetration.
“In addition to concerns about Kavanaugh’s involvement in torture and other ill-treatment by the U.S. government, Amnesty International is deeply concerned about Brett Kavanaugh’s record on a range of other human rights issues, including sexual and reproductive rights.”
The full letter is available at: https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Letter-to-Senators-in-re-Kavanaugh.pdf
For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:
Lucy Scholey, Amnesty International Canada (English): +1 613-744-7667 ext. 236; lscholey@amnesty.ca
