Declassification Campaign ||| Government Secrecy | CNSS Home Page

The Center for National Security Studies and the National Security Archive are leading a campaign to open secret U.S. files on human rights abuses in Latin America and the Caribbean to public scrutiny.

President Clinton has stated repeatedly that democracy, human rights and respect for the rule of law are central to United States policy in Latin America. The Archive believes the release of U.S. documents on human rights should be a fundamental part of that policy. Human rights information can no longer be shielded by the system of secrecy prevalent during the Cold War. As newly-democratic nations throughout Latin America confront their legacies of violence, the Clinton administration should strengthen its commitment to human rights in the region by declassifying all United States files on human rights abuses and releasing them to the public.

The Center and the Archive are joined in this effort by a wide range of public interest, human rights and religious organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Latin America Working Group, the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, the Washington Office on Latin America, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, United Church of Christ, and many more. These and other organizations from around the country have signed a letter to President Clinton urging him to open the files and to announce a new human rights initiative: In response to requests from appropriate bodies in Latin America and the Caribbean, the President should order release of information in United States government files concerning human rights abuses.

On September 25, the Senate introduced a groundbreaking piece of legislation, entitled the Human Rights Information Act (S. 1220), requiring the President to provide declassified information on human rights in the even of an official request by a Latin American government or an appropriate international entity. The House followed suit on October 8 (H.R. 2635).

The bills mandate that existing declassificatication appeals panel be broadened to include an additional two representatives suggested by human rights organizations and academic associations; this panel will review cases where agencies decline to declassify documents to ensure documents are only withheld when there is a compelling national security reason. These strong bills will thus make it more difficult for the administration to withhold information for arbitrary or political reasons.

Lifting the veil of secrecy, Baltimore Sun op-ed by the Center's director, Kate Martin.

"Open the Files: A Chance to Aid Demilitarization in Honduras," by Center for International Policy Associate Adam Isacson and Susan Peacock, visiting fellow at the National Security Archive.

Letter from President Clinton responding to a request from 51 Members of Congress for expedited declassification of records on human rights abuses in Honduras.