Access Restricted to Northwestern Law CommunityConvention Against Torture Resources
Children and the Convention Against Torture: Resources for Advocates
This Web site provides resources for attorneys and advocates representing child survivors of torture, including former street children, child soldiers, and children fleeing street gangs in Central America.
Individuals who fear being subjected to torture upon return to their home country can seek protection in the United States under Article 3 of the U.N. Convention Against Torture (CAT), as codified in U.S. law.
Increasing numbers of children are fleeing their countries of origin in search of refuge from the harsh human rights abuses they have been subjected to, including rape, forced smuggling operations, domestic violence, female genital circumcision, recruitment as child soldiers, abuses on the street, etc. Relief under Article 3 of the CAT may be a viable alternative for such child refugees. To qualify for relief under CAT, a victim does not need to show a link between the torture and his/her nationality race, religion, political opinion, and/or membership in a particular social group. Although CAT does not give claimants the permanent relief granted under asylum, it does prevent their removal from the United States, as long as the danger of future harm remains. CAT provides a safeguard and alternative basis for relief if the discretionary relief of asylum is denied.
This project was created as part of an Equal Justice Works fellowship project funded by the law firm Greenberg Traurig. Contact Anita Ortiz, Equal Justice Works Attorney, by e-mail or call (312) 503-0117 for more information.
Briefs | Published Decisions | Unpublished Decisions | International Case Law
Resources
Citations to CAT Articles | Country Condition Information | Psychological Effects of Torture on Children |
Child Soldiers |
Gangs in Central America | Street Children | Unaccompanied Minors | Additional Resources
Briefs
Amicus Brief (pdf) - Written by the Children and Family Justice Center and Center for International Human Rights on behalf of a boy from China seeking to reopen his case under the Convention Against Torture before the Third Circuit Court of Appeals
Sample CAT section for child facing torture in China (pdf)
Sample CAT section for former Honduran gang member (pdf)
Published Decisions
- Lusingo v. Gonzales , 420 F.3d 193 (3rd Cir. 2005).
- Escobar v. Gonzales , 417 F.3d 363 (3rd Cir. 2005).
- Castellano-Chacon v. I.N.S., 341 F.3d 533 (6th Cir. 2003).
- Romero-Rodriguez v. Gonzalez , 131 Fed. Appx. 203 (11th Cir. 2005).
- Lopez-Soto v. Ashcroft , 383 F.3d 228 (4th Cir. 2004).
- Hernandez v. I.N.S ., 34 Fed. Appx. 550 (9th Cir. 2002).
- Aquino v. Ashcroft , 89 Fed. Appx. 71 (9th Cir. 2004).
Street Children
Gang Affiliation Cases
Unpublished Decisions
While these are asylum decisions, they may serve as a reference when arguing children's Convention Against Torture claims.
Flores-Portillo v. Ashcroft, 103 Fed. Appx. 852 (5th Cir. 2004) (street child case)
Guatemalan Street Child - Case 1 (pdf)
Guatemalan Street Child - Case 2 (pdf)
Honduran Child Forced Gang Recruitment as a Social Group (pdf)
Honduran Street Child (pdf)
Honduran/Mexican Street Child (pdf)
Moroccan Child/Family as a Social Group (pdf)
Nicaraguan Street Child (pdf)
Article 3 under the U.S. regulations does not include cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
- Case of A v.The United Kingdom (100/1997/884/1096), Sept. 23, 1998. (State responsibility for beating of child by stepfather-violation of Article 3 under the Convention Against Torture.)
- Case of E & Others v.The United Kingdom (App. No. 33218/96), Nov. 26, 2002 (State responsibility under Article 3 of CAT for abuse of child by a private actor.)
- Case of Z & Others v. The United Kingdom (App. No. 29392/95), May 10, 2001 (Article 3 violation for government's failure to protect children from the serious ill-treatment and neglect by their parents.)
- Soering v. The United Kingdom (1/1989/161/217), July 7, 1989 (Discusses Article 3 in detail and the necessity of taking into account age and mental status of applicant).
- Villagran Morales et al v. Guatemala, Nov. 19, 1999 (“Street Children Case”)
- Israel de Jesus Butler, The Rights of the Child in the Caselaw of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Recent Cases, 5 Human Rights Law Review 151 (2005) (Not available online)
European Court of Human Rights
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Alexander, Barbara Cochrane,Convention Against Torture: A Viable Alternative Legal Remedy for Domestic Violence Victims, 15 Am. U. Int’l L. Rev. 895, 2000.
CRS Report for Congress, The U.N. Convention Against Torture: Overview of U.S. Implementation Policy Concerning the Removal of Aliens, (March 11, 2004).
David, Samuel L., A Foul Immigration Policy: U.S. Misinterpretation of the Non-Refoulement Obligation Under the Convention Against Torture, 19 N.Y.L Sch. J. Hum. Rts. 769, 2003.
Miller,David, Holding States to their Convention Obligations: The United Nations Convention Against Torture and the Need for a Broad Interpretation of State Action, 17 Geo. Immigr. L.J. 299, 2003.
Montavon-McKillip, Andrea, CAT Among Pigeons: The Convention Against Torture, A Precarious Intersection Between International Human Rights Law and U.S. Immigration Law, 44 Ariz. L. Rev. 247, 2002.
Nessel, Lori A.,“Willful Blindness” to Gender-Based Violence Abroad: United States’ Implementation of Article Three of the United Nations Convention Against Torture, 89 Minn. L. Rev. 71, 2004.
Rosati, Kristen B., Sample Brief in Support of Relief Pursuant to the Torture Convention, published by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA).
Sklar, Morton, Implications of the New Implementing Statute and Regulations on Convention Against Torture Protections, 76 No. 7 Interpreter Releases 265, (Feb. 22, 1999).
Vining, Josephine A., Providing Protection from Torture by “Unofficial Actors: A New Approach to the State Action Requirement of the Convention Against Torture, 70 Brooklyn L. Rev. 331, 2004.
- "Special Rapporteur on Torture Highlights Challenges at End of Visit to China," United Nations, (Dec. 2, 2005)
- China: Repatriated Illegal Emigrants, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (2003)
- "Editorial: China: Time to Protect Minors' Rights," China Daily News (June 1, 2001)
- "Dying to Leave," BBC (April 5, 2001)
- "Chinese Migrants: Canada and U.S.," 7 Migration News 3 (March 2000)
- "Smuggled Chinese: Clandestine Immigration to the United States" by Ko-Lin Chin (1999)
- "Chinese Organized Crime and Illegal Alien Trafficking: Humans as a Commodity," U.S. Department of State, (1995)
- Law on the Control of the Exit and Entry of Citizens, Fagui Huibian
- "Laogai: Reform Through Labor in China," Human Rights Brief, Vol. 7, No. 2
- "El Salvador: Payback," PBS (Oct. 12, 2004)
- "Combating El Salvador's Gangs," BBC (March 20, 2004)
- "El Salvador: Effecting Change from Within," United Nations Chronicle (2002)
- "Youth Gangs in El Salvador and Conflict Management," Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America
- "Gang Wars Shake Guatemala's Crumbling Jails," Reuters (Oct. 11, 2005)
- "Memorandum to the Government of Guatemala: Amnesty International's Concern Over the Current Human Rights Situation," Amnesty International (April 19, 2005)
- "Children Abandoned: Guatemala’s Young People and Their Search for a Future" (pdf), International Social Service-United States of America Branch (2003)
- "Guatemalan Street Children Face Hardships, Death Squads," CNN (Feb. 14, 1998)
- "103 Dead in Prison Fire," AP (May 17, 2004)
- "Honduran President Takes Tough Stance on Fighting Gangs; Controversial New Law Can Punish Young Offenders with Long Prison Terms," San Francisco Chronicle (Sept. 28, 2003)
- Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, U.N. ESCOR, Addendum: Mission to Honduras, UN Doc E/CN.4/2003/3/Add.2 (June 14, 2002)
- Police 'dispose' of Honduran Street Kids
- Street Kids Locked Up
- "Honduras Zero Tolerance...for Impunity, Extrajudicial Executions of Youth Since 1998," Amnesty International
Central America
China
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Resources on the Psychological Effects of Torture on Children
"Children, Torture and Power," Save the Children (2000)
"Childhood Abused: Protecting Children Against Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment," Geraldine Van Bueren (Editor), (1998)
Children and Families Bibliography Page, Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture
Hidden Scandal, Secret Shame, Torture and Ill-treatment of Children, Amnesty International
The Center for Victims of Torture
The Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture
National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Youth Advocate Program International - A resource page that includes reports on torture, youth gangs, and street children.
Amnesty International Child Soldiers Information
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Web site of Attorney Andrew Vaachss: Child Soldier Resources
Resources on Gangs in Central America
"Fleeing the Maras: Child Gang Members Seeking
Refugee Status in the United States," (pdf) 25 Child. Legal Rts.
J. No. 3, 1 (2005)
"Gangs in Central America," (pdf), CRS Report for Congress (May 10, 2005)
"North American Youth Gangs: Patterns and Remedies," Testimony before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, U.S. House of Representatives (April 20, 2005)
"Central America's Gang Crisis: Prison Riots Reflect Widening Violence in Poor Nations," Washington Post (Sept. 17, 2004)
"Sign-On Letter Advocating Reforms for Children Seeking Asylum," American Immigration Lawyers Association (July 2004)
"Grim News in Central America: Wave of Gang Violence Grows," Americas.org (Jan. 19, 2004)
"Death by Deportation," Boulder Weekly, (2004)
Consortium for Street Children - An association of UK-based organizations dedicated to the welfare and rights of street living and working children and children at risk of taking to street life.
Promises Broken, Human Rights Watch
Street Children: The Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children - Web site created by Professor Martin Patt, of the University of Massachusetts, which documents abuses against street children in countries around the world.
Street Children Worldwide Resource Library, Pangea
Resources on Unaccompanied Minors
Guidelines for Children's Asylum Claims, Immigration and Naturalization Service (1998)
"Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care," UNHCR (1994)
Protecting Unaccompanied Immigrant and Refugee Children in the United States, Christopher Nugent, Human Rights Magazine
Standards for the Custody, Placement and Care; Legal Representation; and adjudication of Unaccompanied Alien Children in the United States, American Bar Association
Asylumlaw.org – Internet resource for advocates representing asylum seekers.
National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children - Provides pro bono legal and social services to unaccompanied children released from detention in the United States.
