Project Will Make Use of the International Human Rights Framework to Shed Light on and Seek Redress for Human Rights Abuses Suffered by Immigrants in Georgia

Atlanta– The ACLU of Georgia today announced the launch of a new project aimed at advocating for immigrant communities in Georgia who have experienced grave erosion of their civil liberties in the post 9/11 atmosphere. The project will focus on advocating for Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian, and other immigrant communities in the state by empowering community members to assert their constitutional and human rights through educational presentations, providing legal representation through recruiting and training Georgia attorneys, and advocacy before U.S. and international bodies, as well as monitoring and shedding light on conditions at immigration detention facilities in Georgia.

“As evidenced by the multitude of anti-immigrant measures currently pending at the Georgia legislature, the need for effective advocacy to ensure the safeguarding of the civil liberties and human rights of immigrant communities in our state could not be greater,” said Azadeh Shahshahani, the director of the project. “In addition to making use of domestic mechanisms and constitutional protections, we will utilize the international human rights framework to hold local and state officials accountable.”

Shahshahani previously served as Interim Legal Director for the ACLU of Georgia. Before her move to Atlanta, she worked with the ACLU of North Carolina as Muslim/Middle Eastern Community Outreach Coordinator. In that capacity, she initiated a statewide campaign against racial profiling; coordinated a Continuing Legal Education seminar to train attorneys to represent Muslim and Middle Eastern clients facing civil liberties violations; and led a statewide campaign calling for the investigation of a North Carolina-based air carrier which has transported foreign nationals to torture and detention.

The launch of the project comes as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, Jorge Bustamante, recently presented a report on the injustices faced by migrants and immigrants in the U.S., denouncing immigrant detention policies and facilities that fail to meet international standards. The ACLU is calling on the government to adopt the recommendations made by Bustamante, including creating binding human rights standards governing the treatment of immigration detainees as well as ending harassment and racial profiling of migrant workers by local and federal law enforcement agents.

“We certainly hope that the release of the report by Dr. Bustamante will lead to substantive changes in the way immigrants are treated in Georgia,” said Shahshahani. “It is high time that immigrants and migrant communities in our state are accorded the human rights and human dignity due to them.”

Last year, Bustamante conducted a three-week fact finding mission at the request of the U.S. government, meeting with migrant communities around the country. During his May 10, 2007, stop in Georgia, Dr. Bustamante took particular note of the testimony offered by community members and human rights advocates in South Georgia on the effect of raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on local communities as well as the inhumane conditions at immigration detention facilities in Georgia.

The ACLU’s report on the state of racial discrimination in the U.S. and other relevant documents can be found online here: www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/racialjustice/cerd.html

The ACLU’s statement on the U.N. Special Rapporteur’s report on the human rights of migrants is available here: www.aclu.org/pdfs/humanrights/oralstatement_to_jorge_bustamante.pdf