Diplomatic Assurances: CLS Study Seeks Interviews

The Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School is initiating a study on the use of diplomatic assurances in U.S. immigration cases and transfers of Guantanamo detainees. Very little is known about the current practice, even as it appears that the Obama administration is contemplating increasing or regularizing the use of assurances to remove individuals to countries where they face a likelihood of torture.

The purpose of the study is to assess how frequently and under what circumstances the government is seeking assurances, what opportunity applicants have to challenge the assurances, and whether monitoring of assurances occurs.

We ask attorneys who have worked on cases where assurances were solicited or contemplated, or who have other pertinent information, to contact us to be interviewed on or off the record. Institute fellow Naureen Shah can be reached at naureen.shah@law.columbia.edu.  Naureen Shah is the National Security & Human Rights Fellow at the Human Rights Institute, Columbia Law School.

KJ