Geneva: A group of UN experts have said that the US’ anti-terrorism program “Rewards for Justice” is violating the human rights of some of the individuals it targets.
According to a joint statement by the experts on Wednesday, the program, operated by the US State Department, offers money for information about people outside the US who are designated by the US government as being associated with terrorism but have not been charged with any crimes, reports Xinhua news agency.
The UN experts said that many of the people targeted by the program have had their due process rights denied, including the presumption of innocence and fair trial.
By offering money for information that can lead to the capture of these individuals, “the program encourages others to participate in the denial of these rights”, the experts argued.
The offers of money to foreign individuals alleged to be involved in terrorist activity comes with threats to impose sanctions if they don’t cooperate with the US government’s demands, the experts added.
The experts who signed Wednesday’s joint statement include Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, and a number of experts from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
