Foreign Government Custody

Foreign Government Custody: Statement of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2011

United States views on international law (based on the document “Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law”): The State Department has no greater responsibility than the protection of U.S. citizens overseas – particularly when Americans find themselves in the custody of a foreign government, facing an unfamiliar, and at times unfair, legal system. Last year alone, the U.S. consular officers conducted over 9,500 consular visits with more than 3,500 Americans who were in the custody of foreign governments. Through the international system of consular assistance—a system that has evolved over centuries and today is reflected in binding U.S. treaties—we are able to reach the U.S. citizens in these vulnerable situations and help them receive food and medical assistance, communicate with their families, and provide them with information regarding foreign legal systems and how they can access legal counsel overseas. In return, the United States has committed to permit foreign officials to provide the same assistance to their own citizens who are arrested here.

Developments

This protective system of consular assistance depends on mutual compliance with these obligations by the United States and the U.S. treaty partners. If the United States fails to honor the U.S. legal obligations toward foreign nationals in the U.S. custody, the fabric of this protective system is torn, and ultimately it is Americans who are harmed. And although we work strenuously to honor these commitments, unfortunately at times the U.S. own compliance has broken down.

The bill that is before you—the Consular Notification Compliance Act—is a carefully crafted piece of legislation which seeks to ensure that the United States keeps these treaty promises. The bill provides practical steps for federal, state and local authorities to follow to comply with consular notification rules. It would also give foreign nationals in a small number of very serious cases the chance to prove that they were prejudiced by the U.S. own failure to provide them with the opportunity for consular assistance, consistent with the U.S. legal obligations.

Details

Enactment of this legislation is also essential to the U.S. vital foreign relations interests. the U.S. failure to act, and to act now, threatens the U.S. close partnership with Mexico, including in the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking and securing the U.S. border. Many other countries, including important U.S. allies, have pressed us to comply with these obligations with increasing urgency. Enacting this legislation will demonstrate to the world that we are a nation that keeps the U.S. promises. Failure to enact it invariably will harm the U.S. ability to secure U.S. interests across a range of law enforcement, security, and other goals.

More about the Issue

To protect the U.S. citizens, we need to do the U.S. part to protect those of other countries. Because enactment of this bill serves the U.S. critical interests in protecting the U.S. citizens, preserving the U.S. foreign policy relations, and abiding by the U.S. promises under vital treaties we have ratified, I join the Department of Justice and the rest of the Administration in urgently calling on Congress to pass this narrow and carefully crafted legislation. Thank you very much.

Foreign Government Custody

Foreign Government Custody