Copyright © 1999 NLThomas
All Rights Reserved

Madame Chairperson,

Once again we would like to bring to your attention to the continued unjust incarceration of Native American political prisoner, Leonard Peltier. He has now been in prison in the United States for twenty-three years for a crime he did not commit. He has been become a notorious symbol of injustice toward Indigenous Peoples.

During the official celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Paris last December, Leonard Peltier was recognized by the world community as a human rights defender. At this occasion several Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and human rights NGOs including Amnesty International, France Liberts, and the International Federation of Human Rights called for the immediate release of Mr. Peltier.

As you may recall, in November of 1993 former attorney general, Ramsey Clark, filed a petition for Executive Clemency at the White House. On average a review of such a petition is completed in six to nine months and rarely does it take longer than two years for one to receive a response. However it has been over six years since Mr. Peltier's petition was filed and the President has not yet responded.

President Clinton recently visited the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation where the incident which led to the incarceration of Mr. Peltier occurred. Though many Lakota people inquired as to his standing on the Peltier case during the visit, he chose not to address their concerns.

Additionally, Mr. Peltier has been held eight years in excess of the Parole Commission's own guidelines for release. The Commission set his next parole hearing for the year 2008, 17 years in excess of the commission's release guidelines and six years after the date set by Congress for the total abolition of the Parole Commission itself.

The reasons the Parole Commission have given for denying him parole have been arbitrary, capricious, discriminatory, and in violation of his civil and human rights. Such practices can be considered a clear form of arbitrary detention in violation of International law standards.

Furthermore, Mr. Peltier's health continues to deteriorate as a result of the prison authorities' denial of proper medical treatment. This violates several articles of the United States Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. If Mr. Peltier does not receive immediate medical treatment, his health conditions will further deteriorate into a life threatening situation. One can easily interpret the terrible health condition that Mr. Peltier has been forced to endure for many years as another cruel and unusual punishment for a crime he did not commit. To allow him to remain in such excruciating pain for the last three years may also be considered a form of torture.

International support for the release of Leonard Peltier is growing. Last February 11th, the European Parliament adopted a new resolution on this case insisting that he be granted presidential executive clemency, that he be transferred to a hospital where he may receive appropriate medical treatment, and reiterated their call for an investigation into the judicial improprieties involved in his conviction.

In recognition of the urgency to secure the immediate release of Leonard Peltier from prison, and because of the crucial timing of the campaign, the Leonard Peltier Defense committee is asking all sectors of society, both domestic and international to make themselves heard during an enormous effort being focused in Washington D.C. this November.

This effort will be focused at the Clinton Administration and the Congress and we are asking for Indigenous and Human Rights Organizations to participate.

Rigoberta Menchu, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the International Decade of the World Indigenous Peoples, has already agreed to take part in this effort by bringing a delegation of Nobel Peace Prize Laureates to Washington D.C.

We would like to invite you, Madame Chairperson and the members of the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples to join our effort this Fall to secure the release of this Human Rights Defender.

Madame Chairperson, I thank you for your attention.

Bobby Castillo
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
LPDC-International Office