Amnesty International’s human rights concerns in the USA are summarized in this speech. AI is gravely concerned about the US policy of forcibly returning asylum-seekers fleeing Haiti in the aftermath of the coup of September 1991; in May 1992 the Government announced a new policy to return forcibly all Haitian asylum-seekers without any attempt to identify those who might be at risk if returned. AI is alarmed at the increasing use of the death penalty, including the execution of mentally ill or retarded and juvenile offenders; there is also the issue of alleged racial discrimination in the application of the death penalty. The final issue dealt with in this speech is that of alleged use of excessive force by police, which has in cases led to serious injury or death
