HRC 62 Written Statement : The OneTaste Case and the Expansion of Trafficking Law A Dangerous Precedent with Global Implications

The OneTaste Case and the Expansion of Trafficking Law: A Dangerous Precedent with Global Implications
https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/4118433?ln=fr

CAP LC submitted this written statement during the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council (15 June – 10 July 2026) under Agenda Item 3, highlighting the case of Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz of OneTaste and warning against the dangerous expansion of trafficking law into a tool for policing belief and spiritual authority.

To alert the Council that the conviction of OneTaste founders based solely on “psychological influence”—without evidence of threats, violence, or physical coercion—obliterates the constitutional boundary drawn in United States v. Kozminski (1988) and creates a global precedent for criminalizing spiritual teaching, therapeutic practices, and community belonging under trafficking statutes.

A_HRC_62_NGO_102-EN The OneTaste Case and the Expansion of Trafficking Law A Dangerous Precedent with Global Implications

The OneTaste Verdict Criticized at the United Nations Human Rights Council
CAP LC presented detailed legal analysis before the UN Human Rights Council on the OneTaste convictions, arguing that the case represents a significant expansion of trafficking law beyond its intended scope and risks criminalizing spiritual teaching and non-coercive community life. The submission noted that the legal theory used departed from the Supreme Court’s established framework in Kozminski and undermined Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Link: https://bitterwinter.org/the-onetaste-verdict-criticized-at-the-united-nations-human-rights-council/

Pluribus – Elizabeth Nolan Brown: Beyond Orgasm: OneTaste Case Is About Freedom of Conscience, Says European Religious Freedom Group
CAP LC’s intervention at the UN Human Rights Council on the OneTaste case received coverage highlighting the organization’s position that influence and mentorship, when exercised without physical coercion, cannot be classified as forced labor under international law. The coverage reinforced the organization’s role in monitoring the application of trafficking provisions to minority spiritual movements.
Link: https://www.pluri.blog/p/e-pluribus-june-12-2026

Reason – Beyond Orgasm: OneTaste Case Is About Freedom of Conscience, Says European Religious Freedom Group
CAP LC filed a statement before the UN Human Rights Council arguing that the prosecution of OneTaste founders marked a departure from established constitutional principles by criminalizing psychological influence without evidence of threats or physical coercion. The submission warned that trafficking law, if interpreted to extend to spiritual authority and persuasion, risks exposing mainstream religious communities to litigation and undermines freedom of belief.
Link: https://reason.com/2026/06/11/beyond-orgasm-onetaste-case-is-about-freedom-of-conscience-says-european-religious-freedom-group/