The author argues that mental health professionals involved in the implementation of these laws are faced with ethical concerns that distinguish this area of forensic practice from other clinical roles. The ethical dilemma is created by the overriding commitment of the state to institute policies that promote community protection, without regard to the rights and interests of sex offenders. The most disturbing characteristic of current sex offender laws is their provision for sanctions against offenders based on estimates of their risk for future offending rather than punishment for past behavior. This paper advises that associated roles of mental health professionals should be based in a specific model for human rights. The ethical mental health professional should not participate in legal proceedings that require risk assessments as the basis for the deprivation of offenders' human rights, since risk-assessment methods are not reliable. Those who do participate in such proceedings should make clear that there are gaps in our current knowledge and error rates in our current procedures. It is an ethical responsibility to make these limitations as clear as possible in reports to the court. Further, the role of the risk assessor and the boundaries involved in the assessment process must be made explicitly clear to the offender, even though this may result in more guarded disclosure in the assessment process. It should be the offender's right to make an informed decision about what he/she discloses, being fully aware of the likely consequences from the use of this information in a risk-assessment report. 38 references