thedrifter
05-04-06, 05:52 AM
Torture by U.S. persists, rights group charges
'Widespread' abuse of detainees claimed in Amnesty International report to U.N.
Associated Press
Originally published May 4, 2006
LONDON // The United States has failed to eradicate "widespread" torture of prisoners in its war on terrorism despite the outcry from the Abu Ghraib scandal and abusive behavior at U.S. detention facilities in Cuba and Afghanistan, Amnesty International charged yesterday.
The London-based human rights group made its criticism in a report to the U.N. Committee Against Torture, which is meeting in Geneva this week to consider American compliance with the U.N. convention against torture and other cruel forms of punishment.
"Evidence continues to emerge of widespread torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and other locations," the report said.
Amnesty International charged that no senior American officials have been held accountable for incidents of torture or ill-treatment and said legislation passed by Congress last year has "serious limitations."
One section of that law, the group said, refers to "cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment" banned under the U.S. Constitution as defined by a series of reservations the United States has expressed regarding the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
The law is a step forward but still could leave the United States open to employ a narrower interpretation of what constitutes such treatment than is recognized under the convention, Amnesty said, adding that the United States should withdraw its reservations to the convention.
"Although the U.S. government continues to assert its condemnation of torture and ill-treatment, these statements contradict what is happening in practice," said Curt Goering, senior deputy executive director of Amnesty International USA.
'Climate' criticized
"The U.S. government is not only failing to take steps to eradicate torture. It is actually creating a climate in which torture and other ill-treatment can flourish - including by trying to narrow the definition of torture," he said.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros said "humane treatment of detainees is and always has been the [Defense Department] standard."
In 12 major reviews of Defense Department detention operations, none found that it ever put forth interrogation policies or guidance "that directed, sanctioned or encouraged abuse," Ballesteros said.
He said the department has conducted more than 600 criminal investigations into allegations of detainee abuse, and held more than 250 soldiers, sailors and Marines accountable for their roles in detainee abuse.
"Whenever there have been allegations of detainee abuse, we have taken them seriously, investigated thoroughly and held people accountable for any misconduct," Ballesteros said.
The U.N. committee will question U.S. officials starting tomorrow on issues ranging from Washington's interpretation of the absolute ban on torture to its interrogation methods in prisons such as those at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
The United States, like the 140 other nations that have signed the U.N. convention, must submit reports to the committee to show it is applying the rules.
The U.N. human rights watchdog has expressed concern over domestic U.S. violations of the U.N. torture convention, including use of excessive force by police and electroshock weapons and abuses against women in the prison system. The latter allegedly include sexual abuse by male guards and shackling of women while pregnant and in labor.
Still in custody
In Afghanistan, which U.S. forces invaded a few months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to oust the Taliban for harboring al-Qaida militants, hundreds of detainees remain in U.S. custody with no recourse to due legal process or human rights protection, Amnesty said.
There is no longer an international armed conflict in Afghanistan, nor is there a clear or recognized legal framework governing U.S. forces' actions in that country, Amnesty said.
In the cases of Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has reportedly improved its procedures for handling prisoners since the scandal at Abu Ghraib. But Amnesty said it continues to receive reports of torture or ill-treatment of detainees by U.S. troops.
Reported abuses involve alleged use of stun guns on handcuffed and blindfolded detainees in Iraq in March 2005 and hooding, shackling and deprivation of food and water at least until March 2005 in Afghanistan, the report said.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations' European headquarters in Geneva said it has sent a written reply to the committee's questions and would refrain from commenting ahead of its sessions tomorrow and Monday.
In its 87-page report filed in January, some four years behind schedule, Washington insisted it is "unequivocally opposed" to torture and that its commitment to the ban "remains unchanged" since the U.S. Senate ratified the convention in October 1994.
Ellie
'Widespread' abuse of detainees claimed in Amnesty International report to U.N.
Associated Press
Originally published May 4, 2006
LONDON // The United States has failed to eradicate "widespread" torture of prisoners in its war on terrorism despite the outcry from the Abu Ghraib scandal and abusive behavior at U.S. detention facilities in Cuba and Afghanistan, Amnesty International charged yesterday.
The London-based human rights group made its criticism in a report to the U.N. Committee Against Torture, which is meeting in Geneva this week to consider American compliance with the U.N. convention against torture and other cruel forms of punishment.
"Evidence continues to emerge of widespread torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of detainees held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and other locations," the report said.
Amnesty International charged that no senior American officials have been held accountable for incidents of torture or ill-treatment and said legislation passed by Congress last year has "serious limitations."
One section of that law, the group said, refers to "cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment" banned under the U.S. Constitution as defined by a series of reservations the United States has expressed regarding the U.N. Convention Against Torture.
The law is a step forward but still could leave the United States open to employ a narrower interpretation of what constitutes such treatment than is recognized under the convention, Amnesty said, adding that the United States should withdraw its reservations to the convention.
"Although the U.S. government continues to assert its condemnation of torture and ill-treatment, these statements contradict what is happening in practice," said Curt Goering, senior deputy executive director of Amnesty International USA.
'Climate' criticized
"The U.S. government is not only failing to take steps to eradicate torture. It is actually creating a climate in which torture and other ill-treatment can flourish - including by trying to narrow the definition of torture," he said.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Ballesteros said "humane treatment of detainees is and always has been the [Defense Department] standard."
In 12 major reviews of Defense Department detention operations, none found that it ever put forth interrogation policies or guidance "that directed, sanctioned or encouraged abuse," Ballesteros said.
He said the department has conducted more than 600 criminal investigations into allegations of detainee abuse, and held more than 250 soldiers, sailors and Marines accountable for their roles in detainee abuse.
"Whenever there have been allegations of detainee abuse, we have taken them seriously, investigated thoroughly and held people accountable for any misconduct," Ballesteros said.
The U.N. committee will question U.S. officials starting tomorrow on issues ranging from Washington's interpretation of the absolute ban on torture to its interrogation methods in prisons such as those at Abu Ghraib in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay.
The United States, like the 140 other nations that have signed the U.N. convention, must submit reports to the committee to show it is applying the rules.
The U.N. human rights watchdog has expressed concern over domestic U.S. violations of the U.N. torture convention, including use of excessive force by police and electroshock weapons and abuses against women in the prison system. The latter allegedly include sexual abuse by male guards and shackling of women while pregnant and in labor.
Still in custody
In Afghanistan, which U.S. forces invaded a few months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to oust the Taliban for harboring al-Qaida militants, hundreds of detainees remain in U.S. custody with no recourse to due legal process or human rights protection, Amnesty said.
There is no longer an international armed conflict in Afghanistan, nor is there a clear or recognized legal framework governing U.S. forces' actions in that country, Amnesty said.
In the cases of Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States has reportedly improved its procedures for handling prisoners since the scandal at Abu Ghraib. But Amnesty said it continues to receive reports of torture or ill-treatment of detainees by U.S. troops.
Reported abuses involve alleged use of stun guns on handcuffed and blindfolded detainees in Iraq in March 2005 and hooding, shackling and deprivation of food and water at least until March 2005 in Afghanistan, the report said.
The U.S. mission to the United Nations' European headquarters in Geneva said it has sent a written reply to the committee's questions and would refrain from commenting ahead of its sessions tomorrow and Monday.
In its 87-page report filed in January, some four years behind schedule, Washington insisted it is "unequivocally opposed" to torture and that its commitment to the ban "remains unchanged" since the U.S. Senate ratified the convention in October 1994.
Ellie