U.S. creating "climate of torture" Amnesty International alleges

Social justice news
May 2006

Environmental justice 101
More than 1 million nationwide march for immigration reform
Report finds U.S. still among top executing countries
Thousands at risk as Darfur peace agreement delayed
UN: End foreseen for global child labor
U.S. creating "climate of torture" Amnesty International alleges
USCCB says U.S. cannot remain silent on Darfur

U.S. creating "climate of torture"
Amnesty International alleges
Amnesty International on May 3 released a report detailing its concerns about torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners and detainees both in the U.S. and in U.S. detention sites around the world.

The report has already been sent to members of the UN Committee Against Torture, who will be examining the U.S. compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 5 and 8 May in Geneva. The Convention against Torture prohibits the use of torture in all circumstances and requires states to take effective legal and other measures to prevent torture and to provide appropriate punishment for those who commit torture.

The U.S. is reportedly sending a 30-strong delegation to Geneva to defend its record. In its written report to the Committee, the U.S. government asserted its unequivocal opposition to the use or practice of torture under any circumstances—including war or public emergency.

"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. "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."

The Amnesty International report describes how measures taken by the U.S. government in response to widespread torture and ill-treatment of detainees held in U.S. military custody in the context of the "war on terror" have been far from adequate. This is despite evidence that much of the ill-treatment stemmed directly from official policy and practice.

The report reviews several cases where detainees held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan and Iraq have died under torture. To this day, no U.S. agent has been prosecuted for "torture" or "war crimes".

"The heaviest sentence imposed on anyone to date for a torture-related death while in U.S. custody is five months—the same sentence that you might receive in the U.S. for stealing a bicycle. In this case, the five-month sentence was for assaulting a 22-year-old taxi-driver who was hooded and chained to a ceiling while being kicked and beaten until he died," said Curt Goering.

"While the government continues to try to claim that the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody was mainly due to a few 'aberrant' soldiers, there is clear evidence to the contrary. Most of the torture and ill-treatment stemmed directly from officially sanctioned procedures and policies—including interrogation techniques approved by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld," said Javier Zuniga, Amnesty International's Americas Programme Director.

The report also lists concerns surrounding violations of the Convention against Torture under U.S. domestic law, including ill-treatment and excessive force by police, cruel use of electro-shock weapons, inhuman and degrading conditions of isolation in "super-max" security prisons and abuses against women in the prison system—including sexual abuse by male guards and shackling while pregnant and in labour.

The U.S. last appeared before the Committee Against Torture in May 2000. Practices criticized by the Committee six years ago—such as the use of electro-shock weapons and excessively harsh conditions in "super-maximum" security prisons—have in some cases been exported for use by U.S. forces abroad—serving as a model for the treatment of U.S. detainees in the context of the "war on terror".

"The U.S. has long taken a selective approach to international standards, but in recent years, the U.S. government has taken unprecedented steps to disregard its obligations under international treaties. This threatens to undermine the whole framework of international human rights law—including the consensus on the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," said Javier Zuniga.

Amnesty International called on the U.S. to demonstrate its commitment to eradicating torture, by withdrawing the reservations it has entered to the Convention against Torture, including its "understanding" of Article 1 of the Convention, which could restrict the scope of the definition of torture by the U.S..

The organization also called on the U.S. to clarify to the Committee in no uncertain terms that under its laws no one, including the President, has the right or authority to order the torture or ill-treatment of detainees under any circumstances whatsoever—and that anyone who does so, including the President, will have committed a crime.

Amnesty International is campaigning to stop torture and other ill-treatment in the "war on terror."

Back to page top