Torture in the US Following 9/11
& The Rejection of Humanity
International Accountability
The Not-So-Simple Solution
Use of Torture by the U.S. Post 9/11
The End of Torture?
An Imperfect Treaty
In April 2013, the Constitution Project published a report detailing the findings of a non-partisan task force concerning the treatment of detainees after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
According to their research,
- 10 techniques deemed "not torture" by Office of Legal Counsel Director Jay Bybee and used on detainees included: "attention grasp, walling, facial hold, facial slap, cramped confinement, wall standing, stress positions, sleep deprivation, insects placed in a confinement box, and the waterboard."
- The CIA acknowledged that the U.S. used torture techniques that it has condemned other countries for using.
- President George W. Bush, VP Cheney, and Sec. of Defense Rumsfield deny that the approved CIA techniques were "torture."
- Systematic torture of detainees by guards occured in detention centers throughout Iraq and involved abuses such as forced nudity, humiliation, and burning on hot surfaces.
If the international community, specifically the United Nations, wishes to abolish torture, it must continue to investigate gross abuses of power and pledge to hold individual countries and their government leaders accountable for their actions.
- Although the methods used by U.S. security leaders post-9/11 were mainly motivated by the desire to eliminate a national threat, they violated both the American belief in individual rights and a treaty with the international community.
- As global citizens, we have the responsibility of protecting human life and dignity. Peace cannot be achieved through violations of human rights.
Upon joining the Convention, Pakistan declared that the Treaty would only be applied when not in conflict with National and Sharia Law.
- Following censure from many countries, and Belgium's mention of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, which states that "the party may not invoke provisions of internal law as justification for failure to perform treaty," Pakistan withdrew its reservations a year later.
In addition, the United Arab Emirates declared that "the lawful sanctions applicable under national law, or pain or suffering arising from or associated with or incidental to these lawful sanctions, do not fall under the concept of “torture” defined in article 1 of this Convention or under the concept of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment mentioned in this Convention."
- Despite protest from many countries, and the Vienna Convention, the U.A.E. has yet to withdraw its declaration.
Bibliography
Presence of Catholic Social Teaching
International Sanctions on Torture
Pennock, Michael. "Principles of Catholic Social Teaching." Catholic Social Teaching: Learning & Living Justice. Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria, 2007. 13-15. Print
The Report of The Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment. Publication. Washington D.C.: Constitution Project, 2013. The New York Times. 16 Apr. 2013. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.
United Nations. Treaty Series. Vol. 1465. New York: United Nations, 1996. 24833-24846.United Nations Treaty Collection. Web. 11 Jan. 2014. <https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY>.
The U.N. Convention against Torture echoes CST in its text:
- "...recognition of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world, those rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person (CST Principle), the obligation of States...to promote universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms"
The Treaty recognizes:
- We are a human family and must work for peace (Principle of Solidarity)
- An international structure is needed to promote human development (Principle of the Common Good),
- Society and governments must protect human life (Principle of the Call to Family, Community, & Participation)
- A just society depends on respect for life (Principle of Respect for Human Life)
Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in December 1984, the U.N. Convention against Torture currently has 154 parties and is ratified by all but ten. The United States signed in '88 and ratified the Convention in '94.
- The first part of the text bans torture, as defined by the Convention, under all circumstances including external threats. It also forbids the return of a refugee that may be subject to torture in their home country, requires investigation into allegations of torture, and forbids the use of evidence gained by means of torture.
- The second part of the text establishes the Committee against Torture, which investigates allegations of systematic torture. However, states may choose not to recognize the "competence of the Committee." This is currently the case for nine countries including Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.