[prisoner-rights] UN Committee against Torture scrutinises US anti-terrorism policies

The United States should comply with its obligations under the UN
Convention against Torture and stop sending terrorist suspects to torture
countries

Vienna, 9 May 2006. As the UN Committee against Torture scrutinized US
anti-terrorism policies during its current session in Geneva, the US
continued to defend its practice of sending terrorist suspects to
countries with well-established records of torture. The International
Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) strongly condemns this practice
and calls on the US and other countries to scrupulously respect the
absolute ban on torture in their efforts to counter terrorism.

The US told the UN Committee against Torture, which examined its
compliance with the UN Convention against Torture for the first time since
September 11, that it does not transfer persons to countries where it is
“more likely than not” that they will be tortured. The US has consistently
advocated this dubious standard for determining the risk of torture in
receiving countries and has included it among a set of “understandings”
relating to its application of the Convention against Torture. The US also
insisted that, when deemed appropriate, it seeks assurances from receiving
countries that those transferred will not be subjected to torture.

In its “war on terror,” the US has repeatedly transferred terrorist
suspects to countries that routinely practice torture, such as Syria,
Morocco, Jordan, and Egypt. The transfers have frequently been implemented
outside due process of law, and testimonies provided by victims and their
family members indicate that they have in – at least – some cases been
undertaken for the specific purpose of obtaining terrorist-related
intelligence through the use of abusive interrogation methods. These
so-called extraordinary renditions are in serious violation of article 3
of the UN Convention against Torture, which prohibits sending people to
countries where there are substantial grounds for believing that they
would be in danger of being subjected to torture (the so-called
non-refoulement principle). This is the case even if the intent has not
been to facilitate torture and the US has obtained assurances from
receiving governments that those transferred will be treated humanely. As
highlighted by both the international human rights community and
international human rights officials, diplomatic assurances are an
inherently flawed device – the perceived need for them is in itself an
acknowledgment that a risk of torture and ill-treatment exists in the
receiving countries – and they do not provide effective protection against
torture.

There are also indications that European governments have been complicit
in US operations to transfer terrorist suspects to countries where they
are at risk of abuse. An interim report recently published by a European
Parliament committee established to investigate the matter concluded that
the CIA has, on several occasions, “been clearly responsible for the
illegal abduction and detention of alleged terrorists” in Europe, and
found it unlikely that “certain European governments would not have been
aware of extraordinary rendition activities taking place on their
territory.” The report, inter alia, criticized Italian, Swedish and
Bosnian authorities for acquiescing in US-led operations of this kind and
for thereby contributing to human rights violations.

The IHF calls on the US government to withdraw its unduly narrow
interpretation of article 3 of the UN Convention against Torture and to
comply with this article in all its counter-terrorism efforts. The US
should, under no circumstances, send terrorist suspects to countries with
notorious records of torture, even if it has obtained so-called diplomatic
assurances for their safety. The IHF also calls on all European
governments not to participate in, or facilitate, such transfers from
their territories and to actively cooperate with the ongoing
investigations into US-led rendition activities in Europe, which are
carried out by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe.

For more information:
Aaron Rhodes, IHF Executive Director, +43-1-408 88 22 or +43-676-635 66 12
Ann-Sofie Nyman, IHF Researcher, +43-1-408 88 22 32
Henrietta Schroeder, IHF Press Officer, +43-1-408 88 22 41 or
+43-676- 725 48 29