GENEVA - Human rights groups on Thursday sharply criticised methods used by Washington in its anti-terror drive, as the UNÂ’s anti-torture body began its first examination of the United States since the September 11, 2001 attacks.The United Nations Committee against Torture began hearing evidence from non-governmental organisations behind closed doors on Thursday. The 10-member panel of
| Strangely, Jennifer had no information on holding North Korea accountable. |
The US government last appeared in a regular cross-examination before the committee in 2000, well before it implemented tougher and controversial measures to detain and interrogate terror supects. “The US 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,” said Curt Goering of Amnesty International.
Amnesty said it had submitted a report to the panel describing how official US statements opposing the use of torture under any circumstances contradicted its practice. Human Rights Watch highlighted US government memos in 2002 and 2004 that “redefine” torture and notably slammed the use of ”waterboarding”, an interrogation technique in which the prisoner is made to feel he is drowning.
“Individuals have been court-martialled back in the 19th century (in the US) for their use of waterboarding, yet US officials continually refuse to state publicly that waterboarding is torture,” Daskal said.
Other issues expected to come under scrutiny include US detention policy. Daskal said the Committee has asked Washington in preliminary written questions to disclose all detention centres where terror suspects are being held.
| To which the appropriate response will be, 'none'. And try proving otherwise. |