Twenty-two years ago today, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into effect. In recognition of this anniversary, The ACLU is highlighting their recently launched Accountability for Torture effort.
The ACLU is committed to restoring the rule of law. We will fight for the disclosure of the torture files that are still secret. We will advocate for the victims of the Bush administration's unlawful policies. We will press Congress to appoint a select committee that can investigate the roots of the torture program and recommend legislative changes to ensure that the abuses of the last eight years are not repeated. And we will advocate for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to examine issues of criminal responsibility.
We can't sweep the abuses of the last eight years under the rug. Accountability for torture is a legal, political, and moral imperative.
To the end of "transparency" and not sweeping torture under the rug, today was supposed to also, ironically, have been the day the long held 2004 CIA report on torture, the report that supposedly undercuts claims that torture worked to foil terror plots, but it's been delayed, again.
The ACLU, which is seeking the document, sends over a letter they received indicating that the agency has requested a three-day delay, meaning the report could be declassified middle of next week. The somewhat cryptic reason given is that more time is needed "for consultation within the government regarding any release."
Translation: We’re still trying to figure out how much of this report we can avoid declassifying....
The report is called the "Holy Grail" by some Dem staffers because it contains a whole chapter describing the "effectiveness" of torture, which reportedly concludes that there’s no proof that info gained from torture ever foiled any terror plots. It’s also expected to cast new and serious doubts on the legality of the torture program — which means its release could fuel calls for a real probe.
A real probe would certainly be welcome. The United State is actually compelled to honor its commitment against torture, as argued eloquently by Nahal Zamani, Advocacy Associate, from the ACLU Human Rights Program.
The U.S. ratified CAT in October 1994. By ratifying CAT, the U.S. is therefore obligated to comply with the provisions of the treaty just as it would any other domestic law — the U.S. Constitution makes clear that such treaties are "the Supreme law of the Land." Although the Bush administration tried to convince the American people and the rest of the world otherwise, CAT applies to all U.S. actions and wherever the U.S. exercises effective control — both at home and abroad. That means, CAT applies to the actions of U.S. officials at U.S.-run detention facilities, including Guantánamo, and other U.S. detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan. As one of the countries that helped write CAT and as a signatory to the torture treaty, it is the United States' obligation to ensure that no one is subject to torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment on our watch.
Beyond the legal obligation, we have a moral one, says Phillip Butler, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a former Navy light-attack carrier pilot who, like John McCain, was tortured in Vietnam.
Civil liberties and human rights organizations around the country are calling for accountability for torture. I’m amazed and profoundly disappointed that this has apparently become necessary in our country....
As a torture survivor; I am concerned. We cannot afford to regress to the 15th century or stoop to the level of countries that have institutionalized torture. Even on a practical level, we must not thereby endanger our own citizens, in uniform or out, who might be kidnapped or captured by others in the future. These violations of our Constitution and rule of law have resulted in reducing our nation to the level of international pariah. Our beacon of liberty and justice no longer shines throughout the world. We no longer set the example for other nations to follow. We no longer stand on a firm foundation.
As a patriot who fought and sacrificed for our country, I ask all Americans to stand up for what is civil, humane and right. If we don’t demand accountability for the crimes that were committed in our name, then we as a nation will have effectively institutionalized the torture of the last eight years. Let’s keep the promise for ourselves and all humanity, the promise that is our United States of America.
Also providing critical testimony is Khadija Anna Lucia Pighizzini, an Italian citizen whose husband, Abou Elkassim Britel is one of the plaintiffs in the Jeppesen rendition case. The ACLU interviewed her:
Official investigations have implicated four governments in my husband's "extraordinary rendition" and torture. The Pakistani government tortured him so brutally that he confessed he was a terrorist. The CIA abducted and detained him in Pakistan before unlawfully rendering him to certain torture in Morocco; the Moroccan government detained and tortured him; and the Italian government was complicit in the whole affair; they knew full well what was going on and did little or nothing to help him.
The American government is influential, they must intervene to secure my husband's release and bring him home to Italy. If the American government intervenes, I believe that Italy will call for Britel to be liberated and Morocco will comply. It's the least they could do given their involvement in his "extraordinary rendition". I've already asked the American embassy in Morocco for a meeting or for an intervention to liberate my husband. I've also visited the embassy twice, and spoken to the staff there. Suffice to say, my request has fallen on deaf ears and I don't know where else to turn.
There's a great deal for America to atone for. Without the efforts of the ACLU, we wouldn't know as much as we do about the Bush torture regime, but an official accounting is essential for restoring the rule of law, for moving the nation forward.