Committee: United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)
Topic A: Torture and International Accountability
Photograph by Staton Winter / Source: United Nations Photo
Inmates at Monrovia Central Prison in Liberia wear new uniforms given to the Monrovia Corrections Department in a formal handover by Moustapha Soumaré, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Recovery and Good Governance of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
"If terrorism is to throw terror into the heart of your enemy in the name of Allah, then we thank Him, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, for enabling us to be terrorists." (Khalid Sheikh Mohammed) Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is a detainee at the U.S prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mohammed has been tortured for his involvement in the attack on the U.S on September 11th. It has been reported that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been water boarded more than one hundred and fifty times, for information on Al Qaeda and his crimes against the United States. Although the United States has signed conventions and Declarations composed by the United Nations to stop torture and other inhuman acts, they, like so many other countries, violate human rights by disregarding the documents they swore to uphold.
The United Nations has devised Conventions, Resolutions, Convents and Declarations in order to prevent torture and other crimes against humanity; some examples are The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convent on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. These conventions are to protect individuals from torture. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment states that “torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of public officials or other persons acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.” (“United Nations”) Torture and violence have plagued every part of the world, and the Human Rights Council was established to protect the rights of all persons.
Torture has been a very controversial subject in the media. Governments debate whether torture should be legal, and under what circumstances. Carlton Meyer is a former Marine Corps officer who has participated in military operations around the world. He had written dozens of articles for military magazines, but became frustrated that important issues are being ignored by editors fearful of upsetting their corporate advertisers or government sponsors. He notes, “Torture may save lives, but it is likely to backfire and cause more deaths in the long run.” (Meyer) Meyer believes that in America’s War against Terror, torture only impedes American interests because with the torture of its enemies, the U.S incites more terror attacks by angering its opponents. “One of the reasons that most Iraqis now hate American occupiers is because of the widespread and officially sanctioned torture in Iraq. After the routine torture at Abu Ghraib prison was exposed, the U.S Army dispatched investigators who determined that 80 percent of the arrested Iraqis had committed no crime.” (Meyer) Another argument in the stance against torture is that if one country does not abide by the Geneva Conventions, then it gives other nations the leeway to ignore the conventions also. Troops like the American troops will not just face torture for information but also for payback. Many say that the “ticking time bomb” theory is justification for torture. Supporters of torture argue that by torturing individuals for information might save thousands of people from the potential bomb that the terrorist has planted. Alan Dershowitz, a professor of law at Harvard University, suggested a “torture warrant”. Dershowitz proposes that when a captured terrorist brags that a big bomb will explode and kill people, he should be tortured to save lives. In a case like this a high-level court authority could issue a “torture warrant”. Meyer disagrees with Dershowitz and all of the other defendants of torture, who support it in the case of the “ticking time bomb”. He states that this idea is unrealistic, simply because a terrorist would not brag about the bomb he has planted for two simple reasons. One would be because the said terrorist will not boast if it will result in torture, and because alerting his captors to look for and disarm his device would defeat the purpose of planting the bomb. Meyer also states that there is more to life than staying alive. He believes that a society must have standards and laws, and once those are dropped, man will devolve and the society will collapse. As he says, “Civilized people do not torture people.”(Meyer).
On the affirmative side, the allies for torture have come to an agreement that torture is immoral, but under certain circumstances it should be permissible. Sam Harris is a writer for the New York Times, Washington Post, and the Huffington Post; he has also written several books. In the Huffington Post, Harris has written a powerful article entitled In Defense of Torture. Collateral damage is damage that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. Harris discusses in his article that collateral damage is a part of war and that there is no way of getting around it. He believes that in order to do the most significant work, torturing would be an effective tool. Harris wants Americans to take their blinders off and realize that bombing a country and killing innocent civilians in hopes of hitting a small target causes more harm than torturing someone one who is a known or suspected terrorist. “To learn that one’s grandfather flew a bombing mission over Dresden in the Second World War is one thing; to hear that he killed five little girls and their mother with a shovel is another. We can be sure that he would have killed many more woman and girls by dropping bombs from pristine heights, and they are likely to have died equally horrible deaths, but his culpability [guilt] would not appear the same. There is much to be said about the disparity here, but the relevance to the ethics of torture should be obvious.” (Harris) If society is going to decide that torture is wrong and inhuman Harris wants them to realize that what is occurring right now is no different than the atrocities that occur on the battle field. “..if we are willing to drop bombs or even risk that rifle rounds might go astray, we should be willing to torture a certain class of criminal suspects and military persons; if we are unwilling to torture, we should be unwilling to wage modern war.” (Harris) If we are willing to engage in modern war, then we must be willing to do whatever we need to do in order to win it, even if it includes torture.
The Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Convent on Civil &Political Rights have many provisions that provide guidelines for countries to adhere to in order to diminish torture and punish those who commit crimes involving torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights discusses all the rights all persons possess at birth and the individual rights that each must recognize such as, “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.” (Article 10) Similar to the United States’ Constitution each country is presumed to give each citizen the right to a fair trial; this protects them from being persecuted for a crime that they may not have committed. “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it is independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.” (Article 2) Racism is prevalent in all countries throughout the world; this declaration was formed in order to encourage equality. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights strongly encourages multicultural appreciation in the hopes that it will slowly diminish torture and discrimination of individuals based on their differences
Even though the United Nations has both written convents and conventions in order to stop torture and inhuman treatment, these activities still occur all over the world. In Egypt, Wa'el Tawfiq has been captured twice, once at the Cairo International Book Fair on January 22, 2002, and again on April 12, 2003. During his first encounter with the authorities he was given electric shock to his right wrist, and he was also beaten by the guards. “On September 6, 2002, Manuel García de la Cruz, a human rights activist for the indigenous people in Guatemala, was murdered. Witnesses say when they found his body, he was decapitated and his ears, nose, and eyes were removed.” (Amnesty International) The indigenous are commonly discriminated against in South America; this blatant discrimination caused Garcia de la Cruz to fight for their rights and to keep them safe from people who wanted to take their land. “All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.” (Article 5 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights) This article states that the indigenous people were entitled to protection without discrimination; this right was denied to them and as a result of the countries refusal to treat people fairly, Manuel Garcia de la Cruz was murdered.
In countries where freedom of speech is not a right, torture becomes common, which makes being an activist a dangerous task. In Indonesia Nazaruddin Abdul Gani and three other members of The Rehabilitation Action for Torture Victims in Aceh, were beaten by police, and two were shot at point blank range. Nazaruddin Abdul Gani managed to escape but the other victim did not survive. “Each State party shall ensure that education and information regarding the prohibition against torture are fully included in the training of law enforcement personal, civil or military, medical personnel, public officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment.” (Article 10 The Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment) It is the country’s job to train the individuals who are under their authority to not use methods of torture in their jobs, and to inform them that such methods are unacceptable. Indonesia failed to do so which resulted in many citizens being tortured and murdered.
The Human Rights Council continues to work around the world providing people with food, medicine, shelter, education and other resources. The Human Right Council is currently tackling Genocide, Sexual Violence in Conflict, Children and Armed Conflict among other pressing subject matters. Sexual Violence in Conflict is running rampant throughout the world; the most widespread use is in South America, the Middle East and Africa. The Human Rights Council has started the “Stop Rape Now” campaign to bring awareness and encourage people to stand up against sexual violence. Another major reason for the for the campaign is to empower women who have fallen victims to these crimes; many times they are afraid to stand up against their attacker, which allows their attacker to get away. Some countries such as Chad, Indonesia, Guatemala, and Egypt who have signed conventions do not abide by them. So it is the job of the Human Rights Council to continue to stand up and protect the rights of all persons. Through publications, testimonies, campaigns and conventions about torture, the Human Rights Council has brought awareness of torture, and other important issues.
Questions
- How is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights both different from and similar to the United States Bill of Rights?
- To what degree have human rights been achieved in countries worldwide over the last 50 years?
- To what degree do you believe the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are “Western” documents?
- Are there any rights you disagree with?
- Should torture be legal: why or why not?
- In your opinion, are there any rights that should be added or eliminated from the documents?
Works Cited
Amnesty International “Stories of torture in the 21st Century” 25 June 2003. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/POL30/005/2003/en/beb37176-fad2-11dd-b531-99d31a1e99e4/pol300052003en.pdf.
Clark, Josh “When is torture legal”. How Stuff Works. 2006 http://science.howstuffworks.com/legal-torture.htm.
Harris, Sam “In Defense of Torture”. Huffington Post. 17 October 2005. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-harris/in-defense-of-torture-_b_8993.html.
Meyer, Carlton “The Argument against Torture”. Military com. 24 August 2004. http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Defensewatch_082404_Meyer,00.htl.
UN: Convention against Torture and other Cruel, inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment. Audiovisual Library of International Law 2008. http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/catcidtp/catcidtp.html.
“UN: Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment. “Human Rights Council” 26 June 1987 http://www.hrweb.org/legal.cat.html.