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U.S. Seeks to Block U.N. Vote on Torture
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The U.S. is blocking a protocol allowing prisons and detainees to be visited by international observers
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UNITED
NATIONS, July 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United States
sought to hold up voting Wednesday, July 24, 2002, on a new U.N.
protocol on torture prevention that would allow outside inspection of
U.S. prisons and terrorist detention centers.
The
"optional protocol" to the Convention against Torture was
scheduled to be voted upon by the U.N. Economic and Social Council
(ECOSOC).
The
treaty, which would establish an international system of inspection
visits to places of detention, such as police stations and prisons, is
widely supported by ECOSOC members, including the European Union.
According
to the text, the objective of the protocol is "to establish a
system of regular visits undertaken by independent and national bodies
to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to
prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and
punishment," reports news agencies.
The
United States is opposed, arguing that such visits would be too
intrusive, and has submitted an amendment for open-ended talks on
"the current text and the process connected with it,"
seeking further debate on the text - a move that has drawn widespread
criticism from human rights groups.
Among
the U.S. concerns is language that could allow international and
independent visits to U.S. prisons and terrorism suspects being held
by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba, reports
news agencies.
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"U.S.
opposition to a development in international law which would
prevent torture is appalling," said the head of Amnesty
International's legal program
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The
U.S. amendment seeks the creation of a working group to redraft the
protocol, effectively postponing its eventual approval by the U.N.
General Assembly for at least a year.
"U.S.
opposition to a development in international law which would prevent
torture is appalling," said Martin MacPherson, the head of
Amnesty International's legal program.
"A vote against the optional protocol would be a disastrous
setback in the fight against torture," he said. "To re-open
negotiations at this time could only lead to watering down the text -
so that it will fail to fulfill its aim, to prevent torture and
ill-treatment still so prevalent around the world."
According
to an Amnesty report, authorities in 111 countries tortured or
ill-treated people last year, reports news agencies.
A
U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, said the United States
was simply anxious to avoid a split vote.
"We
do not want to prevent in any way discussion of the issue, but we
believe further consultation is needed to reach a consensus," he
said.
If
the original text is put to the vote Wednesday, the United States -
lacking the veto power it wields in the U.N. Security Council - can
only abstain or vote against.
A
'no' vote could put the United States in the uncomfortable position of
siding with countries like China, Cuba and Iran, which have been
widely accused of practicing torture.
Supporters
of the optional protocol say it would prove a crucial tool for
monitoring governments who may be signatories to the U.N. Convention
Against Torture but do not fulfill their international obligations.
The
United States has, in recent months, been the target of international
criticism over its treatment of detainees at its Marine base in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where around 560 suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda
fighters from more than 30 countries are being held.
U.S.
authorities have refused to give the Guantanamo detainees
prisoner-of-war status, as set out under the Geneva Conventions, and
are reserving the right to try them before secret U.S. military
tribunals that have the power to impose the death penalty.
The
optional protocol has already been under discussion in the United
Nations for more than 10 years, since it was proposed in its first
draft by Costa Rica in 1991.
Rory
Mungoven, Global Advocacy director for Human Rights Watch warned that
re-opening negotiations would be the "kiss-of-death" for the
treaty, and allow abusive governments to water down or block its
adoption.
"Yet
again the [U.S. President George W.] Bush administration is on a
collision course with its allies over an important new mechanism to
protect human rights," he commented.
"By
sending this treaty for more negotiations, the United States would be
playing into the hands of countries such as Cuba and Iran, which want
to block international scrutiny of human rights," Mungoven said.
Addressing
U.S. concerns, Mungoven also pointed out that the protocol contained
many checks and balances, ensuring consultation with governments,
prior notification of visits and the confidentiality of inspection
team reports.
The
U.N. Convention Against Torture was adopted by the General Assembly in
1984 and came into force four years later.
The
convention on torture was passed in 1989 and has been ratified by 130
countries, including the United States in 1994.
The
U.S. stance is the latest in a wave of unilateral actions that have
infuriated Washington's closest allies, including rejection of the
Kyoto pact on global warming and the treaty creating a new
International Criminal Court aimed at combating genocide and war
crimes, reports news agencies.
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