UN may investigate US and Britain torture

[bobbieinok]

Has this been reported in the US media????

The UN Committee Against Torture is currently meeting in Geneva to discuss whether member states have abided by the Geneva Convention. Experts say the Iraq torture charges could become an issue at the meeting.

....

134 signatories include U.S. and Britain


Countries that have signed on to the Geneva Convention are required to protect prisoners and to take action against violations of the act. That's all part of the UN convention against torture, which was enacted in 1987. To date, 134 countries have ratified the agreement, including the United States and Britain. The UN Torture Committee issues periodic reports measuring countries' adherence to the treaty.

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In extraordinary situations, the committee can also break with its previously selected review countries and instead deal with special cases -- a proceeding that Mark Thomsen believes will be applied following the allegations and photographic evidence that U.S. soldiers have tortured Iraqi prisoners. In these instances, the acts of the Geneva Convention can be invoked.

"Because both the United Kingdom and the U.S. are states parties, it does apply, even through Iraq is not a state party to the convention," Thomsen explained. "The USA and U.K. as occupying powers are enforcing their jurisdiction and are, therefore, responsible for what is happening in Iraq."

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http://www.dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1433_A_1195772,00.html

[Spazito]

1. That is good news!

I have been waiting to see what would be done as I know that signatory countries have the responsibility to act when the Convention is contravened. I will be watching closely to see what comes of this, it is a test of the Convention itself, imo. If no action is taken, the Geneva Convention, for all intents and purposes, is dead.

[pacifictiger]

2. The problem with the UN

is that the US has way too much power over what goes on. Why do you think there have been no action taken over resolutions condeming certain Israeli actions.

Check this out.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3566427&thesection=...

a few exerpts
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Experts in torture are not surprised by the details in the stories of abuse which continue to emerge from US-run prisons in Iraq. And the more that emerges the less it seems to be the work of a handful of sadists or perverts.
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The techniques, which rest on principles of psychological disorientation rather than inflicting physical pain, were pioneered in Russia and China after the Second World War. They included humiliation, hooding, disorientation and depriving prisoners of sleep, warmth, water, food and human dignity. The KGB and Chinese secret police passed them on to the North Koreans during the Korean war,
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In Israel what was called "moderate physical force" was once lawful and security forces ended up torturing as many as 85 per cent of Palestinian security detainees " thousands of people" before Israel's Supreme Court in 1999 outlawed acts such as shaking prisoners, hoods, frog crouching, chair perching and sleep deprivation.

Despite this, according to Human Rights Watch, the practice seems to have increased in the past year and the head of the American defence contracting firm implicated in the torture of Iraqis at Abu Ghraib visited an Israeli "anti-terror" training camp in the occupied West Bank earlier this year.
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[whistle]

3. Very good news, BushCO black ops can then have...

...a reason to blow up the UN Building in New York City.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Renew Deal]

5. What do you want to replace it with?

[pacifictiger]

6. Sadly for the world

the UN is the best institution we've got. Idea is good, but it has become corrupted over the years by the superpowers having too much say and the smaller countries brokering deals with each other to even have a place at the table. It needs to be fixed for sure, but lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
When people such as Negroponte are appointed as spokesman for the country who wields the most influence, is it any wonder it is not working.