Link:
"Today in Geneva, the United States began its periodic presentation to the Committee Against Torture, a body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by States that are party to it. The Administration embraces the universal values enshrined in the Convention Against Torture?which the United States signed in 1988 and ratified in 1994?and affirms the U.S. government?s deep commitment to meeting its obligations under the Convention."
More:
Despite concerns from some civil libertarians that the statements today still allowed for some exclusions ? such as U.S. government sites in other countries ? Yale Law Professor Harold Hongju Koh praised the move.
Koh, fairly fresh off his stint as legal adviser to the State Department,
went public last week with a plea to Obama to unequivocally say ?yes? to the torture ban.
He issued the following statement to
the Intercept today:
When asked if the torture treaty applies without exception, the Bush Administration answered ?no.? The Obama Administration said, ?There should be no doubt: the U.S. affirms that torture and cruel inhuman and degrading treatment are prohibited at all times and in all places and we remain resolute in our adherence to these prohibitions.? That unequivocal statement explicitly changed the USG?s official position, and took a significant step forward in recognizing application of the treaty extraterritorially and in armed conflict. In so doing, they placed critical distance between them and the Bush administration.
It always seemed insane to me that, in the 21st century, in a nation that is supposed to be some shining beacon of human progress, governed by principles learned through the previous 3,000 or so years of human history,
there was even a debate about whether we should torture people, let alone we actually
DID for some 8 odd years. Thank fuck we've apparently moved past that.
