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UN Rights Chief says Torturers Will Face Justice
GENEVA – UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Friday warned torturers that they could not escape justice even if they might benefit from short term impunity.
Can the United Nations spell "U.S.A."? UN rights chief says torturers will face justice. (AFP) "Torturers, and their superiors, need to hear the following message
loud and clear: however powerful you are today, there is a strong chance
that sooner or later you will be held to account for your inhumanity,"
Pillay said.
"Torture is an extremely serious crime, and in certain circumstances can amount to a war crime, a crime against humanity or genocide," she added in a statement to mark Saturday's International Day for the Victims of Torture.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights urged governments, the United Nations and campaign groups "to ensure that this message is backed by firm action."
"No one suspected of committing torture can benefit from an amnesty. That is a basic principle of international justice and a vital one," Pillay added.
"I am concerned, however, that some states rigidly maintain amnesties that save torturers from being brought to justice, even though the regimes that employed them are long gone.
"As a result there are a number of well-established democracies that generally abide by the rule of law, and are proud to do so, which are in effect protecting torturers and denying justice," said Pillay.
That often, as a result, denied their victims reparations.
The UN human rights chief noted that more people were being prosecuted for torture every year, including recent prosecutions in Chile and Argentina for cases dating back to the 1970s and 1980s.
She also highlighted the looming verdict in Cambodia's war crimes tribunal on former Khmer Rouge prison chief Kaing Guek Eav, commonly known as 'Duch' which is due on July 26.
"There is one aspect of all this that should cause even the most ruthless and self-confident torturers to stop and think: in time, all regimes change, including the most entrenched and despotic.
"So even those who think their immunity from justice is ironclad can -- and I hope increasingly will-- eventually find themselves in court," Pillay added.
38 Comments so far
Show AllI certainly hope there is action behind those words. History repeats itself as lawlessness breeds more lawlessness and the arrogance of power makes our nation monstrous.
Targeted assassinations of US citizens, summary executions of Pakistani and Yemeni nationals on their own soil.
We still have Guantanamo and now there's Bagram. Bybee and Yee are teaching our young people and presiding in court rooms.
The most serious crime of all is aggressive war. The US has started two of those and are working starting two more. One of them (Pakistan) is a nuclear power.
Another poster on a different thread offered the link to the following story -- Israeli and U.S. troops are gathering in Azerbaijan, across the northern border of Iran. Iran has announced a declaration of war, stating that they will defend themselves against any and all attacks. Does anyone know more about this issue?
http://www.aporrea.org/internacionales/n160023.html
This morning, I watched a replay on C-Span of the conference committee on the bill creating additional (unilateral) sanctions on Iran.
Speaker after speaker from both parties rose to support the bill. Many spoke of the danger to world peace (especially Israel) and some of the IMMINENT danger to world peace because of Iran's nuclear program. Many quoted Ahmedinejad's remark about Israel's lack of a right to exist (obviously not caring that Iran's somewhat weird president is not Iran).
The whole thing is an almost uncanny recreation of the runup to the Iraq war: the WMD; the dictator who was a danger to the whole world, the "mushroom clouds" mentioned by Condoleezza Rice. I called my two senators, my representative, Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Hoyer to remind them of the neocon dream of destablizing the Middle East in order to recreate it as a group of democracies friendly to (I assume) our oil companies and to Israel -- whose own democracy is fraying around the edges as it reduces the civil rights of its own Arab citizens and the right to peace and self-determination for the Palestinian people.
Israel is not in any danger from Iran. Unlike Israel, it has not invaded another country for hundreds of years. One of its officials said recently that, since the "threat" from Iran is constant, preemptive action is the only way to solve this problem.
ARE WE TO START YET ANOTHER DAMNABLE WAR BASED ON LIES, THIS TIME BUTTRESSED BY ISRAELI PROPAGANDA?? I have absolutely no doubt that the article you read is true.
For as tragic as that would be for the Iranian people, the silver lining in invading Iran would be the last nail in the coffin of the empire.
bernice: I wasn't able to watch C-SPAN this morning, but I'm not surprised to read your report. They certainly are ramping up the rhetoric -- that's for sure! And, the rhetoric has an eerie ring to it -- as you stated in your post. Since first reading the article, I have run across a couple of other accounts of the buildup of troops in Azerbaijan. This never ends, does it?
No, but I did read that Iran is sending a boat with supplies to Gaza. They've announced that they will have a navy ship accompany the convoy.
Interesting! I hadn't read about the Iranian boat taking supplies into Gaza. Aren't two boats from Germany headed that way (Gaza), too? As I recall, the two German boats, filled with supplies for Gaza, will be manned/wo-manned by survivors of the Holocaust.
A couple of weeks ago George W. Bush admitted, publicly, to approving the torture of people captured by the United States.
The silence in the press and in Washington has been deafening.
Not only that but he had the audacity to say that he would do it again. Now, that's what I call chutzpah!
Of all the spineless whining I've seen, this ranks high. Where are the TEETH?!! Gosh, torturing is bad, and MAYBE someday we'll find our collective backbones and go after torturous criminal states. PAlease. Bush and Chaney must be shaking in their boots. More likely letting out little girlish giggles knowing full well they got away with it. At least it's being talked about, but I'm guessing it's only for show.
This is less spineless than clawless, I'd say. And clawlessness can be temporary. Israel found some of their Nazis, Argentina and Chile found some of their torturers many years later.
Aaaaah, promises, promises...
When the PR man was defending the Valdez spill he said "We don't know how much was spilled".
One lone reporter asked "Why don't you measure the oil left in the ship and subtract that from the original cargo?"
That slick fucker said "There is some evidence that alcohol was involved."
EVERY reporter in that room went after the alcohol leak. Oil was not mentioned again in that press conference.
The press sucks. You don't like a question? Yell "Look a rat"
"I called my two senators, my representative, Speaker Pelosi and Rep. Hoyer to remind them of the neocon dream of destablizing the Middle East in order to recreate it as a group of democracies friendly to (I assume) our oil companies and to Israel -- whose own democracy is fraying around the edges as it reduces the civil rights of its own Arab citizens and the right to peace and self-determination for the Palestinian people."
Called senators and reps? Why would you do that? They already know what their neocon dreams are. You were just reminding them?
What wonderful news! How soon can we expect ex-torturer-in-chief Bush and his henchman to be frog walked into waiting squad cars and shipped off to The Hague? Pretty quick?
Holding my breath here.....
[Holding my breath here.....]
Please don't do that, you might pass out. Although we now know just what it takes for someone to be above the law in the world; just get yourself elected to the presidency, or have one of your good friends be pres, and nothing you do can ever be held against you...
Who gave this third world woman so much power?
My the problems of the European's modern day Roman Babylon.
This old Indian thanks Creator life is short in your insane world and I am only passing through.
Life is good. What an experience! It's always best to forgive.
Let us not confuse torture with "enhanced interrogation techniques ". They do the former we do the latter.
You aren't really arguing that the US didn't or doesn't torture right?
Nah, he's pointing out what many others have pointed out.
It's OK when the USA (or Republicans) does it.
This lady should just shut her trap. She says in the future the UN will..... what is the UN waiting for now. These are games meant for the peasantry. Pronounce loudly. objective they know full well they will not implement or cannot implement. How does the Police, police the Police. These front organizations(UN, WTO, WHO, WB, Oxfam, NED, Amnesty International, ICC, IDB, and a constellation of others)seek to maintain their unjust status by creating continuous false tensions of all smoke and no fire.
The UN is nothing without the security council. Period. The security council is controlled lock ,step and barrel by the colonial predators with a few rotating window dressing transient countries sprinkled in to create the illusion of internationality.
Yes, I can see the UN going after selected "errant" 3rd world leaders the colonial predators wish to punish for one reason or the other, not unlike the ongoing racket called the ICC. Mugabe, Chavez, Castro, Ahmedinijad, Aristide, North Korean leadership, Winnie Mandela.etc comes to mind as prime candidates. By the way, whatever happened to Noriega former president of Panama? Sid the Americans finally tossed to France to have their turn raping him?
Let's not fool ourselves and each other. The UN is today more moribund than the defunct and dysfunctional league of nations it replaced.
Cheney will be dead first, but I for one am all for posthumous execution. It was good enough for his soul mate Mussolini. (In 1945 the body of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was lynched, hung (upside down), and shot several times after his execution by a firing squad.)
"So even those who think their immunity from justice is ironclad can -- and I hope increasingly will -- eventually find themselves in court,"
this is the kind of forward looking I can get behind.
Bush and Obama are guilty both of War Crimes AND Crimes Against Humanity. Who will "bring them to justice"? lol
No one!
Plane accidents, suicides, heart attacks, car accidents, and assassinations are used to eliminate those who threaten "The Power Elite" ...
In the end, we are all sheep lined up to go into whatever gas chamber "The Power Elite" have designed for us! There is no end to "Their Evil"!
i have stated in previous comments that israel's plan is to bring middle and near east countries under its hegemony. and that could happen only if israel remains the sole atomic power in the region.that is why they went after iraq and syrian reactors and now iran's and pakistan's. by all indicators, the war on pakistan was an israeli design in order that the (muslim) A bomb doesn't fall in the terrorists' hands as the israeli prpoganda machine has advocated. the war on pakistan assures that the bomb will fall under israel military personnel(as part of american contingency) for protecting( meaning neutralizing) the bomb from ever being used as a weapon against israel.and as usual, the americans are doing the dirty israeli war with american tax payer money, naturally.
Bring America Back !!!!
**Both houses of American Congress passed King George the "W",s 'Military Commissions Law'==which created the waterboarding and torture of Detainees, and the formation of military Kangaroo Courts at GITMO !
**Being waterboarded some 200 times, detainees at Gitmo now confess to "masterminding" the 9/11 attacks, being proud of it, and demanding martyrdom as their reward from their captives (The USA).
**The US Torture program produced the 'Patsies" the Neocons
needed to close their books on 9/11, not having found their number one Patsy==the fantasy evil dragon Osama bin Laden.
**Let us hope this UN lady keeps all members of Congress who voted for the torture legislation , on her list for eventual punishment.
The jackboot police state of US intelligence is really
good at producing 'Patsies', by way of Torture and innuendo.
We US citizens who are victims of them would like to share
in Her belief that ultimate punishment awaits the jackboots.
She'll of course not name the United States as a torturer.
Many say torture to fight "terrorism" is necessary. Reminder we executed people to fight "communism". Are we morphing into moral monsters?
The UN, IMF, WTO.......nothing more than acronyms the rich and powerful use to convince everyone else that the aristocrats really care about the rest of us.
Pillay’s comments seem a little ridiculous in view of the reaction of the public and government of the U.S. to revelations about official sponsorship of torture. That reaction probably explains why she could not bring herself to expressly mention that the architects of U.S. torture of detainees are among those who “could not escape justice even if they might benefit from short term impunity.”
Everyone knows who those architects are. Pronouncements like this, although probably eliciting only laughter in the homes of Bush, Cheney, and Obama, do have an effect. Whatever increases world-wide consciousness of officially sponsored torture is a net plus.
Anyone wanting to do something more constructive ought to consider the reasons law enforcers (prosecutors, police, FBI, grand juries, etc.), who have the power and opportunity to prosecute, fail to do so. The mind-set that results in prosecution of private torturers, such as rapists and murderers, doesn’t reside in the minds of those who could prosecute official torture. I’ve had occasion to describe a number of mental roadblocks that account for this. (http://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/06/24-4#comment-154147) By studying these roadblocks, we stand a chance of removing them from the minds of at least a few people who are positioned to make a difference.
There are plenty of us who can't by ourselves make a difference who would like to see this happen. We need to support specific steps to give law enforcers confidence that they will be rewarded for enforcing the laws against officially sponsored and tolerated torture. They won't act unless they believe that in doing so, they'll win convictions, benefit financially, and earn the esteem of their peers.
"benefit financially"
sez it all.
vdb June 27th, 2010 1:16 am -- If someone will set up a fund to reward anyone with real authority for bringing a prosecution, I'll contribute. However, there might be ethical questions. Maybe pledges to reward prosecutions by contributing to charities might be feasible.
Since the terrorist always hit N.Y. City first, I suggest that the Capital of the U.S. and all the policy makers be forced to reside with their families in N.Y.City. Let the Capital of the U.S. be in N.Y. City. The president, congress and all the corporations know that torture, blockades, and wars brings violent retaliation against the U.S. If they think that it will be them and their families then they will work their butts off for peace. Somehow someway they will see to it that there is never an attack against America again. Conflict resolutions, diplomacy, and negotiations will be the policy once the cowards feel real fear against them and their families. As far as the U.N. is concerned every time they propose economic sanctions against a nation that has been bombed in a war the U.N. breaks all their own Declarations of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
IF justice is done, then.....
Even those (especially those, actually) in the U.S. government who have been responsible (and they truly have been) for torture will be prosecuted/convicted to the full extent, in a court of law.
Patriotic Americans are horrified by those in both the Bush Administration and the Obama Administration who are initiating and condoning torture. Even those who don't actively fight against torture, are responsible.
Yes, torture is HORRID and patriotic Americans ARE horrified.
OK, round up the Bush, Cheney cartel and deny them all bail.
Excellent. Will this be today, or tomorrow?