Ambassador Sichan Siv, our United States representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, tried to block a vote to enforce the 1989 treaty against torture. This was voted down amid widespread criticism from our allies as was a bid to reopen ten years of negotiations on the protocol, a measure to inspect the conditions under which prisoners and detainees are held world wide to expose the most grievous violations of human rights.
What does America stand for if not basic human rights? Is the Bush administration afraid that torture will be found in the U.S. penal system or in our military justice and detention programs? As citizens of the world’s greatest democracy we have a right to know.
Everett
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