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Amnesty International
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Published: August 17, 2006
Amnesty International is an international, non-governmental organization committed to promoting the human rights established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Amnesty International is an organization independent of political, governmental, economic or religious associations.
Amnesty International functions by sending teams of researchers to investigate claims of human rights violations across the globe. These investigators then publish their findings and work to mobilize action dedicated to stopping human rights violations.
One of the main goals of Amnesty International is to abolish all forms of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, and to end all state-sanctioned terrorism, killings and mysterious disappearances. Recently Amnesty International published its 2006 report on the state of the world's human rights. One of the major areas under examination was the practice of torture.
Amnesty International found the state of human rights has continued to deteriorate, especially through actions taken by the world's powerful governments participating in the War on Terror. According to the report, these governments continue to sacrifice human rights in the pursuit of security. The governments in question continue to engage in a double-standard in which they are exempt from being condemned by violating human rights through the use of torture in counter-terrorism tactics. This action is founded on the assumption human rights are an obstacle in the pursuit of security.
Amnesty International's report found the main culprits in the use of torture in the War of Terror have been the United States and Europe. Amnesty International discovered thousands of detainees remain held in United States' custody in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and in secret detention centers believed to exits in Europe, North Africa and elsewhere.
The United States holds these detainees under a presumption of guilt. These detainees are not given prisoner of war status, right to legal counsel or right to be brought before a competent tribunal. Instead, the United States government refuses to clarify its legal status and labels them enemy combatants or terrorists, denying them the right to be presumed innocent.
These detainees are subject to torture and ill-treatment. They are often abused through torture tactics while held in long hours of interrogation. These tactics include drowning simulations, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, sleep deprivation, confinement in close quarters, force feeding and other forms of ill-treatment. Some detainees, as reported to Amnesty International by Guantanamo Bay prisoners' testimonies, resort to hunger strikes or attempted suicide.
Amnesty International also found mounting evidence the United States government outsourced torture through renditions. Renditions are the transfer of individuals to another country without any form of judicial or administrative process, oftentimes in secret. The United States allegedly was transferring detainees to countries known to use torture and ill-treatment in interrogation such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The reports also found evidence the United Kingdom and other European countries were involved in aiding the United States with these secret transfers.
Amnesty International discovered the United States government also was running a system of covert prisons called black sites. These sites were secret detention centers run by the CIA in Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and other unknown locations in Europe. Three dozen detainees of high intelligence value have disappeared in United States black sites.
Amnesty International believes the attempts of governments to weaken the ban on torture and other ill-treatment has compromised both moral integrity and the efforts to combat terrorism. The establishment of secret detention centers and the outsourcing of torture is evidence the United States and its allies have openly defied the universal ban on torture.
Amnesty International has made efforts and is currently working on holding these nations accountable for their actions. In 2005, the United States government passed legislation prohibiting torture and inhumane treatment of detainees. However, Amnesty International has found the United States government has done little to enforce this legislation. Amnesty International is currently working to bring about more international action to stop the practice and spread of torture.
Amnesty International functions by sending teams of researchers to investigate claims of human rights violations across the globe. These investigators then publish their findings and work to mobilize action dedicated to stopping human rights violations.
One of the main goals of Amnesty International is to abolish all forms of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, and to end all state-sanctioned terrorism, killings and mysterious disappearances. Recently Amnesty International published its 2006 report on the state of the world's human rights. One of the major areas under examination was the practice of torture.
Amnesty International found the state of human rights has continued to deteriorate, especially through actions taken by the world's powerful governments participating in the War on Terror. According to the report, these governments continue to sacrifice human rights in the pursuit of security. The governments in question continue to engage in a double-standard in which they are exempt from being condemned by violating human rights through the use of torture in counter-terrorism tactics. This action is founded on the assumption human rights are an obstacle in the pursuit of security.
Amnesty International's report found the main culprits in the use of torture in the War of Terror have been the United States and Europe. Amnesty International discovered thousands of detainees remain held in United States' custody in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay in Cuba and in secret detention centers believed to exits in Europe, North Africa and elsewhere.
The United States holds these detainees under a presumption of guilt. These detainees are not given prisoner of war status, right to legal counsel or right to be brought before a competent tribunal. Instead, the United States government refuses to clarify its legal status and labels them enemy combatants or terrorists, denying them the right to be presumed innocent.
These detainees are subject to torture and ill-treatment. They are often abused through torture tactics while held in long hours of interrogation. These tactics include drowning simulations, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, sleep deprivation, confinement in close quarters, force feeding and other forms of ill-treatment. Some detainees, as reported to Amnesty International by Guantanamo Bay prisoners' testimonies, resort to hunger strikes or attempted suicide.
Amnesty International also found mounting evidence the United States government outsourced torture through renditions. Renditions are the transfer of individuals to another country without any form of judicial or administrative process, oftentimes in secret. The United States allegedly was transferring detainees to countries known to use torture and ill-treatment in interrogation such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Syria. The reports also found evidence the United Kingdom and other European countries were involved in aiding the United States with these secret transfers.
Amnesty International discovered the United States government also was running a system of covert prisons called black sites. These sites were secret detention centers run by the CIA in Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan and other unknown locations in Europe. Three dozen detainees of high intelligence value have disappeared in United States black sites.
Amnesty International believes the attempts of governments to weaken the ban on torture and other ill-treatment has compromised both moral integrity and the efforts to combat terrorism. The establishment of secret detention centers and the outsourcing of torture is evidence the United States and its allies have openly defied the universal ban on torture.
Amnesty International has made efforts and is currently working on holding these nations accountable for their actions. In 2005, the United States government passed legislation prohibiting torture and inhumane treatment of detainees. However, Amnesty International has found the United States government has done little to enforce this legislation. Amnesty International is currently working to bring about more international action to stop the practice and spread of torture.
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