The United Nations Special Rappoteur on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism, Martin Scheinin, has issued his his preliminary Findings following an official 10-day visit to the United States. (A full report will be forth coming.) Although few will ever become aware of it, because the MSM almost never covers anything the UN says or does, even when it directly concerns the United States, there are other international players in the international community that will note the sharp criticism leveled by the Special Rapporteur. http://www.unhchr.ch/...
Scheinin’s remarks echo some of those previously offered by other UN human rights experts, including the UN Human rights Committee, the UN Committee against Torture, and the group of independent experts that were denied entry to Guantanamo (except on risible terms).
Scheinin concludes that
Despite the existence of a tradition in the United States of respect for the rule of law, and the presence of self-correcting mechanisms under the US Constitution, it is most regretful that a number of important mechanisms for the protection of rights have been removed or obfuscated under law and practice since the events of September 11, including under the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, Military Commissions Act of 2006, and under Executive Orders and classified programs.
Schenin says the "war on terror" is not a war and there is no such thing as "alien unlawful combatants":
The Special Rapporteur does not consider the international fight against terrorism as a "war", at least not in other than rhetorical terms...The persons detained at the US military facility at Guantánamo Bay have been categorized by the United States as alien unlawful enemy combatants. It must be made clear that this is a description of convenience only without legal effect, since there is no such third category of persons under international law. Those that participate in hostilities are either "combatants", or "civilians" who have participated in hostilities and are thus subject to detention and prosecution.
The detentions at Guantanamo are unlawful:
In the case of those who have been captured during armed hostilities in an international or non-international armed conflict, but in respect of which there is no allegation of offending against the laws of war, such individuals should be released, or tried by civilian courts for their suspected other crimes. The Special Rapporteur considers that the detention of this group of persons for a period of several years without charge undermines the right of fair trial, and that the United States has thereby placed itself in a position of having to release many of these persons without charge.
So are the military commissions:
As to the composition of military commissions, the Special Rapporteur has serious concerns about the independence and impartiality of the commissions, their potential use to try civilians, and the lack of appearance of impartiality
So are CIA "enhanced interrogation techiniques"
As a result of an apparent internal leak from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the media in the United States learnt and published information about "enhanced interrogation techniques" used by the CIA in its interrogation of terrorist suspects and possibly other persons held because of their links with such suspects. Various sources have spoken of such techniques involving physical and psychological means of coercion, including stress positions, extreme temperature changes, sleep deprivation, and "waterboarding" (means by which an interrogated person is made to feel as if they are drowning). With reference to the well-established practice of bodies such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee Against Torture, the Special Rapporteur concludes that these techniques involve conduct that amounts to a breach of the non-derogable right to be free from torture and any form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In a meeting with the Special Rapporteur, the Acting General Counsel for the CIA refused to engage in any meaningful interaction aimed at clarifying the means of compliance with international standards of methods of interrogation and accountability in respect of possible abuses. Despite repeated requests on the part of the Special Rapporteur, the CIA did not make themselves available to meet again with him. In light of this lack of cooperation and corroborating evidence from multiple sources, the Special Rapporteur can only conclude that the conduct of his country visit gives further support to the suspicion that the CIA has indeed been involved, and continues to be involved, in the use of enhanced interrogation techniques that violate international law.
preliminary FindingsUN Human rights CommitteeUN Committee against Torture