Basic Human Decency Calls for Speedy Senate Action on the U.N. Torture Treaty

Last month, after many years of delay, the United States signed the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Speedy approval by the Senate would signal to the world that Americans are committed to human rights as a matter of principle and not just of expedience.

The right not to be tortured is one of the most basic human rights. Yet this barbaric practice persists in the 1980s in more than one-third of all countries around the world, an affront to humanity and democratic values that knows no geographic or ideological boundaries.

Torture assumes various forms. Victims may be subjected to unbearable pain, prolonged deprivation, humiliation or other physical or psychological abuse. They may be beaten, burned, mutilated, raped, isolated or forced to eat excrement. Torture is used to extract confessions, gain information or simply to intimidate. It may be conducted by the state, or by police or security forces that the state is unwilling to control.

Drafted by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights with the help of groups like Amnesty International, the convention commits signatories to the banning of torture and provides a system for reviewing complaints. It was adopted by acclamation by the U.N. General Assembly in December, 1984, after seven years in the drafting stage. It was hailed by Amnesty International as “a significant step toward the worldwide eradication of torture.” Particularly important among the treaty’s terms are:

--The principle that alleged torturers be prosecuted.

--A prohibition against the sending of refugees or others back to countries where they risk torture.

--The exclusion of “following superior orders” as a defense, and the principle that statements extracted by torture cannot be used as legal evidence.

--The obligation on the part of signatory governments to investigate reliable allegations of systematic torture and related practices, and to compensate victims.

--The ceation of a 10-member committee, made up of respected human-rights experts, to look into allegations of torture.

The U.S. government strongly supported the work of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights during the drafting process. Just before its adoption by the United Nations, the convention was approved by a non-binding joint resolution of both houses of Congress that was later signed by the President.

After being ratified or acceded to by more than 20 nations--including France, Sweden, Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Uganda and the Soviet Union--the U.N. convention went into effect last June. Many other states have since joined. But formal ratification by the U.S. Senate has been delayed by a lengthy review process, first at the State Department and then at the Department of Justice, where the concern focused on implications for law enforcement.

It would behoove the Senate to act promptly. By delaying ratification, the United States puts moral leadership on behalf of freedom and human rights at unnecessary risk. It makes us look like reluctant and selective adherents to human principles. Before any nation can follow our lead, it must see that our respect for the rule of law, including the proscription of torture and related atrocities, is not subject to political expedience. Like the U.N. Genocide Convention that has been ratified but not yet implemented, the torture treaty is a litmus test of our national integrity.

Extending the international sanctions against torture is only a step toward a more humane world. But it is a firm step in the right direction, down a road that America helped to build. Treaties alone cannot eliminate torture, but they provide an essential framework and standard for changing the behavior of states. Crucial to the strength of such agreements is American participation. On so basic an issue of credibility and conscience, a nation that claims to be the very symbol of freedom cannot be left behind.