It's Time to End Torture

Citizens for Global Solutions has launched a bold new campaign, End Torture, in response to increasingly abusive and counterproductive interrogation techniques adopted by the United States government.

The End Torture campaign urges Congress to create an Independent Bipartisan Commission on Torture and U.S. Interrogation Policy. This Commission would bring together a broad range of experts from across the political spectrum. It would be tasked with objectively defining clear policy solutions to ensure that gross human rights violations committed by, and on behalf of, the U.S. will not continue.

Our campaign is predominantly an online initiative. It will educate and engage U.S. citizens, harnessing interactive technology and social networking channels. We have developed an innovative website (www.endtorture.net) to serve as an effective educational tool for multiple audiences. The website is both informative and action orientated. It provides detailed information about torture, current legislation and has an “Updates” section, which is amended on a regular basis as we track news and policy developments around the world.

The website is built around a petition. Once a citizen adds their name, three letters are automatically sent - to their elected officials in the House and Senate - calling for them to back the creation of an independent commission. Citizens for Global Solutions’ members have been instrumental in bringing this key issue to their own communities. By doing so, we are demonstrating to Congress that the American public believes in human rights and the rule of law, and expect their elected officials to represent them accordingly.

Sadly, there is a need for such an initiative. Historically the U.S. has been a champion on human rights, as demonstrated by a longstanding commitment to the Geneva Conventions and United Nations Convention Against Torture. However, in recent years the sanctioning of unchecked executive power has brought about a number of damaging policy choices. The use of torture and other inhumane strategies masquerading behind the mantle of official U.S. interrogation policy has
led friend and foe alike to question our commitment to human rights and the rule of law.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has publicly stated that the U.S. is “a country of laws.” However, the Bush administration’s foreign policy over the last five and a half years has been tarnished by a complete disregard for international law and established norms of government behavior.

Scandals such as the detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, the CIA rendering of suspects to human rights abusing countries like Syria and Egypt and imprisonment of people without charge or due process, have all become synonymous with U.S. policy in recent years. The sanctioning of these abusive strategies has done serious damage to the reputation and integrity of our country.

More to the point, a recent study by the Intelligence Science Board, sponsored by the Defense Intelligence Agency, found that there is no credible scientific evidence to back up the use of controversial interrogation techniques in order to acquire information.

Opponents of this Commission may argue either that Congress has addressed the issue of torture or that analysis of this depth is not necessary. To either argument, the response is the same: The use of torture by, on behalf of, or as a consequence of U.S. policy decisions in this area, has resulted in massive human rights violations, significant damage to the image of our country and has placed U.S. service members at risk across the globe. For all of those reasons, and because we need to publicly recommit our nation to human rights and the rule of law, we need to create this Commission.

Contributing Writer: Tom Moran


Updated March 16, 2007