U.N.: Prosecute CIA Agents For Waterboarding “Torture”
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The controversial interrogation technique known as waterboarding and used by the United States qualifies as torture, the U.N. human rights chief said on Friday.
“I would have no problems with describing this practice as falling under the prohibition of torture,” the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, told a news conference in Mexico City.
Arbour made her comment in response to a question about whether U.S. officials could be tried for the use of waterboarding that referred to CIA director Michael Hayden telling Congress on Tuesday his agency had used waterboarding on three detainees captured after the September 11 attacks.
Violators of the U.N. Convention against Torture should be prosecuted under the principle of ‘universal jurisdiction’ which allows countries to try accused war criminals from other nations, Arbour said.
“There are several precedents worldwide of states exercising their universal jurisdiction … to enforce the torture convention and we can only hope that we will see more and more of these avenues of redress,” Arbour said.
The U.S. Congress is considering banning the practice, in which prisoners are immobilized and water is poured into their breathing passages to simulate drowning.
Arbour referred to an arrest warrant issued in 1998 by a Spanish judge for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who died in 2006, on charges of torture, murder and kidnapping in the years that followed his 1973 coup.
Latin American dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s were known to use waterboarding on political prisoners.
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“Violators of the U.N. Convention against Torture should be prosecuted under the principle of ‘universal jurisdiction’ which allows countries to try accused war criminals from other nations, Arbour said.”
What no mention of AQI, AQA, MMA, Muslim Brotherhood, Fatah, Hamas or Hizbollah? How about Iran?
I hear crickets chirping bitch. Take your PC idiocy some place else.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:29 pmA perfect example of WHY DO OUR TAX DOLLARS FUND THIS MINDLESS ORGANIZATION?????
February 8th, 2008 at 4:35 pmC’mon Dan - Consider how traumatized these simple goat herders are from waterboarding. Everyone knows there are no long-term effects from beheading.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:37 pmForget this stupid twat. and fuck the UN. Im tired of these enablers conducting business on our soil and on our dime.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pmWhat has the UN done?
UN peacekeepers have been accused of sexual abuse in missions from Bosnia and Kosovo to Cambodia, East Timor, Somalia, West Africa and Congo. Last year the UN investigated approximately 150 allegations of sexual abuse by UN staff and peacekeepers in the Congo, including rape, prostitution and pedophilia…..No word on any prosecutions or convictions.
I would rather be water boarded.
February 8th, 2008 at 4:49 pmSo if we can’t waterboard can we hack their heads off? You seemed to be not even the least interested as to what AQI does to their captives. What a real cunt.
February 8th, 2008 at 5:10 pm@PhilNBlanx
Excellent point. No mention also of the murder of the unborn. No doubt that comes under the UN charter on “decreasing the surplus population”.
February 8th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
The U.N. out of the U.S. and the U.S. out of the U.N.
February 8th, 2008 at 5:33 pmIt is as simple as that folks.
We should demand from the next administration that this happen. Fat chance, I know, but a real nice thought.
This woman is an enemy of The United States.
What a bitter old ugly woman.
February 8th, 2008 at 5:33 pm———————————————————–
Yeah?
Try it …
We actually LOAD our guns here … and I’m NOT just talking military and law enforcement, bee-aauch!
February 8th, 2008 at 5:40 pmWaterboarding IS TORTURE. That doesn’t me that I am not okay with it though.
February 8th, 2008 at 5:46 pmI’m on the fence about this one, because it is a fine line between torture and harh interrogation. If it does not actually cause permanent damage, I would probably be okay with it under “extrodinary” situations, but NOT to have it as a routine practise.
February 8th, 2008 at 6:40 pmFuck the Hague and the UN. Reinstitute General Order 100. Then dare this beyatch or anyone else to stop us.
February 8th, 2008 at 6:56 pmThe UN is out date and serves no purpose beyond writing strongly worded letters and running scams. Time for the US to tell them to go F themselves.
February 8th, 2008 at 7:05 pmstay in the UN, the veto power is too useful to abandon. if the world uses the UN security council to gang up on us all we have to do is veto the resolution to use force.
February 8th, 2008 at 9:42 pmSenator DICK turbin Durbin wants the Justice Department to open an investigation on this issue. I e-mailed Senator DICK turbin Durbin Friday morning telling him (probably didn’t make it through the intern screener) that I thought he should be waterboarded everyday until we find out who he’s really working for.
February 9th, 2008 at 12:59 amThis would be funny if it weren’t just so f***ing outrageously stupid, coming at the same time that Iran announces a mandatory death penalty for apostasy while Egypt declares that because Islam is the “most free of religions”, Muslims have inherent religious freedom and so cannot convert to any other faith. I think Islamic “logic” is rubbing off on her.
February 9th, 2008 at 7:05 amHillary and Obama have both made it clear THIS is the Governmental body
they’ll have allegiance to.
Not the United States.
BTW, That bitch looks a lot like Danny Aiello.
February 9th, 2008 at 11:10 am