A Joint NGO Statement
WORLD: Prohibitions against torture under attack
As we observe the annual U.N. International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on June 26, we would like to celebrate advances that have been made to end the deliberate infliction of pain on others to obtain confessions, gather information or any of the other rationales offered for torture. But we cannot. Torture, or the possibility of being tortured, is a part of life today in most Asian countries, especially for the poor who comprise the majority of citizens in those countries where torture is widely practiced. Poverty, in fact, creates the vulnerability and powerlessness that make the poor prime targets of abuse as torturers feel they are immune from prosecution and, hence, are above the law.
Torture today though is not confined to Asia or other less developed regions of the world. It has become a global trend in the wake of September 11 and the declaration of the war on terror. Those world powers that were seen to be at the vanguard of promoting and protecting human rights since the end of World War II are now seeking to redefine what constitutes torture and to justify its use. Abu Gharib and Guantanamo Bay, for example, have now become embedded in the international communitys consciousness with the U.S. government and torture. When the worlds lone superpower feels its power is inadequate and must therefore seek to circumvent international norms prohibiting torture, the door is opened for far less powerful nations in Asia and elsewhere in the world to also embrace torture as a strategy for resolving contradictions in society or simply for maintaining law and order.
It is in this environment that civil society is called upon to protect itself from this abuse of power by government by upholding the legal and moral prohibitions against torture. Civil society must pressure their government to sign and ratify the U.N. Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) if it has not already, to enact the conventions provisions into domestic law and, most importantly, to enforce that law. Civil society must also ensure that police officers are professionally trained to investigate criminal activity. Torture must not be used as a shortcut or excuse to solving crimes.
Moreover, civil society must also support those people and their families who have suffered from torture. This assistance entails support for the legal battles that must be fought for torture victims to attain justice, the psychological and emotional support necessary to overcome the traumatic experience they have endured and financial support for their legal struggles, medical needs and loss of income, especially since most victims in Asia are poor.
In the next year, it is hoped that this dismal assessment of torture in Asia and the global trend we have witnessed in recent years will be replaced by a record of achievement. For this development to take place though, governments must uphold their duty to sign, ratify and enforce CAT. They must not seek loopholes in international law through which they wish to absolve themselves of any responsibility for torture, for there is no rationale today or in the future that can justify torturing another human being.
Signatures
Asia-Pacific Mission for Migrants
Asian Centre for the Progress of Peoples
Asian Human Rights Commission
Asian Students Association
Centre for Justpeace in Asia
Hong Kong Christian Institute
Justice and Peace Commission of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese
Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers
United Filipinos in Hong Kong
World Student Christian FederationAsia-Pacific
