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Arab Americans Support Senate Effort on Anti-Torture Convention

Posted on Tuesday June 8, 2004

Durbin Amendment to Reaffirm US Commitment in Wake of Abu Ghraib Scandal

Washington- Today, the Arab American Institute expressed its strong support for an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill recently introduced by Senator Richard Durbin’s (D-IL), which would reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the Convention Against Torture, an agreement the U.S. previously ratified.

As a party to the Convention Against Torture, the United States should honor the obligations required by it, including the section that states that no person in the custody of United States authorities be subjected to “cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by the Fifth, Eighth, and/or Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States,” a pledge that President Bush himself confirmed American commitment to in June 2003.

If passed, this amendment would serve three purposes: it would ensure the rights of detainees; it would help reestablish world opinion of the United States; and it would help protect American service men and women who find themselves prisoners of war in current or future conflicts.

“The recent abuse of detainees in Iraq underscores the need for Congress to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the Convention Against Torture,” said James Zogby, President of the Arab American Institute. “The Durbin amendment offers a clear and consistent policy guaranteeing the humane treatment of detainees held by U.S. authorities, consistent with the United States’ international commitments.”