Thursday 7 February 2013

human rights and the selective justice.

Human Rights are  very selectively applied. We know that too well. We cannot even dream about their universal application. Human Right violations and  'War crimes ' by Others are selectively addressed under the jurisdiction of International Law. Crimes involving the West and its Allies are covered up .

The American Justice system has even refused hearings to the victims of  American Torture.

I wonder how far this report will go towards addressing the stark imbalance in universal justice.   It is easier to arrest a Nepali Army Colonel accused of torture than to look within.

 Col Lama was, incidentally speaking, tried by a Nepali Army Court and he did lose a Rank as punishment. The British Army, though, has yet to punish its many torturers -the ones whose systemic torture in Iraq is now in  a British Court.



CIA rendition report author believes UK could face human rights court

British and 24 other European governments accused by OSJI of co-operating in global kidnap, detention and torture operation
Rendition claims
US air force planes land at Diego Garcia in support of the 'war on terror' after 9/11 attacks. Photograph: Larry A Simmons/USAF
Up to two dozen European countries including the UK could face proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights from their involvement in the CIA's extraordinary rendition operations after 9/11, according to a human rights organisation that has documented worldwide secret support for the programme.
At least 54 different governments – more than a quarter of the world's total – were covertly engaged with the global kidnap, detention andtorture programme, according to a report published on Tuesday by theOpen Society Justice Initiative (OSJI), a New York-based NGO. The greatest number – 25 – were in Europe, while 14 were in Asia and 13 in Africa.



So extensive was the participation of governments in Europe and elsewhere across the world that the OSJI believes the CIA could not have operated its programme without their support.
"There is no doubt that high-ranking Bush administration officials bear responsibility for authorising human rights violations associated with secret detention and extraordinary rendition, and the impunity that they have enjoyed to date remains a matter of significant concern," the report says.


The OSJI reports that the UK supported CIA rendition operations, interrogated people being secretly detained, and allowed the use of British airports and air space. The organisation concludes that the UK also arranged for one man, Sami al-Saadi, to be rendered, along with his entire family, to Libya, where he was subsequently tortured, and provided intelligence that allowed a second similar operation to take place.


"At the same time, while US courts have closed their doors to victims of secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations, legal challenges to foreign government participation in these operations are being heard in courts around the world."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/05/cia-rendition-report-uk-court

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home