UNITED NATIONS, May 19: The UN Committee Against Torture called on the United States on Friday to close its prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as part of an effort to ‘eradicate’ torture by its personnel and expressed concern over reports of secret detention centres and the practice of sending terror suspects to countries with poor human rights records.
A committee report expressed concern over reports of torture by US military or civilian personnel in Iraqi and Afghan prisons.
The UN panel said the US should end all forms of torture, investigate allegations promptly and thoroughly, and prosecute those responsible.
The panel of experts released a brief report from its headquarters in Geneva, and urged Washington to close any secret detention facilities holding suspected terrorists overseas.
The report, made available to journalists in New York, challenged the Bush administration’s practice of sending prisoners to countries where torture has been known to occur.
American officials told the investigators that the US did so only after receiving assurances that there would be no abuse, but the panel said that such pledges should only be accepted from countries which have good records on human rights, and after an examination of details of an individual case.
It made clear that the United States and the international community remained far apart on a wide range of issues, including whether the torture treaty’s protections applied to Guantanamo detainees.
The panel referred to reports that the US had been involved in ‘enforced disappearances’ and said that it considered American officials’ assertions ‘that such acts do not constitute acts of torture’ to be regrettable.
