US 'war on terror' eroded rights worldwide: experts Agence France-Presse

Published: Monday February 16, 2009





Print This Email This President Barack Obama's new administration presents a unique chance for Washington to remedy human rights violations committed in its anti-terror efforts, a rights report said Monday.



"The change in US administration provides a unique opportunity for change," the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said in its report, "Assessing Damage, Urging Action."



"In the course of this inquiry, we have been shocked by the extent of the damage done over the past seven years by excessive or abusive counter-terrorism measures in a wide range of countries around the world," said ICJ member Arthur Chaskalson, former chief justice of South Africa.



"Seven years after 9/11 it is time to take stock and to repeal abusive laws and policies enacted in recent years," said ICJ President Mary Robinson, a former UN human rights commissioner and president of Ireland.



"Human rights and international humanitarian law provide a strong and flexible framework to address terrorist threats," she added.



"It is now absolutely essential that all states restore their commitment to human rights and that the United Nations takes on a leadership role in this process. If we fail to act now, the damage to international law risks becoming permanent."



The report focussed on abuses committed by states in the "war against terrorism," a phrase that it appealed for the international community to reject.



"The present political climate may provide one of the last chances for a concerted international effort to take remedial measures and restore long-standing international norms," the ICJ added.



The report was damning in its assessment of the United States' counter-terrorism measures, accusing it and other leading liberal democracies of having "actively undermined" international law.



"The panel found that the framework of international law is being actively undermined, and many states are reneging on their treaty or customary law obligations," said the group.



The report, which covers over 40 countries, looked at instances of people being tortured in secret prisons as well as others held for extended periods without access to the external world, including lawyers and courts.











