Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, Article 5 states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
In 2006, CAT recommended
that the U.S.A. ensure that the Convention applies at all times, whether in
peace, war or armed conflict, and that the provisions of the Convention
expressed are applicable to "territory under the State party's
jurisdiction," which applies to all persons under the effective control of
its authorities.
The Committee against
Torture (CAT) invited the U.S.A. to reconsider its intention not to become a
party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. CRC made a
similar recommendation.
As of May 30, 2011 the United
States does not have a national human rights institution accredited by the
International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion
and Protection of Human Rights. CERD recommended that the U.S.A. consider
the establishment of a national human rights institution in accordance with the
Paris Principles. CRC and the Working Group of experts on people of
African Descent made similar recommendations.
CERD recommended that the
State ensure a coordinated approach toward the implementation of the Convention
at the federal, state and local levels. The United Nations (CAT) noted that the
U.S.A. had a federal structure and had an obligation to implement the
Convention against Torture in full at the domestic level. Likewise, CRC
recommended strengthening coordination in the areas covered by OP-CRC-SC, both
at the federal and state levels.
The International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, including the right to life and freedom of
association and expression, should be protected from violations not only by
State agents, but also private persons or entities. (Human Rights Committee, general comment No.
31 on article 2 of the Covenant on the nature of the general legal obligation
imposed on States parties to the Covenant, 26 May 2004.)
A/RES/58/178 of 22 December
2003 The United Nations Charter and The Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
and the General Assembly resolution 53/144 of 8 March 1999, adopted the
Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs
of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms, known as the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and
subsequent resolutions.
The United States has a
responsibility in relation to actions and omissions of non-State actors. Article 12, paragraph 3, of the Declaration, was
also reiterated by numerous human rights bodies, the Human Rights Committee and
the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
UN CAT, Article 1. 1 “For
the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by
which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally
inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person
information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has
committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him
or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when
such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent
or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official
capacity. It does not include pain or
suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”
The Statute of Rome
Under the Rome
Statute (International Law) "Enforced disappearance of persons" means
the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by, or with the authorization,
support or acquiescence of, a State or a political organization, followed by a
refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on
the fate or whereabouts of those persons, with the intention of removing them
from the protection of the law for a prolonged period of time.”
The Statute of Rome had included rape in its definition of crimes against
humanity, but the Foca rape case made that language a reality. After the court's decision in the Foca case,
one commenter noted that, "Now we say rape is a crime, a crime against
humanity, or a war crime or a constituent part of genocide." The ICC Statute is important because it
expands the coverage of crimes against women to more than just rape. The ICC statute also makes clear that such
crimes as sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced
sterilization and sexual violence are all punishable under international law.
It is pertinent to review “The
right of torture survivors to reparations as a matter of international law.”
Chorzow Factory Case (Germany v Poland), 1928, PCIJ, ser. A, no. 17, p. 47.
Impunity of the
perpetrators may prolong or, in some cases, may deepen the mental scars borne
by the victim or by members of their families, as denial of the wrong makes
psychological healing difficult. To
obtain justice through the legal system, the torture victim is expected to
testify about the violation suffered in order to create a public record of the
event. While this truthful telling may
have a reparative value for many victims, it may also be deeply traumatic, triggering
emotional wounds. In addition, those who
suffer from the mental anguish of torture do not necessarily show physical evidence
of it. Thus, perpetrators seeking to
evade accountability try to deny the extent of their victims’ trauma and
suffering. To start the healing process,
it is necessary to acknowledge the pain and the wrongs suffered, and to put in
place proper protocols to stop the abuse from recurrence. 
Torture is the calculated physical and psychological assault on the
individual, a practice used to instill fear, punish or degrade, to dehumanize,
or to obliterate the self. It is often said that anyone who has been tortured
remains tortured, long after the physical wounds have healed. Torture is the
deliberate infliction of severe pain by one human being against another. It leaves particular kinds of mental and
psychological scars. This trauma is different from other traumas because
torture is a violation committed in secret and in spite of official denial. 
The U.S.A. or any nation cannot indicate to potential perpetrators of
human rights violations that, over time, their actions will be forgotten. The U.S.A. should not deny to victims and
their families the comfort of knowing that their suffering is recognized. Facilitators of past injustice, who protect perpetrators
as if they are entitled to immunity, seem intent to deny the past and its
implications. They seek to place blinders
on our government leaders about the resultant future. This “blindness” is not a pathway to national
security that can ensure the safety and protection of America’s citizens. To follow existing patterns into greater
disaster means we do not learn from our mistakes and make the necessary changes
to prevent similar problems in the future. 
