09 May 2006
U.S. Prohibits All Torture; 103 Troops Court-Martialed for Abuse
Officials report on U.S. position to U.N. Committee Against Torture
By Vince Crawley
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington – U.S. law forbids torture under any circumstances anywhere and anyplace, senior Bush administration officials told the United Nations Committee Against Torture in Geneva on May 8.
John B. Bellinger III, the State Department’s senior legal adviser, said 103 American military personnel have faced court-martial trials for cases involving the mistreatment of detainees in U.S. custody. Of those trials, 89 resulted in federal convictions.
Charles Stimson, a Pentagon official, told the U.N. committee that the controversial procedure of interrogation known as “waterboarding” is now prohibited by Army regulations.
Stimson was part of the high-level U.S. delegation, led by Bellinger, that presented the United States’ formal report on the Convention Against Torture May 5-8. The United States is among 141 nations that are party to the U.N. Convention Against Torture, which requires signatories to submit reports on their treaty compliance every four years. (See related article.)
Bellinger told reporters in Brussels, Belgium, in advance of the U.N. committee meeting that the United States was sending a large delegation -- more than two dozen U.S. government officials – “to demonstrate that we take the process very seriously.” (See related article.)
He gave an oral presentation May 5 and also submitted 184 pages of written responses to questions by the committee. Those responses have been made public by the U.S. government, as have follow-up questions Bellinger answered May 8.
“Let me be very clear about our position,” Bellinger told the U.N. Committee May 8. “U.S. officials from all government agencies are prohibited from engaging in torture, at all times, and in all places.”
Further, he said, “every U.S. official, wherever he or she may be, is also prohibited from engaging in cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as defined by our obligations under the Convention Against Torture. This is the case even in situations where the law of armed conflict applies.”
Bellinger has argued that the United States believes the Convention Against Torture primarily applies to civil-law situations and that another body of international law covers armed conflict. In any event, he added, both bodies of law prohibit torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of those in custody.
Stimson, deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, addressed the U.N. committee to discuss actions taken against U.S. military personnel who have been accused of mistreating detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
He said “waterboarding” – a form of simulated drowning – “is not listed in the current Army Field Manual and therefore is not permitted for detainees under DoD [Department of Defense] control.” The revised Army Field Manual specifically prohibits waterboarding, Stimson added.
Recounting legal actions that have been taken against soldiers accused of mistreating detainees, Stimson said, “Of the hundreds of thousands of service members who are or have been deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq, there have been approximately 800 investigations into allegations of mistreatment, including approximately 600 criminal investigations.” In many cases, no misconduct was found. Administrative, disciplinary and judicial measures have been used against more than 250 service members, and 170 investigations are still under way, he said.
“To date, there have been 103 courts-martial; 89 service members were convicted – an 86 percent conviction rate,” Stimson told the committee. “Moreover, 19 service members received sentences of one year or more. Furthermore, more than 100 service members have received nonjudicial punishment; more than 60 were reprimanded; and to date, 28 service members were involuntarily separated from military service. Accountability is ongoing.”
Answering a question from the committee about whether supervisors have been investigated or held accountable, Stimson said, “The answer is emphatically yes.”
Transcripts of U.S. statements before the U.N. Committee Against Torture are available on the Web site of the U.S. Diplomatic Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.
For additional information, see Detainee Issues.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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