- UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The
United States lost its battle against a new international treaty aimed
at eliminating torture and improving prison conditions as a UN committee
overwhelmingly approved the pact.
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- The UN General Assembly's Third Committee, which deals
with human rights questions, voted 104 to 8 with 37 abstentions to adopt
the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture.
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- The committee also soundly rejected -- 98 to 11 with
37 abstentions -- a US amendment that would have removed funding for the
treaty from the general UN budget and forced the parties to the protocol
to shoulder its costs.
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- The votes set the stage for a showdown on the floor of
the UN General Assembly next month when all the members of the world body
are to vote on adopting the treaty that would create a regime for global
prison inspections.
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- The State Department had said that Washington would abstain
from Thursday's vote on the protocol if its financing amendment was approved
but reiterated major objections to the treaty.
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- "We have concerns about a number of elements and
over a 10-year negotiating period we have worked hard with the international
community to fix the major problems," spokesman Richard Boucher said.
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- He stressed that the United States "abhorred the
despicable practice of torture" and would continue to be a leading
advocate against it, but said Washington could not support the new treaty.
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- Boucher said the prison inspection system itself was
inadequate as it did not provide for surprise visits to detention facilities
but would rather have experts look at them in scheduled trips on a rotating
basis.
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- "It's a flawed inspection process that shows little
likelihood of really finding the evidence of torture and working to combat
torture," he said.
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- "There would be plenty of opportunity to ... clean
everything up before they (the experts) got there," he said.
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- Given that objection and Washington's inability to correct
the deficiencies at earlier stages in the UN process, Boucher said the
United States is adamantly opposed to requiring all UN members, including
itself, to pay for the treaty.
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- "We've basically decided that because this protocol
does not produce real results against torture, we're not going to be a
party to it and not being a party, we don't think we should have to pay
for it," he said.
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- Under the UN's sliding scale of assessments, the United
States will have to pay 22 percent of the cost of the new prison inspections
regime if the General Assembly adopts the protocol.
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- Human rights groups have denounced the US position, accusing
Washington of siding with nations charged with rights abuses -- such as
China, Iran, Cuba and Sudan -- against some of its closest allies, particularly
in Europe.
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- New York-based Human Rights Watch and London-based Amnesty
International say the United States is trying to derail the treaty with
its financial amendment.
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- They said the US amendment could deter poorer countries
-- who could most benefit from the inspection program -- from signing up
to the treaty.
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- "Prevention of torture should not be a privilege
of wealthy countries," said Renzo Pomi, Amnesty International's representative
at the United Nations.
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- Rory Mungoven of Human Rights Watch said the US stance
would undermine Washington's credibility as a torture foe.
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- "America has nothing to gain by trying to undermine
this important human rights initiative and positioning itself alongside
some of the world's worst violators," he said.
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- Copyright © 2001 AFP
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