MOSCOW, November 13 (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova — Human Rights Watch hopes that the United Nations will press the United States over abuses of the international Convention Against Torture, the senior national security researcher in Human Rights Watch's US Program Laura Pitter told Sputnik Thursday.
“There is definitely the lack of accountability for the past abuses by this administration,” Pitter said. “I expect the US will have to answer the questions of the committee in that regard today. I hope they will press them on those issues because accountability on those abuses is incredibly important. Those abuses undermine the treaty and also undermine the deterrent effect of the treaty preventing the future abuses.”
US officials are currently being questioned over the US government's compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, following a series of abuses that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Laura Pitter stressed that there is a “lack of accountability for the past abuses” by the current US administration of President Barack Obama. However, the current administration has improved the situation, though not enough.
“I believe that the current administration has improved on the prior administration. The Obama administration has issued an executive order banning torture and making clear that in the future it will adhere to the treaty obligations,” Pitter said noting that the past abuses continue to be a very serious problem.
However, she underlined that Washington should be doing more in that regard.
“They did not go far enough, they should be making clear that treaty obligations apply to whoever the United States has effective control, and now should include all the US facilities abroad, not just Guantanamo,” Pitter said.
The Bush administration claimed the UN Convention Against Torture only applied within US borders.
The UN Committee Against Torture includes ten independent experts, who review the records of 156 signatories to the UN Convention Against Torture, which prohibits all “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
