Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-12-14-Speech-3-135"
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"en.20051214.14.3-135"2
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"Mr President, Mr President of the Commission, when it comes to protecting human rights, we have to be clear – either those rights have been violated or they have not. Torture is still torture whether it takes place in Iraq, Afghanistan, China or Pinochet’s Chile. If there have been cases of torture in a democratic country, with the tacit acceptance of an elected government, it does not stop being torture; it is an embarrassment to that country and its government.
We must first condemn outright any act that may constitute a violation of human rights, whether that be humiliation, illegal imprisonment or the detention of prisoners without legal protection. I therefore commend Mr Frattini on taking such a clear stand. The EU, which created, and is in the process of strengthening, the area of freedom, security and justice, cannot allow such violations to be practised or facilitated on its territory.
There has been mention in this debate of statements made by Condoleezza Rice, which left no room for doubt. The problem is that we are left with the uncomfortable impression that there are two strands of rhetoric on this issue; it is as though within the Bush Administration there were the Rice strand and the Cheney strand.
The New York Times reported last week that there was substantial evidence of torture by US interrogators, and NGOs, such as Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First, which have reported serious and alarming incidents.
The United States is not helped by the continuing Guantanamo situation, by Donald Rumsfeld’s refusal to authorise a UN humanitarian mission, by the doubts expressed in a recent interview by Head of CIA, Peter Goss, as to whether degrading treatment can be considered torture, or by President Bush’s threat to block the McCain amendment, which would ban the cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees.
I must congratulate the United Kingdom on the law lords’ recent decision that information obtained under torture cannot be used as evidence in court. In the Europe of values and freedoms, we want to know the facts, and, if something inappropriate has taken place, we want to make sure that it does not happen again. In democratic Europe we do not convict people on the basis of
assumptions, without any evidence. The EU must therefore make every effort to cooperate with the Council of Europe and with the ongoing investigation. This is the best way of ensuring that the truth will emerge and that our values will prevail."@en1
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