U.N. Says Ban on Torture Becoming Casualty

[Judi Lynn]

U.N. Says Ban on Torture Becoming Casualty
By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

Wednesday, December 7, 2005
(12-07) 17:08 PST UNITED NATIONS, (AP) --

The U.N. human rights chief warned on Wednesday that the global ban on torture is becoming a casualty of the "war on terror," singling out reported U.S. practices of sending terrorist suspects to other countries and holding prisoners in secret detention.

Louise Arbour's comments sparked an immediate rebuke from U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who said it was "inappropriate and illegitimate for an international civil servant to second-guess the conduct that we're engaged in in the war on terror, with nothing more as evidence than what she reads in the newspapers."

Bolton said it would be far more appropriate if Arbour had used Human Rights Day to talk about "the real human rights problems that exist in the world today." He did not elaborate on the problems.

Arbour told reporters she chose the theme of "terrorists and torturers" to mark Saturday's annual commemoration of the U.N.'s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 because of concerns that the absolute ban on torture, once believed to be unassailable, is under attack.
(snip/...)

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/12/07/national/a170853S62.DTL

[rodeodance]

1. gawd, that Bolton is one stupid jerk!

......Louise Arbour's comments sparked an immediate rebuke from U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who said it was "inappropriate and illegitimate for an international civil servant to second-guess the conduct that we're engaged in in the war on terror, with nothing more as evidence than what she reads in the newspapers."

[grytpype]

2. This story makes Bolton look like shiet.

what a scumbag. nice representation we have there in the un.