GENEVA, March 12, 2008
U.S. Denies U.N. Torture Chief Iraq Access
American Prisons In Iraq Remain Off-Limits To World Body's Investigator
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Iraqi soldiers guard detainees arrested near city of Baqouba, some 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007. Iraq has permitted the U.N. torture investigator access to Iraqi-run prisons. The U.S. is not following suit. (AP Photo)
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Manfred Nowak, one of the global body's independent human rights experts, said Iraqi officials had agreed in principle that he can visit the country later this year. British officials have also agreed to let him visit detainees held by their forces, he said.
"The U.K. said yes, the U.S. said no," Nowak told reporters in Geneva, adding that he was still hoping to win approval for a visit to American-run facilities before deciding whether to travel to Iraq.
Nowak said he met Tuesday with Iraq's deputy minister for human rights, Hussein Jasim Al-Zuhairi, who repeated his country's invitation for the U.N. expert to visit.
But he was told by U.S. officials that American-run prisons in Iraq were not subject to international human rights law because of the ongoing armed conflict in the country, and as such were outside of his remit as a torture investigator.
Nowak wants unrestricted access to detainees, including the right to interview them in private.
A spokesman at the U.S. State Department in Washington declined official comment. But a State Department official familiar with the case said the United States refused Nowak's request for operational reasons. The official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak, said only the International Committee of the Red Cross has been granted full access to all of the several thousand detainees under U.S. control.
He added that Washington considers the neutral body to be the most appropriate group to conduct such visits and that extending access to other groups or individuals was not feasible because of the security situation in Iraq.
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Nowak said recent reports received by his office indicate that many detainees would prefer to stay in U.S.-run prisons rather than be transferred to Iraqi facilities.I am also a little astonished that the U.S. government is not willing to grant me access.
Manfred Nowak, U.N. torture investigator"That's why I am also a little astonished that the U.S. government is not willing to grant me access because it might even be in their interest," Nowak said.
Images of prisoner abuse at the American-run detention facility Abu Ghraib drew international criticism of the way U.S. forces treated detainees. The prison was later closed and transferred to Iraqi control. Nowak said the situation has reportedly improved since then.
But the Austrian law professor, who compiles reports for the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council, said he wants to examine the current detention conditions in Iraq for himself.
The State Department official said the U.S. was happy to continue discussions with Nowak.
Nowak has previously clashed with Washington over the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, which he says should be closed, and the use of certain interrogation techniques on terror suspects.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 34 Commentsand what is the UN going to do about this??? NOTHING!!
the UN is a joke and a muslim''''s bit ch!
and what is the UN going to do about this??? NOTHING!!
the UN is a joke and a muslim''s bit ch!
How about, does anybody know what legal jurisdiction the U.S. government is operating under, with regard to international law, the U.N. charter and the Nuremberg principles, having invaded a sovereign country; and how the U.N. can continue to have any legitimacy under these circumstances? Or better yet, why the rest of the world continues to even bother atttending, when the EU has infinitely more integrity and trust as a world body?
Posted by samael2014 at 04:23 PM : Mar 12, 2008
+ report abuse
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BETTER YET ..what legal jurisdiction does the UN have?
Posted by Rickstas at 05:57 PM : Mar 13, 2008
+ report abuse
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and you have a lot of nerve to critisize the US and still live in the US and not anywhere else..
Posted by Nancy_Naive
That''s an interesting question. Whether he is just an investigator or, especially, a judge, & if we believe that bias & other agendas cloud the ability to fairly assess or arrive at fair conclusions, then it seems reasonable to expect objectivity & apoliticality (to make up a word).
The best of good byes Frank Bowers of Austin, TX
The best of good byes Frnk Bwoers of Austin, TX
How about, does anybody know what legal jurisdiction the U.S. government is operating under, with regard to international law, the U.N. charter and the Nuremberg principles, having invaded a sovereign country; and how the U.N. can continue to have any legitimacy under these circumstances? Or better yet, why the rest of the world continues to even bother atttending, when the EU has infinitely more integrity and trust as a world body?
Let''s get Bu$h up in front of the World Court -
It''s hanging-time.
If we want angels for prosecutors then we''''ll be buried in our eyeballs in crime.
When we find out that they have committed a crime themselves, then we prosecute them too.
Bush may be prosecuted someday.
Posted by Nancy_Naive
Nancy,
You do realize that J. Edgar Hoover was a totalitarian personality. He controlled everything and everyone. He believed in and consistently used wiretapping to gather evidence against criminals and political adversaries. He was also known to use information he gathered for blackmail.. Just wanted to make sure you knew a little more about your ''example''.
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