Join with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), the Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition (TASSC), UUSC, and Unitarian Universalist congregations throughout the United States by working to prevent torture everywhere on Human Rights Day (December 10).

In collaboration with UUSC and TASSC, NRCAT has developed a variety of resources to support your activism. Download postcards, worship materials, videos, and discussion guides you can use to take action and share with your congregation. 

Torture was immoral when the United States first started looking for Osama bin Laden, and it remains immoral now. 

Torture also had little, if anything, to do with tracking down Bin Laden. Since the news broke on Sunday night of Bin Laden's capture and subsequent death, architects of the Bush torture program have been quick to point out that were it not for the "tough decisions" made by the Bush administration, Obama would not have succeeded in finally locating Bin Laden. They claim that Khalid Sheik Mohamed — who was waterboarded 183 times — gave up the name of the courier that eventually led U.S. forces to the compound where Bin Laden was hiding. They also argue that were it not for the authorization of these "enhanced interrogation" techniques, we would not have had the necessary information to locate Bin Laden.

There are serious discrepancies in this argument:

1. The courier's full identity was found by a phone call intercepted by the National Security Administration.
2. Khalid Sheik Mohamed claimed not to know the courier and gave conflicting testimony about him, including fake names.

Torture extracts unreliable and untrustworthy information. Careful and skilled interrogation that relies on other methods — persuasion, trust building, research, and critical analysis — leads to reliable, long-term results. According to former senior military interrogator Matthew Alexander, it is critical to understand the "social science behind interrogations, which tells us that torture has an extremely negative effect on memory. An interrogator needs timely and accurate intelligence information, not just made-up babble."

The capture and death of Bin Laden have brought all of these issues back into the national discourse. Not only is it important to make sure that we as a country never use torture again, but it's equally important to ensure that those who authorized and created the program responsible for what happened at Abu Ghraib and other detention centers are held accountable for their decisions. A first step in that process is to call for a Commission of Inquiry. We need to know the full extent of our actions before we can take the appropriate steps for accountability.

As the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) details in a recent press release, in his upcoming memoir, Decision Points, former President George W. Bush claims that he said "damn right" when the CIA asked for permission to torture Khalid Sheikh Mohammed by waterboarding him. He also admitted to authorizing waterboarding for other "senior al Qaeda leaders."

Waterboarding is torture. For President Bush to reveal his involvement in such activities puts him in clear violation of U.S. and international law that makes torture an illegal and immoral act.

The following NRCAT press release lays it out:

"Former President Bush should be ashamed of his decision to torture detainees," said Rev. Richard L. Killmer, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, a UUSC Civil Liberties partner. "His decision to allow the use of torture was both illegal and immoral. And his excuse that the use of waterboarding 'saved lives' is wholly inadequate and unjustifiable. U.S.-sponsored torture has cost innumerable lives of both American soldiers and civilians, because it has inspired extremists to commit acts of terror against us. It has cost us dearly. Torture does not make us safer; it makes us more of a target."

In 1999 the United States government submitted its statement on the use of torture to the United Nations as part of its duty under the Convention Against Torture. Here's what the United States government said at that time:

"Torture is prohibited by law throughout the United States. It is categorically denounced as a matter of policy and as a tool of state authority. Every act constituting torture under the Convention constitutes a criminal offence under the law of the United States. No official of the Government, federal, state or local, civilian or military, is authorized to commit or to instruct anyone else to commit torture. Nor may any official condone or tolerate torture in any form. No exceptional circumstances may be invoked as a justification of torture. United States law contains no provision permitting otherwise prohibited acts of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to be employed on grounds of exigent circumstances (for example, during a 'state of public emergency') or on orders from a superior officer or public authority, and the protective mechanisms of an independent judiciary are not subject to suspension. The United States is committed to the full and effective implementation of its obligations under the Convention throughout its territory."

"Former President Bush has admitted to ordering the use of torture. In doing so he has violated U.S. law and international law. We must establish a Commission of Inquiry that fully investigates all aspects of the use of torture by the United States to ensure that U.S.-sponsored torture never happens again," said Rev. Killmer.

If you'd like to know more about the work that NRCAT is doing, please contact NRCAT's John Humphries at jhumphries@nrcat.org or me, Anna Bartlett, here at UUSC.

And want to take action? Write a letter to the editor!

This week, the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC) is heralding its continuous call for an end to torture everywhere and honoring torture survivors during the 13th annual Torture Survivors Week in Washington, D.C.

Kicked off with a three-day human-rights training that started Monday, the week's activities bring survivors of torture together with human-rights and faith-based activists dedicated to ending torture. The human-rights training, led by Patrick Rice, a survivor of torture from Argentina and former secretary general of the Family Members of the Disappeared in Latin America, focused on using the United Nations Convention against Torture; workshops covered a range of topics, including how to draft complaints and present a case to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture. Participants will also be meeting with Senate staff throughout the week.

On Friday, June 25, a panel discussion entitled "Accountability Now — Ending Torture Forever" will take place, featuring David Cole from Georgetown University Law Center, Sister Dianna Ortiz  from Pax Christi USA, Sondra Crosby from the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, and former interrogator Matthew Alexander.

The week will culminate with an annual 12-hour vigil in Lafayette Park on Saturday, June 26. This vigil — which will feature voices of survivors, messages of solidarity, and remembrances of victims — commemorates the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

As Kofi Annan once said, "This is a day on which we pay our respects to those who have endured the unimaginable. This is an occasion for the world to speak up against the unspeakable. It is long overdue that a day be dedicated to remembering and supporting the many victims and survivors of torture around the world."

TASSC makes that remembrance and support a reality every day in their work. Bringing the injustices perpetrated throughout the world out into the open, TASSC is growing a movement to end torture wherever it occurs and to hold governments accountable.

Check out the schedule of TASSC events for second half of Torture Survivors Week — and join in! We'd love to hear about your experiences if you make it to any of the events.

Rev. Justin Osterman, minister of the Mainline Unitarian Church in Devon, Pa., lost a parishioner in the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001. His fate took an unexpected turn when he served as a translator at the Guantanamo Bay detention center, using Arabic language skills he'd learned in the military. A member of Osterman's church who was representing two detainees at Guantanamo Bay asked him to interpret for him. Today, Rev. Osterman is a huge critic of the detention center and a huge supporter of its closure. You can read or listen to his sermon, "Our Cuban Nightmare," and learn more about his experiences.

Learn more about UUSC's work against torture

On January 22, 2009, UUSC and its partners National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) and Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC) celebrated the President Obama's executive orders to ban torture and close down the detention center in Guantanamo Bay.

Still, the executive orders are only the beginning of a long process to achieve justice for the prisoners at Guantanamo and restoring our values and our standing in the world.

UUSC has joined NRCAT and TASSC to push for a commission of inquiry that would investigate whether members of the Bush administration violated U.S. laws against torture. As the process of closing Guantanamo unfolds, UUSC will be vigilant and continue to work with its partners and allies to press the new president and the administration for accountability in Afghanistan, Iraq, and wherever illegal detention, torture, and other inhumane treatment of prisoners by the United States continue.

It was quite a sight to see. A waiting room filled with a diverse group of religious leaders, Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, and everything in between, gathered at a nondescript government building in downtown Washington, D.C., on a cold Wednesday afternoon. We may have come from different faith traditions, but we shared a certain spirit and a common goal. We were there as members of the National Religious Coalition Against Torture (NRCAT), one of UUSC's program partners, to encourage President-elect Obama to sign an executive order banning torture as his first order of business.

Once we passed the security checkpoints, we were escorted through the Presidential Transition Team's temporary home to another nondescript room. I mostly remember being surprised to find the chairs arranged in a circle. You don't see that very often in official D.C. meetings. It seemed, and in fact it was, very welcoming.

The highest level transition staffer there to greet us was Mike Strautmanis, the director of public liaison and intergovernmental affairs. His job is to stay in touch with groups and officials working on priority issues. His job is to take our information and concerns into the rooms where decisions will ultimately be made.

Strautmanis has known the Obama family for years in Chicago. He served as chief counsel in Obama's senate office. Perhaps most important, Strautmanis plays basketball with the President-elect, so he has lots of access. Mark Linton, the transition team liaison for the faith community, was also there.

The meeting itself was very positive. The staff and leadership of NRCAT did a great job laying out the coalition "asks," or requests, which include:

• A day one executive order banning torture and inhuman and degrading treatment
• Closing the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center
• Ending extraordinary rendition and enhanced interrogation
• Closing secret prisons and ensuring the International Red Cross has access to any detention facilities.

We asked that the United States establish a uniform code of conduct for the CIA and other forces and to establish a Golden Rule that the United States will treat people the way we would hope to be treated if detained by another country.

Members of the different faith traditions offered insights on the issues. Transition staffers were very interested to hear from Sayyid Syeed, of the Islamic Society of North America, and receive the Statement of Conscience of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. They will likely post it and the other NRCAT materials on the transition website www.Change.gov.

A young man from the evangelical movement suggested ways to talk about the issues to build support (or amens!) from people who are not typical Obama supporters.

Strautmanis said that high-level meetings are going on right now, discussing all of the possible executive orders the new administration could issue. Torture and closing Guantanamo are seen as separate issues, and both are under serious discussion. He said he would take the materials NRCAT delivered into those meetings so the breadth of the support and the suggested language/messaging could be taken into account.

Strautmanis reminded everyone that President-elect Obama taught constitutional law and will do everything he can within the law. He described the methodical way that Obama went about learning about the torture issue when he got to the U.S. Senate and the clear, unwavering stand he took throughout the campaign.

I reminded the staff that the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was another important reason to take swift action to end torture. I prepared a little packet of UUSC material for the transition team. It included our UDHR book, our booklet on the Sharps and UUSC history, our brochure, and my business card.

I had met Strautmanis at an earlier meeting, where we discussed the economic recovery package and our hopes that Gulf Coast Civic Works projects are included. As you can imagine, the transition team is handling a wide array of issues and running from one meeting to the next. We are lucky to have access to emerging leaders who are smart, dedicated, and down to earth to serve as our liaison to the new Obama administration.

In a few more days, these folks will emerge from their nondescript bunker buildings to celebrate the inauguration and set up shop at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. They will continue to need our presence and our prayers as they set out to make the changes our country so desperately needs.

What does the future hold for U.S.-sponsored torture?

We here at UUSC are no strangers to butting heads with the U.S. government when there are specific policies in place that directly violate human and civil rights. As the end of the George W. Bush era rapidly approaches and a new Barack Obama era is about to start, it's a good time to take a look at an issue that could potentially change drastically in the coming months: torture.

To be honest, I'm not even sure where to begin with this because the violations perpetrated by the Bush administration have been so egregious (and numerous) that it almost seems like a bad joke. Almost. Renditions, suspending habeas corpus, Guantanamo prison, innocent civilians arrested, and the list goes on and on until it begins to resemble a potential plot of a Cohen brothers' movie:

"Rendition Expedition" is the story of a misguided U.S. administration that tries to see how many international laws they can ignore without getting caught. Wacky hijinx and wanton acts of violence ensue. Coming to theaters in January.

If the topic weren't so serious it would almost be laughable. Playing upon the fears of a shell-shocked nation, the government pushed through torture policies, all the while blithely ignoring protests, international statutes, even U.S. laws, and basic common sense. I mean, a large and persuasive body of research has shown that torture doesn't work as an effective intelligence gathering tool! And yet, here we are.

Despite the hostile climate in Washington D.C., UUSC moved forward with our work with the STOP (Stop Torture Permanently) Campaign and our continued participation with the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. UUSC has been steadfastly shining a light on these illegal and immoral policies but it has been an uphill battle all the way. It's been, at times, a heartbreaking, demoralizing, and seemingly futile battle, but nonetheless, we kept on trucking.

And then?

Could it be? Is Obama seriously considering closing Guantanamo and restoring habeas corpus? Well, that just seems so... so... reasonable. Judging by the president-elect's own words, it seems like he will indeed try to make shutting down the detention center a priority once he takes office. Whether or not he'll actually be able to do it is another story, obviously, but isn't it refreshing to hear about a potential policy that upholds the rule of law and dignity of human life rather than tears it down and treats people like pawns in an elaborate chess game? A return of good judgment, I'd say.

But we're not out of the woods yet. Just because it seems like the incoming Obama administration will be much friendlier to the concept of upholding human rights than the previous administration doesn't mean that our work is done. We must hold President-elect Obama accountable to his promises and make sure he has the support and tools he needs to bring this shameful chapter in our history to a close. While the tone of the letters and phone calls to our representatives might change, the message is still the same: government-sponsored torture is immoral, abhorrent, and illegal, and must be brought to a swift and final end.

Hear, hear.

Baseball is our national pastime, evoking long summer nights, the crack of bat meeting ball, shrewd attention to strategy over a long season, and an abiding sense of fair play. Here in Cambridge, Fenway Park’s diffuse glow in the sky can often be seen from UUSC's offices on long summer nights. Playgrounds and diamonds all across the country are lit with the joys and sorrows of players matching wits and abilities in competitions guided by rules and roles which have evolved over many decades.

Last week, we learned that players from every major league team, players whose achievements have inspired and thrilled fans for years, have been using performance-enhancing drugs for decades. Those very achievements, even of paragons like “Rocket” Roger Clemens and home-run champ Barry Bonds, are now questioned, the sport tarnished. Demands for ever more rigorous – and intrusive – drug testing are inevitable.

By coincidence, as the Mitchell Report on baseball was issued, we learned that evidence of the torture of prisoners in American custody was destroyed in what can only be described as a cover-up. The institution of baseball willfully turned its eyes away from obvious signs of abuse; the Central Intelligence Agency knowingly destroyed evidence that interrogators violated federal and international law prohibiting torture.

Baseball’s appalling “era of steroids” seems to parallel our country’s disgraceful “era of Guantánamo.” While producing the appearance of short-term gains – artificial home run records, a seemingly-secure homeland – these self-defeating actions seem to me to be deeply destructive in the long term, masking failure with the illusion of success.

Steroids produce artificial boosts to performance, but we know that the long-term effects of these drugs are devastating to the health and spirit of those who abuse them. Shamefully, abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib, engaging in illegal surveillance, sending people into an endless gulag of clandestine prisons, and invisible and unaccountable accusations also produce the appearance of short-term results.

But what will the long-term effects of these disgraceful acts be to the health and spirit of our country, to our moral standing in the world, to our culture and society? Are we truly securing our country by enraging and radicalizing millions of people who previously viewed America as the symbol of freedom, fairness, and the rule of law? How will future generations view the achievements of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds? How will the attitudes of tomorrow’s generation of major-league stars, today’s little leaguers, be forever changed?

The parallels only go so far, of course, because baseball and the security of our country are not really comparable: America was attacked, and the threat of terrorist attack is real. There is no doubt that resolving the crisis in baseball will be far easier than securing our homeland.

But just as true success in baseball cannot be won while violating its basic premises, true success in defeating terrorism cannot, and need not, come at the price of abandoning our nation’s core values of freedom, fairness, and the rule of law.

UUSC has no baseball program, though many of us are Red Sox fans. But we are doing everything we can to stand for civil liberties and to fight illegal and immoral practices like torture because, just as baseball must put its “era of steroids” behind it, so must our nation turn the page on our “era of Guantanámo.” We invite you to be a part of this movement.

In my work for UUSC to eliminate the use of torture by the United States I have been privileged to meet many remarkable people. Suzanne O'Hatnick, whose words follow these, is one.

The Military Commissions Act of 2006, according to the president, gives him the tools he needs to fight terrorism. I think it makes us all less safe.

Here are some of the most worrisome parts -- the act:

• Allows anyone anywhere, including Americans in America, to be detained as “enemy combatants.” The term is loosely defined and can include someone who writes a check to an organization. These detainees have no right to see all the evidence against them, no right to a speedy trial or any trial at all – they can be detained – forever - without trial. Most have no right to challenge their detention in court.
• Appears to assume that anyone detained is guilty. We have already released 400 people from Guantanamo. Several high profile cases of innocents grabbed in error have been reported. They were released after court review, something no longer allowed.
• Allows the president to decide what is torture and what is not, without any oversight from the courts.
• Grants immunity from prosecution to the president, his administration, and all civilian Americans who authorized or committed acts of torture, retroactive from 9/11/01 – 2005, which is when the Supreme Court ruled that such acts already authorized were in violation of our own War Crimes Act and international law.
• Allows the use of secret prisons or what is called "rendition" – using another country known for using torture to interrogate prisoners.

As Americans we have historically said that we presume someone is innocent until proven guilty; that everyone has the right to a fair trial; that we treat all humanely; and that our government is one of checks and balances, of accountability and transparency. This act contradicts all of these principles.

It might surprise you to learn our armed forces have most opposed this bill, in addition to many in the religious and human rights communities. Experts in interrogation say coercive techniques do not work, destroy morale, and create enemies. Granting retroactive immunity makes a mockery of our system of accountability. It does nothing to protect us.

Who am I? I am an American citizen. I once was proud of American standards of fair play. I have family in the military serving in Iraq. I am a woman of faith, faith in my country and faith in an informed citizenry. I think we have made a terrible mistake and we need to rectify it.

Read the bill for yourself. Sign the statement, Torture is a Moral Issue, online. Thanks for listening.

-- Suzanne O'Hatnick

 

Although he has been rebuked by the Supreme Court, President Bush continues to dig in his heels and make an end run around the June decision that detainees' treatment must be consistent with common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.

The court also found no legal basis for the president's military commissions for hearings that would not allow detainees access to evidence against them. If we were describing another nation's attempt to do this, we would call them "kangaroo courts" or "secret trials."

The president's third wish is complete freedom from prosecution under the U.S. War Crimes Act for U.S. personnel responsible for torture retroactive to September 11, 2001. This is a dishonor to the men and women who died that day, to the workers who tried to rescue people, to those who serve in our military and to all those who believe the United States is a country of laws.

Please take action ASAP. It's time for voters to take the lead. Time is of the essence. Act now.