August 28, 2008 at 05:16:15

Torture As Official Israeli Policy

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By Stephen Lendman (about the author) Page 9 of 14 page(s)

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-- have the Knesset, administration and appropriate government bodies and officials involved to assure ill treatment won't be tolerated, and when it happens, those at the top share culpability.

It's up to the entire Israeli establishment to own up to the problem, recognize its gravity, and establish strong binding measures to eliminate it. Toward that end, PCATI and other human rights organizations and their supporters will continue to "expose and highlight this phenomenon" that continues to inflict great harm on defenseless Palestinians.

United Against Torture (UAT)

UAT is a (2005 established) "coalition of Israeli, Palestinian and international NGOs (united) against the practice of torture and ill-treatment in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT)...."

In December 2007, it issued its second annual report on "torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" - through the period ending October 2007. It's based on questionnaires "to various stakeholders in Israel and the OPT, including the EU Tel Aviv Delegation (ECD), European Commission Technical Assistance Office for the West Bank and Gaza (ECTAO), EU Ambassadors and/or other relevant EU contact persons in EU Missions, and NGOs particularly active in this field."

UAT states that its report doesn't address specific instances of torture and abuse. Its purpose is to provide an overview of how "the EU and its Member States contribute to the prevention and eradication of torture" in Israel and the OPT.

It cites "EU guidelines against torture and ill-treatment." Some are as follows:

--"prohibit(ing) torture and ill-treatment in law, including criminal law;

-- condemn(ing), at the highest level, all forms of torture and ill-treatment;

-- tak(ing) effective legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures (against torture and ill-treatment);

-- adher(ing) to international norms and procedures....;" and

-- "combat(ing) impunity to hold perpetrators liable, establish(ing) reporting procedures, and provid(ing) reparation and rehabilitation for victims."

UAT cites various international laws against torture and abuse to which Israel is a signatory, including:

-- the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR);

-- the 1984 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), and

-- the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

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