Anti-torture Resolution for Precinct Meetings

I post this resolution, composed by Peggy Misch, at Pete's request.

SUPPORT FOR ENDING UNITED STATES USE AND SPONSORSHIP OF TORTURE

WHEREAS, the right to be free of torture is a fundamental human right recognized in both constitutional and international law; and

WHEREAS, all government-sponsored acts of torture, regardless of circumstance, are immoral, unjustified, and illegal; and

WHEREAS, acts of torture violate United States criminal laws, specifically the federal Anti-Torture Statute and the Federal War Crimes Act of 1996, and they violate international treaties to which the United States is a party, including the Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and

WHEREAS, United States-sanctioned torture is not justified by national security needs as it engenders hatred against the nation, does not keep the country safe, shames the nation, and endangers United States troops abroad and citizens at home; and

WHEREAS, Aero Contractors Ltd., situated in Johnston and Lenoir counties of North Carolina, has been implicated beyond reasonable doubt in the practice of “extraordinary rendition” (kidnapping and transport of suspects to countries where torture is routine);

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of North Carolina calls on the national leadership to eradicate current torture practices by the United States in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo, as well as in secret United States-controlled prison facilities elsewhere; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of North Carolina calls on United States Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr and the North Carolina delegation in Congress to ban the United States policies and practices of torture through appropriate and immediate legislative restraints, including specifically the prohibition of CIA detainee transport by Aero Contractors Ltd.; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Democratic Party of North Carolina calls on North Carolina legislators to support passage of HB 1682, the “North Carolina No Place for Torture Act,” sponsored by Representative Paul Luebke and others, the language and intent of which was approved by the NC Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission on March 7, 2008.