William Schulz Rights Quotations

Many of the countries highlighted in this report have absolutely abysmal records of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees. The United States government must do all it can to end the global culture of torture. But real change can only occur if the Bush Administration not only admits that its own policies perpetuate torture and ill treatment, but also cleans house and stops warehousing detainees in countries with shameful human rights records.

This report by the U.S. government provides a thorough review of today's human rights practices around the globe, except for one glaring omission -- its own record. The United States government considers itself a moral leader on human rights issues, but its record of indefinite and arbitrary detentions, secret 'black sites' and outsourced torture in the 'war on terror' turns it from leader to human rights violator.

We have documented the use of torture and mistreatment, widespread throughout the world. We have documented that the U.S. government is a leading purveyor and practitioner of the odious human rights violation.

We ask the Justice Department and the INS to abide by its own standards and by international human rights standards in the treatment of these detainees. To treat detainees inhumanely is to risk breeding hostility and anger against us where before there may have been none.

Not only has the Iraqi government failed to provide minimal protection for its citizens, it has actively pursued a policy of rounding up and torturing innocent men and women. Its failure to punish those who have committed acts of torture has added to the breakdown of the rule of law and to spiraling human rights violations in Iraq.

It's no wonder that the United States was ousted from the United Nations human rights commission,