The Washington Post reported today that the White House is opposing legislation supported by Republican senators that would guarantee the human rights of those held in detention by American forces:
The Bush administration in recent days has been lobbying to block legislation supported by Republican senators that would bar the U.S. military from engaging in "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of detainees, from hiding prisoners from the Red Cross, and from using interrogation methods not authorized by a new Army field manual.
The legislation is supported by John W. Warner (R-Va.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.). McCain was himself tortured while a prisoner of war during the Vietnam conflict.
The World Council of Churches has asserted in pervious statements that:
All human beings regardless of race, sex or belief have been created by God as individuals and in one human community. "Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him." (Article 11 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights)
The legislation supported by the trio of republican senators would support that position.
The Roman Catholic Church has also issued several statements in support of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.
In a 2004 statement dealing with the situation at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility the National Council of Churches USA said:
Our concern is based on the fundamental Christian belief in the dignity of the human person created in the image of God, and on the rights accorded all persons by virtue of their humanity. As affirmed in a NCCCUSA policy statement on human rights, dated December 6, 1963, “Christians believe that man is made in the image of God, that every person is of intrinsic worth before God, and that every individual has a right to the fullest possible opportunity for the development of life abundant and eternal. Denials of rights and freedoms that inhere in man’s worth before God are not simply a crime against humanity; they are a sin against God.”
Christians debate many issues but have spoken loudly across theological lines against abuse and torture in all forms. It is more than disappointing that the president of the United States does not share these basic values.
