Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05GENEVA847
2005-04-04 08:34:00
UNCLASSIFIED
US Mission Geneva
Cable title:  

LETTER FROM INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON AFGHANISTAN

Tags:  PHUM UNHRC 
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UNCLAS GENEVA 000847 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IO/SHA, DRL/MLA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM UNHRC UNHRC
SUBJECT: LETTER FROM INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON AFGHANISTAN
REGARDING USG INTERPRETATION OF HIS MANDATE.

UNCLAS GENEVA 000847

SIPDIS

STATE FOR IO/SHA, DRL/MLA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM UNHRC UNHRC
SUBJECT: LETTER FROM INDEPENDENT EXPERT ON AFGHANISTAN
REGARDING USG INTERPRETATION OF HIS MANDATE.


1. Mission received the following letter from the
Independent Expert on Afghanistan, Cherif Bassiouni on March
30, 2005. The letter is addressed to Ambassador Moley and
responds to a letter sent on March 18, 2005 in which
Ambassador Moley offered Mr. Bassiouni a briefing on the
conditions of DOD detention facilities in Afghanistan.


2. Begin text.

23 March 2005

Dear Ambassador Moley,

This is to acknowledge your letter of March 18th, received by
OHCHR March 21st and forwarded to me in Chicago. As you
correctly state, the mandate includes human rights violations
in Afghanistan. There are no exceptions. Consequently, your
statement that "the mandate covers Afghan prisons and their
conditions, but not U.S. detention facilities" does not
conform to the letter of the mandate. There is therefore no
valid legal basis for the United States refusal to open its
detention facilities in that country to verification of
compliance with human rights legal obligations.

I agree with you that the mere denial of access is not to be
considered as confirmation of allegations of human rights
violations. The sources of these allegations, however,
include U.S. governmental reports, portions of yet
unpublished reports made available to the U.S. press,
published reports in the U.S. and international media,
published reports by non-governmental organizations, and
books. They refer to arbitrary arrest and detention,
forceful removal of persons from Afghanistan to areas outside
the country, and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or
punishment, including torture. These are sufficient to raise
concern with any conscientious mandate holder to investigate.
Furthermore, as the government of the United States is well
aware, there have been reports, both oral and in writing by
the ICRC concerning treatment of detainees in violation of
international humanitarian law, including violations of human
rights law, which have not been published. Moreover, this
mandate holder has interviewed former detainees who claim
that they were tortured by U.S. personnel in U.S. detention
facilities in Afghanistan. Consequently, all of this
information cannot be ignored by the mandate holder.

I am delighted to note in your letter that I am now being
offered the opportunity of a briefing in Washington or
Geneva, and I will gladly avail myself of the opportunity as
soon as I hear more specifically from the person in charge.
For the record, your letter of December 23rd had indicated
that this was not being considered in my case, and I welcome
the change. However, such a briefing is not a substitute for
my continued request to inspect the facilities at Bagram,
Kandahar, and other facilities housing persons detained by
the United States who were seized in Afghanistan.

Lastly, I agree with you that the United States Armed Forces
take seriously allegations of wrongful behavior, that it
endeavors to investigate credible reports, and that it takes
appropriate action against those who have engaged in wrongful
conduct. Precisely because of that, I believe that it would
prove easy to work with the appropriate military personnel,
should they be directed to cooperate with this mandate holder.

Sincerely yours,
/////////////////////////////

M. Cherif Bassiouni
Independent Expert.

End text.



Moley