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RIGHTS: EU Watchdog Probes Renditions, “Black Sites”

Haider Rizvi

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 27 2006 (IPS) - The 46-member Council of Europe, the continent’s oldest political organisation, is investigating whether European governments have allowed Washington to use their airspace to ferry terror suspects to third countries or to secret prisons dubbed “black sites”, where detainees were allegedly tortured.

The Council considers such collaboration to be in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on Torture, and says governments may face punitive actions if found to be in non-compliance.

In an exclusive interview with IPS, Terry Davis, secretary general of the Council of Europe, explained various aspects of the inquiry into so-called “rendition flights” and the existence of secret prisons.

Q: What were the circumstances that prompted this inquiry?

A: If you remember in November, there were some reports in the American media about allegations that the CIA [U.S. Central Intelligence Agency] has secret prisons in Poland and Romania. If such prisons existed, then it would be in clear breach of the [European] Convention on Human Rights. The ambassadors for Poland and Romania responded to my request for information with categoric, absolute assurances that there were no secret prisons anywhere in Poland and Romania.

But then there was another wave of allegations [regarding] secret prisons in some other countries [and] these so-called rendition flights, where people were being arrested and/or were just passing through some European countries on their way to other countries where they could be tortured or subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment during the course of interrogation.

So that’s why I decided to initiate the inquiry under an article in the European Commission on Human Rights, which gives the secretary general the authority to inquire into possible breaches of the Convention. I asked all the member countries to answer a series of questions which are based on how they provide in their own laws for their obligation, and secondly, how they enforce their own laws.

Q: So have all the member countries responded to your questions?

A: We have 46 members. We have replies from 45. One of those still outstanding is San Marino, which does not have any airport anyway. To the best of my knowledge, it’s difficult for such a small country to have a secret prison.

Q: Are you satisfied with the responses you have received so far?

A: Most of them came in the last two days before the Feb. 21 deadline, so it will take us a while to analyse them. One of the very first replies was not satisfactory. I have written to that country asking for more information.

Q: Will you identify that country?

A: No. It’s not fair. I do not think it’s right to name one state. The only reason I am writing to them is because they were the first one. I expect that when we analyse replies from the other countries, which came at the beginning of this week, we may need to ask them for more detailed information. This analysis is being done now. I have set up a task force of lawyers at the Council of Europe to do it.

Q: How long is it going to take to complete your inquiry?

A: I do not know how long it will take. I will have a better idea of that on Monday (Feb. 27) when I return to Strasbourg. But I don’t think I am going to allow a long time to pass. I think this is urgent.

Q: Are you also collecting information from non-governmental sources?

A: I have asked Human Rights Watch to give me as much information as possible. We have a separate project (headed by) Mr. Dick Marty who is a member of our parliamentary assembly. The parliamentary assembly is an assembly made of delegations from all the parliaments of our member countries. He has already published an interim memorandum which brings together what is in the public domain, what is public knowledge from many sources.

Obviously, in the course of my analysis, we will be looking at his documented evidence and comparing it what were being told by member governments.

Q: If you find any evidence against certain countries, do you think there is a possibility of taking punitive action against them?

A: That’s what is possible. All I have to say is that a quick examination of replies which I have received tells me that no country has put up its hands and said we have earned breach of obligation on the Convention on Human Rights. But then you would not expect that, would you?

If we find that obligations and duties under the Convention have not been satisfactorily transferred into the domestic law… we would certainly draw attention to that. We would expect member governments to take action to fill the gaps.

I believe there is an obligation for a member government to be active. It’s not enough to say ‘we don’t know about it’, it’s not good enough to say ‘we have not seen it’. Because if you do not look, you do not see it.

It’s a duty to take appropriate action to protect people’s human rights, whether they are citizens of your country or not citizens. It’s a duty to protect people against being held or being kidnapped or arrested without proper legal justification. It’s a duty to make sure people are not tortured or sent to other places where they might be tortured.

Q: What if your inquiry leads to some kind of evidence of a CIA presence at secret prisons in certain European countries? Would you demand some sort of explanation from the U.S. government?

A: Well, the question is what those countries have done to stop it. Couldn’t they? As far as the U.S. is concerned, they are not members of the Council of Europe. My inquiry is only concerned about the members of the Council of Europe.

The question is what have our authorities done to stop other countries behaving this way. This inquiry is not an anti-American inquiry. We are not trying to correct what the Americans have done.

I have very strong views about what goes on in Guantanamo Bay [detention centre]. I have very strong views about what has happened in [the Iraqi prison] Abu Ghraib. It’s on the public record. I have opposed and voted against the war with Iraq. I spoke against it in the British Parliament.

But that’s not the issue at all. This is not a political inquiry. This is a legal inquiry. What have you done – that is the question to each government – to make sure that your laws reflect your obligations under the Convention?