Joint statement by PACE President René van der Linden and Dick Marty, rapporteur on alleged secret detentions and illegal transfer of detainees

Strasbourg, 03.10.2006 - René van der Linden, President of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), and Senator Dick Marty, Chair of its Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and rapporteur on alleged secret detentions and illegal transfers of detainees, at a meeting of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights in Strasbourg, reaffirmed the Assembly’s determination to uncover the whole truth on this matter, in particular as regards the role played by European countries in aiding and abetting abuses committed by the CIA. Putting the whole truth on the table is important as a matter of principle, and in order to deter future violations.

The astonishing admission by President Bush that the United States has indeed operated secret prisons in foreign countries shows that the Assembly’s June 2006 resolution was based on actual fact and that the Assembly’s decision to continue the inquiry was right.

Senator Marty announced that he intends to pay a visit, in the company of Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, to Guantanamo Bay, where, according to President Bush, a number of inmates of US secret prisons had recently been transferred. President van der Linden expressed his expectation that the United States - as an observer state - will agree to such a visit.

Van der Linden and Marty concluded by stressing the Assembly’s strong support for true transatlantic partnership in the fight against terrorism, which must be both effective and respectful of human rights. They also urged the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to implement the Assembly’s recommendations and the Secretary General’s proposals following his inquiry under Article 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Source : Conseil de l’Europe