The United States of America and international law

Although the United States of America (US), an observer to the Council of Europe, remains strongly committed to international law, the American administration has, especially since 11 September 2001 and in pursuit of its so-called «war on terror», inappropriately and unilaterally disregarded key human rights and humanitarian legal norms considered by it to be overly constraining or otherwise inappropriate in view of the perceived new situation. In so doing, it has done a disservice to the cause of justice and rule of law and has tarnished its reputation as a beacon in defending human rights and in upholding well-established rules of international law.

The US and Europe share common values and pursue the same goal of promoting and strengthening respect of human rights and the reinforcement of the rule of law. Indeed, few countries can rival the impressive case-law of the US Supreme Court, whose judgments have curtailed unfettered executive powers, guaranteeing the separation of powers and, as the recent Hamdancase has illustrated, respect for well-established international legal standards. However, by continuing to unlawfully detain persons in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere, by the setting-up of a «spider’s web» of secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers often in collaboration with countries notorious for their use of torture, by its attempts to undermine the effectiveness of the International Criminal Court and by making no effort to abolish the death penalty, the US’ behaviour is incompatible with well-established international law standards.

The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights finds that this situation has made it difficult for the US to work with allies in mounting an appropriate response to the very real threat posed by international terrorism. It proposes that the Assembly strongly urge the US authorities, in particular its parliamentary colleagues, to bring an end to this abnormal and unacceptable situation. The Assembly, composed of parliamentarians from 46 European countries, should reiterate its readiness to enter into dialogue with its fellow parliamentarians in the US.

The Assembly should also recommend to the Committee of Ministers that the US Government be reminded of its obligations, as an observer state to the Council of Europe, to respect human rights and the rule of law and that information should be sought from the US authorities with respect to matters raised in the report.

Available at: http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc07/EDOC11181.htm