The Disappeared - A New Treaty

Not for the first time, world justice is being tugged in two opposite directions. The latest developments in international law mean that the duty to prosecute those involved in forced disappearances – arbitrary arrest, frequently followed by torture and murder – is clearer than ever. After two decades of discussion a key new draft treaty agreed in September, is likely to be adopted by the UN General Assembly this year. At the same time, the world’s most powerful government apparently believes it is authorised to disappear people if and when it wishes. Washington argues, in effect, that this is helping to make the world safer, and those who are concerned about disappearances are giving comfort to the perpetrators of terror.

The article goes on to mention other countries that have engaged in making people disappear, of course naming Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, among others. It also talks about the Latin American countries that used that technique in the past, and now, having purged themselves from those atrocities for the most part, are leading the push for this U.N. treaty. The leaders of the opposition include one which also takes the lead in making people disappear, Russia, and the other, the U.S..

This treaty is a good thing, but it's going to take a lot more than something we're not about to sign, to make our government stop this activity. It's shameful that we ourselves haven't taken any real measures to stop this, still foolishly accepting the nonsence of illogical reasoning, outright lies, the trashing of our Constitution, and demonizing of anyone who dares even question the methods used in this so-called war on terror. Nothing, absolutely nothing, that was done to us on 9/11, can justify the crimes we've committed since. We've done more damage, killed more people, removed more liberties from ourselves and the rest of the world, and ensured that new terrorist will be created everyday, than Bin Laden could have ever hoped to achive. All this, is to our shame.