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Western governments relying on the “fig leaf” of assurances that a deported terror suspect will not be tortured are nevertheless complicit in any resulting human-rights abuses, a highly critical report argues. The paper from Human Rights Watch slams countries for ducking the “absolution prohibition” on torture by sending suspects abroad and using the flimsy promises of the recipient country to skirt their legal obligations. “The assurances are meaningless coming from places like Egypt, Syria, Uzbekistan and Yemen,” report author Julia Hall told globeandmail.com on Thursday, citing countries that rights groups accuse of systemic abuses. The report specifically cites Canada and its security-certificate procedure, in which suspects can be tried using secret evidence and deported to countries where torture is believed to be common, as long as that country vows not to abuse that particular person. “Governments in states where torture is a serious human rights problem almost always deny such abusive practices,” Ms. Hall says in the report, titled Still at Risk. “It defies common sense to presume that a government that routinely flouts its obligations under international law can be trusted to respect those obligations in an isolated case.” Ms. Hall, who researched and wrote the 91-page report, said that governments were quick to exploit the shock and fear their citizens felt after the terrorist attacks on the United States in September, 2001. [more]

HRW Report - Still at Risk Diplomatic Assurances No Safeguard Against Torture [more]