Torture is probably one of the oldest violation of human
rights. From historic times, torture has been man’s instinctual behavior to
force a victim to fulfil his desire. Today, torture is one of the most common
human right violations, prevailing in every sphere of the society.
The biggest problem with curbing torture is the very fact
that it is highly subjective. There is no exact “boundary” that one’s actions
may cross to be deemed torture. But, over the past couple of years efforts have
been made by various organizations to define these boundaries and protect human
rights. Yet, loopholes have given way to the creative minds of today’s
generation to find new innovative ways of “torture”, evading the so called boundaries
defined by human rights organizations.
For instance, the director of the Central Intelligence
Agency, John Brennan, refused to admit that his method of water-boarding terrorism
suspects is an act of torture. That is his opinion, but the rest of the world
begs to differ. He’s also defended the use of unmanned drones to curb terrorist
activities against the United States. These might clearly seem to a layman as
violations of human rights. But, in today’s world, these may be needed as
terrorist activities grow. To save innocent lives, a criminal might have to be “tortured”.
In fact, organizations like the CIA, might resort to fabricating information
presented to the general public. Perhaps our opinions are wrong. Perhaps, people
like Mr. Brennan are right. What is torture to them? It’s just a critical step in
saving their country, their world. If
there comes a need to bend the boundaries, they will find a way to do so.
Links:
http://www.cvt.org/news-events/press-releases/cvt-statement-dcia-nominee-john-brennan%E2%80%99s-waterboarding-evasion
http://holymansam.wordpress.com/2010/11/12/can-waterboarding-ever-be-justified/
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