    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2003, Book I)]
    [June 26, 2003]
    [Pages 701-702]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims
    of Torture
    June 26, 2003

        Today, on the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims
    of Torture, the United States declares its strong solidarity with
    torture victims across the world. Torture anywhere is an affront to
    human dignity everywhere. We are committed to building a world where
    human rights are respected and protected by the rule of law.
        Freedom from torture is an inalienable human right. The Convention
    Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment,
    ratified by the United States and more than 130 other countries since
    1984, forbids governments from deliberately inflicting severe physical
    or mental pain or suffering on those within their custody or control.
    Yet torture continues to

    [[Page 702]]

    be practiced around the world by rogue regimes whose cruel methods match
    their determination to crush the human spirit. Beating, burning, rape,
    and electric shock are some of the grisly tools such regimes use to
    terrorize their own citizens. These despicable crimes cannot be
    tolerated by a world committed to justice.
        Notorious human rights abusers, including, among others, Burma,
    Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Zimbabwe, have long sought to shield their
    abuses from the eyes of the world by staging elaborate deceptions and
    denying access to international human rights monitors. Until recently,
    Saddam Hussein used similar means to hide the
    crimes of his regime. With Iraq's liberation, the world is only now
    learning the enormity of the dictator's three decades of victimization
    of the Iraqi people. Across the country, evidence of Ba'athist
    atrocities is mounting, including scores of mass graves containing the
    remains of thousands of men, women, and children and torture chambers
    hidden inside palaces and ministries. The most compelling evidence of
    all lies in the stories told by torture survivors, who are recounting a
    vast array of sadistic acts perpetrated against the innocent. Their
    testimony reminds us of their great courage in outlasting one of
    history's most brutal regimes, and it reminds us that similar cruelties
    are taking place behind the closed doors of other prison states.
        The United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of
    torture, and we are leading this fight by example. I call on all
    governments to join with the United States and the community of law-
    abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating, and prosecuting all acts
    of torture and in undertaking to prevent other cruel and unusual
    punishment. I call on all nations to speak out against torture in all
    its forms and to make ending torture an essential part of their
    diplomacy. I further urge governments to join America and others in
    supporting torture victims' treatment centers, contributing to the U.N.
    Fund for the Victims of Torture, and supporting the efforts of
    nongovernmental organizations to end torture and assist its victims.
        No people, no matter where they reside, should have to live in fear
    of their own government. Nowhere should the midnight knock foreshadow a
    nightmare of state-commissioned crime. The suffering of torture victims
    must end, and the United States calls on all governments to assume this
    great mission.