Waterboarding

I, too, found cultural relativism more thought provoking than the traditional theories referenced in chapter two.

After reading the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in chapter eleven, I was reminded of a recent article on waterboarding from the New York Times. Waterboarding is an interrogation technique that makes a person believe they are drowning and death is forthcoming. Article five states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” yet the Central Intelligence Agency has admitted in that it utilized waterboarding as an interrogation tactic on a small number of alleged terrorists after 9-11 with the knowledge of the Justice Department. If these 30 principles are to standardize behaviors across Member States, how does the United States get away with torturing individuals using this technique? In addition, if our government is “bending” the definition of torture to skirt this principle, what other principles are not being followed by the United States and other Member Countries? Wikipedia defines waterboarding as a form of torture, yet the U.S. Government claims it is not illegal. Interrogating prisoners may at times be necessary, but there are other methods available that are more humane and ethically responsible.



Article referenced:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/washington/30justice.html