Source: Al-Manar TV, 9-2-2008
'The controversial interrogation technique known as waterboarding and used by the United States qualifies as torture', the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, said on Friday.
Speaking at a news conference in Mexico City, Arbour found 'no problems with describing the practice as falling under the prohibition of torture' in response to a question about whether U.S. officials could be tried for the use of waterboarding that referred to CIA director Michael Hayden telling Congress on Tuesday his agency had used waterboarding on three detainees captured after September 11 attacks.
'Violators of the U.N. Convention against Torture should be prosecuted under the principle of 'universal jurisdiction' which allows countries to try accused war criminals from other nations', Arbour stated.
She added that 'there are several precedents worldwide of states exercising their universal jurisdiction... to enforce the torture convention and we can only hope that we will see more and more of these avenues of redress'.