On Terrorists and Torturers, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour, December 7, 2005 [statement issued on the occasion of Human Rights Day declaring that the absolute ban on torture, a cornerstone of the international human rights law, is "becoming a casualty of the so-called 'war on terror'.]. Excerpt:

No one disputes that Governments have not only the right but also the duty to protect their citizens from attacks. The threat of international terrorism calls for increased coordination by law enforcement authorities within and across borders. And imminent or clear dangers at times permit limitations on certain rights.

However, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is not one of these. This right may not be subject to any limitation, anywhere, under any condition.

Many United Nations member States disregard this prohibition and continue to subject their citizens and others to torture and ill-treatment, often in a widespread and systematic manner. Although a broad range of safeguards is available now to prevent torture, many states have either not incorporated them in their legislation or, if they have, do not respect them in practice. OHCHR continues to receive numerous reports of state agents resorting to torture in the prosecution of ordinary criminals and, increasingly, in the name of the "war on terror".

Particularly insidious are moves to water down or question the absolute ban on torture, as well as on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Governments in a number of countries are claiming that established rules do not apply anymore: that we live in a changed world and that there is a "new normal". They argue that this justifies a lowering of the bar as to what constitutes permissible treatment of detainees. An illegal interrogation technique, however, remains illegal whatever new description a government might wish to give it.

Read the full text of the statement. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.