Essay on "Suspect Just Like Any Other Human Being"

Essay 6 pages (1794 words) Sources: 6

[EXCERPT] . . . .

suspect just like any other human being has human rights that have to be safeguarded at all cost. Countries whose constitutions outlaw torture have made it a habit of secretly transporting suspects for interrogation to countries where such activities are allowed. Individuals have a right not to be subjected to torture. This right is fundamental and never at any time can torture be justified. Countries that have domesticated the European Convention on Human Rights like the UK, have charged the government with the responsibility of ensuring that not a single individual is subjected to torture, degrading treatment, or inhuman treatment (Linde, 2006). Use of extraordinary rendition cannot be justified whether an individual is suspected of having committed a crime or has as well been convicted of the crime. Suspects or convicted criminals do not just loose their human rights because of their status. It is clear in law that certain human rights can be conditional especially when an individual breaches his/her responsibilities as a law abiding citizen and that is why people convicted of crime are put into prison. Their right to liberty is therefore forfeited (Grey, 2006). However, fundamental right to be free from torture can never be lost. It is not justified to torture somebody even if the information they are going to volunteer can be used to prevent a terrorist attack. Most individuals suspected of engaging in terrorist activities are merely detained because they are suspects and the information obtained from them is used to implicate them or others with a view to convicting them at trial. Such information is rarely used to prevent imminent terrorist attacks. All suspects should be presumed innocent until proven guilty (Rosenfield, 2001).

Liberal theorist's position on extraordinary rendition is not convergent with the realists' position. Realists' position on extraordinary rendition and activities associated with it like waterboarding is essentially amoral. Realists' are silent on whether extraordinary rendition is morally acceptable as they are hesitant to tell national leaders the morally correct thing to do. Realists are not surprised when states commit morally dubious acts like engaging in torture of suspected terrorists. Realism emphasizes advancement of national interest through foreign and defense policy. Through these a country minimizes the number of enemies it faces and maximizes international support. Realists believe that engaging in extraordinary rendition and other activities that accompany it like waterboarding undermines a country's ability to minimize the number of its enemies and maximize international support. Realists are against arbitrary or cruel exercising of power against suspected bad guys. They contend that torture of any kind gives the enemies of United Sates a powerful rhetorical argument to use against them. Realists believe that the information obtained from torture is not as reliable as information obtained through other methods. Realists accept extraordinary rendition as a regrettable necessity if it provides information that is absolutely essential to protecting a country.

Liberal theorists on the other hand contend that freedom is basic and a provision in law has to be justified to limit the liberty of citizens. Restrictions on liberty have to be justified. Modern liberals believe that it is terrible to detain terrorists indefinitely or use extraordinary rendition to send suspects to other nations where torture can be used to extract information from suspects. United States is a signatory to the United States Convention against Torture and other forms of Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment that include extraordinary rendition. Liberal theorists maintain that United States should not expel, extradite, or affect the involuntary return of any person to a country in which there are substantial grounds for believing the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

Narcotic trafficking can be a security threat. As has been witnessed in ideological terrorists like IRA in Ireland and PLO in Palestine, criminal behavior is a highly conscious and deliberate act. Individuals choose to engage in crime as opposed to a popular belief that criminal activities are as a result of unconscious response to structural forces such as exclusion or poverty. It is a fact that capitalist societies are fundamentally based on unequal, capitalist relations of production that gives rise to class conflict. Individuals can peddle drugs and narcotics to make ends meet. Those under the influence of narcotics engage in vicious criminal activities like rape and armed robbery. Proceeds from narcotics trafficking are normally used in funding the activities of terrorist organizations. The FARC used proceeds from drugs to pay IRA for training their guerillas.

Narcotics trafficking can also be linked to transnational organized crime. This undermines security in regions where such activities take place leading to political and social instability. A case in perspective is Afghanistan where trade in Opium contributes to 10% of the country's GDP. Proceeds from the sale of opium are used to fund terrorism and insurgency. It also fuels corruption. Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) uses proceeds from sale of narcotics to support international terrorism as it controls transit links to Tajikistan. Terrorist organizations like the Kurdish Workers Party and the Afghan Mujahidin who have since been starved of funds have sought new means of funding. This has made narcotics trafficking a prominent factor of criminalization and military instability. Vast illegal profits are accrued from narcotic trafficking. It is estimated that up to 322 billion dollars are cashed every year. Criminal groups that benefit from drug related activities choose to undermine state authorities and the rule of law by fuelling corruption, interfering with host countries electoral processes, and hurting legitimate economies. Narcotics trafficking essentially undermine socio-economic, political stability, and sustainable development.

Columbia is a significant supplier of Marijuana and Heroin. Cartels peddling these drugs have excluded the government from large regions of the country to secure areas for growing poppy and trafficking routes to get their products to the market. Colombia is the source of over 90% of the cocaine and 50% of heroin that is trafficked into the United States. Significant money laundering activities take place within the borders of Colombia. It is very difficult to gauge commercial worth of illicit narcotics that are sold beyond borders of Colombia. However, it is approximated illicit narcotics contributes 5-10% of Colombia's GDP.

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-FARC is a Columbian Marxist organization that gravitates against imperialism. They purport to represent the poor people of Rural Columbia against economic predation from the ruling elites, U.S. political influence in Colombia's internal affairs, and repressive violence from the government of Colombia. The FARC funds some of its activities from production and distribution of illegal drugs.

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-FARC has been labeled as a terrorist organization by the governments of Colombia, the United States, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, and the European Union. However, the governments of Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Nicaragua maintain that it is not a terrorist organization.

Responsibility to protect is based on a principle that sovereignty is not a right but a responsibility. Responsibility to protect should not be applied to the issue of child soldiers because the language and scope of R2P is limited to the four mass atrocities crime only. Paragraph 138 of R2P underscores that individual states have a responsibility to protect its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity (Badescu, 2010). Unless there is a possibility that children who have been enlisted in an army are likely to be subjected to acts of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, then the responsibility to protect should not apply to them. Paragraph 139 of R2P expressly say that the international community has the responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian, and other peaceful means to protect populations from four mass atrocities crimes (Evans, 2006). Another reason as to why responsibility to protect should not be applied to the issue of child soldiers is that there are international laws, policies, and programs that deal with the issue of child soldiers. United Nation's Security Council has passed resolutions dealing with the issue of child soldiers. Besides, international agreements have been passed to deal with child soldier menace. United Nations member states have also domesticated legislations that tackle the child soldier demon. Instead of thinking of responsibility to protect as a remedy for child soldier menace, international laws, policies, and programs concerning the use of child soldiers need to be enforced on the ground. This will ensure that resolutions passed at the United Nation's Security Council are followed with specific action. Apart from law enforcement it is important that root causes of child soldiering are looked at. In this way, guided strategies that attack the very heart of the practice can be devised.

Optional protocol to the convention on the rights of the child on the involvement of children in armed conflict is one such international law that addresses the issue of child soldiers. The protocol calls upon state parties to take feasible measures to ensure that members of their armed forces who have not attained majority age do not directly participate in armed conflicts. This protocol also advises… READ MORE

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