H. Knox Thames
The Shocking Trade in Devices of Torture
Fri Jun 25, 2004 16:37
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The Shocking Trade in Devices of Torture
By H. Knox Thames *
August 23, 2000
http://www.nyu.edu/globalbeat/syndicate/Thames082300.html

WASHINGTON -- As his final term in office slowly winds down, President Clinton continues to search for a meaningful foreign policy achievement on which to stake his legacy. But while he has pursued such high-profile challenges as peace in the Mideast, there is at least one small but significant action he could take that would make an important contribution to the cause of human rights.

Currently, the Republic of Turkey is allowed unfettered access to U.S.- manufactured electric-shock devices, despite the fact that it is consistently linked with gross violations of human rights through the use of torture. The State Department's annual Human Rights Report calls the use of torture in Turkey "widespread." Assistant Secretary of State Harold Koh lists torture as the top human-rights issue affecting relations between the U.S. and Turkey.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights have all cited the use of torture in Turkey as "widespread" and "common."

As international scrutiny of such practices increases, repressive regimes have increasingly turned to electric shock as the torture method of choice. It's cheap, very painful and, best of all from the standpoint of the torturer, leaves few incriminating marks on the victim.

Current U.S. regulations bar the export of products that could be used to violate internationally accepted norms of human rights. It would certainly seem that such electric-shock devices would fall under this category.

So how is it, then, that, according to Amnesty International, U.S. - based firms account for almost half of the total sales of such devices worldwide?

The root of the problem can be found in the Export Administration Act of 1979 which waives the requirement for export licenses on goods that fall into the category of "crime control" devices to NATO countries, including Turkey. U.S. firms are therefore free to sell electric shock devices to Turkey, despite its abysmal human-right record.

Closing this loophole by legislative means has so far proved unsuccessful. Because of the complexity of the measure, and because foreign trade plays such a vital role in the U.S. economy, previous attempts to revise the Act have become mired in congressional debate. Congress once spent over two years considering the statute before finally reauthorizing the Act.

But presidential action offers a possible solution. The Act authorizes the president to either "impose, extend, or expand export controls" if five criteria, ranging from foreign-policy goals to the effect on the domestic economy, are met. In the case of electric-shock devices, these thresholds can easily be met. While presidential action would not ban the export of electric-shock devices, requiring a license would prohibit their sales to countries such as Turkey until they comply with international standards of human rights.

During his two terms in office, Clinton has become a larger-than-life political figure and has sought equally-large achievements to mark his place in history. Yet, it is through a small action, such as requiring export licenses for devices that could be used by human-rights violators on thousands of victims around the world, and especially in Turkey, that the president may obtain the type of lasting foreign-policy legacy he so desperately hopes to achieve.

H. Knox Thames is a graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C., and served as an intern for the Congressional Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

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