Congress urged to ban 'renditions'

NEW YORK, March 6 (UPI) -- A U.S. human rights group has urged Congress to pass new legislation to outlaw the practice of "extraordinary renditions."

"The U.S. Congress should act quickly to enact a bill introduced today that would end the practice of 'extraordinary renditions' of individuals to countries where they risk being tortured," Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

The group urged Congress to approve the Torture Outsourcing Prevention Act, legislation that was introduced Tuesday in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and 44 other members of the House.

"Under international law, sending someone to torture is just as illegal as directly committing torture. The bill is intended to put a stop to this practice by the U.S. government," HRW said.

"President Bush claims that the U.S. doesn't hand over people to countries that torture, but unfortunately the record shows otherwise," said Jennifer Daskal, U.S. advocacy director for Human Rights Watch. "It's time for Congress to put an end to this disgraceful and illegal practice."

HRW noted that in a letter to congressional leadership on Feb. 22, "a broad coalition of human rights, religious, and other interested groups laid out 10 needed steps to reverse course and begin the process of restoring U.S. moral authority on the rule of law and human rights."

"Enacting legislation to stop renditions to torture is high on that agenda," HRW said.

"The practice of extraordinary rendition not only destroys lives and families, but also the reputation of the United States around the world," said Daskal. "Congress now has a chance to reverse course and protect the very ideals that the United States is based upon."