Rights group: Europe sloppy on torture ban

NEW YORK, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Member nations of the European Union are too reliant on diplomatic assurances terror suspects won't be tortured after deportation, a New York rights group says.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement after the European Parliament adopted a report Tuesday on EU members' roles in helping the CIA shuttle terror suspects to such places as Egypt and Libya for interrogation.

The group said EU members began using the concept of diplomatic assurances in the 1990s, even after it became apparent in many cases they were "empty promises of humane treatment."

Human Rights Watch said its own published research during the past three years shows "promises from governments that practice torture or target specific groups for such abuse are unreliable, unenforceable and ineffective."

Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director of Human Rights Watch said Europe needs to do more collectively to stop the clandestine movement of prisoners.

"Diplomatic assurances simply do not protect against torture," Cartner wrote. "European governments have used these empty promises as a fig leaf to justify sending people to places where they risk being tortured."