Casablanca, Morocco - The Bush administration's announcement of new rules governing interrogations of prisoners is a step in the right direction. A major lesson can be drawn from the decision: public denouncements can work. To be sure, not all regimes using torture are highly sensitive to public opinion. Yet none of them is completely insensitive to its reputation either with nationals or the international community.
Deterring regimes around the world from using torture requires raising the cost of using torture and
lowering the cost of denouncing torture. Many NGO's are doing an excellent job at exposing the misdeeds of countries abusing human rights. Their voice should be heard more often and louder. They inform the citizens of democratic countries who can in turn pressure their government to act. That's raising the cost of using torture. On the other hand raising the profile of those nationals of non-democratic countries who take huge risks in denouncing their regimes is key. It leverages their position in a situation where the balance of power is usually and greatly not in their favor. Online forums like this one can serve the purpose of informing those who can take up cases and give the necessary exposure that'll make the cost of abusing human rights higher.
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