Sample Durbin Torture Amendment Letter

Dear Senator:

As your constituent and as a member of Amnesty International, I am writing to ask you to support Senator Durbin’s Torture Amendment to the Defense Authorization bill.

The Durbin Torture Amendment reaffirms US commitment to uphold the Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture, and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, and the prohibition against torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The notorious photos taken at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq demonstrate that U.S. personnel have been responsible for acts of torture and other forms of abuse, in violation of the US commitments to uphold international law. It is imperative that Senate adopts the Durbin Torture Amendment and that it receives strong, bipartisan support to send a message around the world that the U.S. opposes such abuse and will uphold international standards for human rights.

The United States agreed to the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment when it became a party to the Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture, and the International Covenant to Civil and Political Rights. Through ratification of these conventions, the United States vowed that no person in U.S. custody anywhere in the world would be subjected to the “cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by the 5th, 8th, and/or 14th Amendments to the Constitution” of the United States.

I urge you to vote to help provide overwhelming, bipartisan support to pass the Durbin Torture Amendment to the Defense Authorization bill and make clear that the United States opposes torture and is committed to upholding domestic and international law.