Mary Henry (Independent)

I second the motion. It is a great honour to be asked to do so.

On 23 June 2004, on Fifth Stage of the Transfer of Execution of Sentences Bill 2003 in this House, I stated the following to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform:

As one who has long been concerned with the rights and treatment of prisoners, I welcome the Bill. It is extremely useful. I wish to raise with the Minister a matter which has been of great concern to the House. Can he assure us that untried and unsentenced people are not being brought through Shannon from goodness knows where to Guantanamo Bay? We raised this issue in the House several times and it has been a cause of real concern to us because many Irish citizens would not like to think that was happening.

The Minister replied:

Obviously, I have no notice of that issue, although, apparently, the Senator has raised it on other occasions in the House. Any person who is on the soil of Ireland is entitled to the protection of our Constitution. No person can be brought through the soil of Ireland in the custody of any other state except in accordance with international law. If the Senator has reason to believe any person has been transited through Irish territory, in unlawful custody, particularly to Guantanamo, I would be interested to hear it because I would respond to it immediately. We have our Constitution and the right of the freedom of the individual is not confined to citizens; it applies to all persons. Therefore, it would cause me grave concern if I thought people were being smuggled through Irish territory in circumstances that amounted to unlawful detention in Irish law or in international law for that matter.

If we do not look for people being smuggled through or if we continue to collude in our dealings with the aeroplanes on which they are smuggled, how on earth can we afford them the benefits of our Constitution?

The report on rendition, produced by Senator Dick Marty of Switzerland, shows that Shannon has been used by CIA aeroplanes to render people to third countries on a continuing basis. Last Sunday's exposé by cleaning staff of a manacled person on a civilian aeroplane demonstrates that we must be sceptical of US assertions that our hospitality towards its aeroplanes is not being abused. It is odd that there is no protocol in place to deal with discoveries such as that made by the cleaners, whose actions I applaud.

Torture, both physical and psychological, has been employed on people who have been sent to third countries for rendition. There are plenty of reports on this. Torture is a barbarous practice and we all prefer to avoid thinking about or discussing it. There is avoidance on the part of the victim and denial on the part of the perpetrator, his or her helpers and society as a whole. This denial is extensive and allows the practice of torture and its effects to continue.

I applaud those at the Centre for the Care of the Survivors of Torture, North Circular Road, on their courage in caring for those who were tortured in other countries and subsequently came to Ireland. I doubt I would be able to do it myself even though medical publications, particularly in the United States, are increasingly telling medical personnel that they must address this issue. I refer in particular to a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine:

The Geneva Convention's definition of torture can apparently be ignored by those who have invaded Iraq. What is torture? In the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984, it is defined as follows:

Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

The people who are directing the rendition flights are acting in an official capacity. Physical torture may include suspension, beatings, electric shock, removal of nails and/or teeth, deprivation of food and water, sexual abuse and forced ingestion of chemicals. Other types of torture which are primarily psychological include solitary confinement, threats, witnessed torture or execution — this is particularly serious where the one tortured is a member of someone's family — sham executions, deprivation of sleep and monopolisation of perception.

Regarding the effects of torture on the victims, survivors of torture often suffer from a combination of physical and psychological effects. Physical effects may include scars, broken bones, muscle swelling, stiffness or atrophy, chronic pain, headaches, deafness, blindness and loss of teeth. Victims often suffer from psychological symptoms such as lack of sleep, nightmares, problems with concentration, anxiety, depression, irritability, adjustment disorders, impotence and feelings of powerlessness, shame and guilt.

Anyone who has read the sufferings of the young Canadian man who was wrongly taken while transiting through the United States of America to Syria and there tortured will understand that these effects are ongoing and deprive people of what can be described as a normal life.

When I marched against the invasion of Iraq I felt sure that the proposed war would go badly but I did not think it would go as badly as it has done. Death and the destruction of Iraqi citizens is everywhere and displacement of communities on a sectarian basis is now following. Life is intolerable for many people, women in particular being singled out for rape and kidnapping. The Chaldean Christians have mainly fled the country.

In the Seanad I have called for the release of two women scientists, Dr. Huda Ammash and Dr. Rhab Taha. The former obtained her doctorate in Missouri University, the latter in East Anglia. These women were portrayed as high profile producers of biological weapons of mass destruction and members of the infamous "Pack of Cards" by the discredited people in the Pentagon who had decided they were important members of Saddam's regime. Calls for their trial or release were ignored. Dr. Ammash had breast cancer. Surely she could have been released on humanitarian grounds. Even when their release was sought by those insurgents who kidnapped and subsequently beheaded Ken Bigley, a British hostage, it was ignored. Perhaps their release would have helped in securing his release. After two and a half years, they were quietly released six months ago but did anyone see that reported widely? No, because it was not.

What has all this done to the standing of the United States in the world? It has diminished it greatly. In a recent survey, 60% of people questioned in the United States and in Europe felt the invasion of Iraq and its consequences had made the world more dangerous. Under-Secretary Karen Hughes is touring the world in an attempt to improve this serious change in the view of the citizens of the world of the United States. She has an uphill task.

The war has also diminished Americans themselves. When I was there last autumn, I met a woman who told me that as the mother of a young serviceman, she feared for what this war is doing to America's young people. What does it do to young people to be told they are to run down children in the path of one's truck in case they are slowing the trucks for a roadside bomb? The effect on the people of America will be horrific too.