Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1417 - Torture Victim Protection Act of 1988

(House)
(Yatron (D) Pennsylvania and 110 others)

The Administration strongly supports international measures to condemn and eliminate the practice of torture. To that end, the President recently submitted the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to the Senate for its advice and consent. This Torture Convention establishes a multilateral framework for dealing with the problem of torture.

In view of this recently established Convention, additional Congressional action would be premature. Further H.R. 1417 would go beyond the requirements of the Torture Convention in unilaterally granting a cause of action to any victim of torture, regardless of where the torture occurred, which could lead to foreign policy complications and problems of reciprocity. For these reasons, the Administration opposes H.R. 1417.