Paris – Nearly 60 countries signed a treaty on Tuesday that bans governments from holding people in secret detention, but the United States and some of its key European allies were not among them.
The signing capped a quarter-century of efforts by families of people who have vanished at the hands of governments.
“Our American friends were naturally invited to this ceremony; unfortunately, they weren’t able to join us,” French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told reporters after 57 nations signed the treaty at his ministry in Paris. “That won’t prevent them from one day signing on in New York at U.N. headquarters – and I hope they will.”
The U.S. Embassy in Paris declined to comment.
President Bush acknowledged in September that terrorism suspects have been held in CIA-run prisons overseas but did not specify where.
Many other Western nations, including Germany, Spain, Britain and Italy, also did not sign the treaty. France introduced it at the U.N. General Assembly in November, and it was adopted in December.
Many delegates expressed hope that other nations will sign by year-end. Some European nations have expressed support for the treaty but face constitutional hurdles or require a full Cabinet debate before signing, French and U.N. officials said.
The treaty defines forced disappearances as the arrest, detention, kidnapping or “any other form of deprivation of freedom” by state agents or affiliates, followed by denials or coverups about the detention and location of the person gone missing.
Nations that eventually ratify the text would enshrine victims’ rights and would require states to penalize any forced disappearances in their countries and enact preventative and monitoring measures.
