What can individual people of faith do to end U.S.-sponsored torture?
Do you have five minutes? Then you can:
Go to www.nrcat.org and follow the prompt to the Statement, Torture is a Moral Issue. You can endorse the statement.
Do you have 10 minutes? Then you can:
Contact your Congressional Representative. Call the Capitol
Switchboard at
1-202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to
your Congressional Representative. Ask him or her to support HR
1415 Restoring the Constitution Act, HR 1416 Restoring
Habeas Corpus to detainees and HR1352, ending torture
outsourcing.
Do you have 20 minutes? Then you can also:
Contact your Senators. See steps above. Ask for support for S.576, Restoring the Constitution and S.185, Restoring Habeas Corpus.
Don’t know who your Senators and Congressional Representative are? Go to www.fcnl.org and follow the prompt to Contact Congress.
Don’t know what to say or write? Check out the Friends Committee on National Legislation web site at www.fcnl.org. Use these talking points:
I ask you to speak out against current arguments offered by U.S. policy makers that torture or inhumane treatment is ever acceptable. Torture is never acceptable. It is also illegal under national and international law, and it is immoral.
Torture does not strengthen security, nor does it provide truth
under interrogation.
I ask that you do the following:
Initiate or support legislation to establish an independent commission to investigate torture currently carried out by the U.S., including “cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment.” In the House, support HR 3003.
Demand full information on all secret prisons – and demand their closure.
Demand that the prisoners at Guantanamo have legal trials and that the prison be closed.
Demand an immediate end to the practice of rendition (“outsourcing” torture to other countries).
Do you have a few hours – or one day? Then you can:
Visit your member of Congress or his or her staff at the district office.
Send a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper. Check online to see what the guidelines are for publication.
Write an Op-Ed short article for your newspaper. Again, check with the newspaper for guidelines.
Circulate a petition-style copy of the NRCAT Statement Torture is a Moral Issue and send it to NRCAT, c/o CCTPP, 4500 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016.
Write an article for your church or organization’s newsletter.
Do you have a few hours over a month or so? Then you can:
Educate and encourage your organization to become a Participating
or Endorsing Member of NRCAT.
For more information about how to proceed, contact
T.C. Morrow at
202-885-8648.
Do you want to continue your education and deepen your commitment to end the practice of torture?
Watch C-Span for coverage of hearings relevant to the issue of torture.
Read widely.
Arrange for a speaker from one of the organizations listed below for your organization or religious group.
Support one or more organizations that are concerned with this issue. Here are web sites for some organizations that are working in this arena:
www.aclu.org (American Civil Liberties Union)
www.amnestyinternational.org (Amnesty International)
www.astt.org (Advocates for Survivors of Torture and Trauma
www.cpt.org (Christian Peacemaker Teams)
www.humanrightsfirst.org (Human Rights First)
www.humanrightswatch.org (Human Rights Watch)
www.no2torture.org (No2Torture)
www.nrcat.org (National Religious Campaign Against Torture)
www.PeaceActionMC.org (Peace Action Montgomery County)
www.tassc.org (Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International
Never think that you cannot make a difference. You can. Together, we will.