Interstate Cooperation in Violations of International Human Rights Law: The Case of Extraordinary Rendition

Year 2024, Volume: 44 Issue: 1, 281 - 318, 21.08.2024

Necdet Umut Orcan

Abstract

Following the 9/11 attacks, the United States, specifically the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), implemented a Rendition, Detention and Interrogation Programme, which involved capturing, unlawfully detaining, and interrogating individuals suspected of involvement in the War on Terror. The United States could not carry out these extraordinary renditions and interrogations alone. The Programme required the use of other countries’ territories for the unlawful rendition and interrogation of persons, as it could not be carried out within the United States legal system, which provides effective procedural safeguards for the apprehension, detention and interrogation of individuals. Cooperation with other states was necessary during the rendition and interrogation stages. Although the international community was aware of the unlawful procedures involved in the Programme from the beginning, at least 54 states, ranging from those considered to have been ‘advanced’ in terms of democracy and human rights to those with problematic records in this regard, cooperated with the CIA. This study investigates the reasons for cooperation between states in the practice of extraordinary rendition. It finds that the perception of national security as a priority over human rights is the main driver of such cooperation. The purpose of this study is to examine the practice of extraordinary rendition and assess it under human rights law. Then, after listing the states that cooperated with the CIA, it attempts to answer the question of why cooperation might have existed.

Keywords

Extraordinary rendition, Prohibition of torture, Personal liberty and security, Right to a fair trial, Human rights, Theories of cooperation, War on terror, International relations

Olağan Dışı Teslim Örneğiyle Uluslararası İnsan Hakları Hukuku İhlallerinde Devletlerarası İş Birliği

Abstract

11 Eylül saldırıları sonrası Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ve özellikle Merkezi İstihbarat Teşkilatı (CIA), teröre karşı savaş bağlamında şüpheli görülen kişilerin yakalanması, hukuka aykırı olarak başka ülkelere kaçırılması ve kötü muamele içeren usullerle sorgulanmasını içeren bir Teslim, Tutma ve Sorgulama Programı (ing. “Rendition, Detention and Interrogation”) yürütmüştür. Ancak bu olağan dışı teslim ve sorgulamalar, doğaları gereği, yalnızca Birleşik Devletlerin tek taraflı girişimleriyle gerçekleştirilebilecek nitelikte değildir: Programın, kişilerin yakalanması, tutulması ve sorgulanması aşamaları için önemli usuli güvenceler içeren Birleşik Devletler hukuk sisteminde gerçekleştirilmesi mümkün olmadığından, özellikle kişilerin hukuka aykırı transferi ve sorgulama aşamalarında başka devletlerin topraklarının kullanılması gerekmiştir. Bu nedenle teslim ve sorgu işlemlerinde diğer devletlerin iş birliğine gerek duyulmuştur. Öyle görünüyor ki Program’ın içerdiği hukuka aykırı usuller neredeyse ilk aşamalardan itibaren tüm uluslararası kamuoyu tarafından bilinir olsa da demokrasi ve insan hakları açılarından gelişmiş addedilen devletlerden bu açıdan sorunlu devletlere kadar geniş bir yelpazede en az elli dört devlet CIA ile iş birliği yapmaktan çekinmemiştir. Bu çalışma bu iş birliğinin nedenlerini araştırmakta, bu nedeni iş birliği yapan devletler arasındaki ulusal güvenliğin insan haklarına üstün kılınma algısında bulmaktadır. Bu amaçla çalışmanın ilk bölümünde olağan dışı teslim uygulaması ve bu uygulamanın insan hakları hukuku açısından değerlendirilmesine yer verilmiş, ikinci bölümde ise iş birliğinde bulunan devletler anıldıktan sonra iş birliğinde neden bulunulmuş olabileceği sorusu cevaplanmaya çalışılmıştır.

Keywords

Olağan dışı teslim, İşkence yasağı, Kişi özgürlüğü ve güvenliği, Adil yargılanma hakkı, İnsan hakları, İş birliği teorileri, Teröre karşı savaş, Uluslararası ilişkiler

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