• Prohibit any exemption from or exception to U.S. adherence to the human rights standards of international law – without exception;
• Prohibit the practice of apprehending suspects and transporting them to countries that use torture as an interrogation technique;
• Prohibit the existence or use of secret prisons for U.S. detainees anywhere in the world;
  Mandate access by the International Committee of the Red Cross to all U.S. detainees around the world;
  
• Restore habeas corpus protection for all U.S. detainees, citizen and non-citizen alike;
  
• Prohibit the use of evidence derived from torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment (including hearsay evidence) in the determination of guilt or innocence of a charged offense;
  Initiate an independent investigation of the role of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees under U.S. custody and control after September 11, 2001.

2. Engage national denominations, faith groups and religious organizations in actively helping to obtain these legislative goals.

3. Engage regional religious organizations, congregations, and individual people of faith in actively helping to obtain these legislative goals.

4. Engage the religious community in projects and communications efforts to educate the public about torture and detainee treatment and to urge the public to oppose torture and to support these legislative goals.

5. Secure sufficient funding to become a stable organization with effective staffing, administrative structure, and communications capabilities.

Learn more about NRCAT by visiting www.nrcat.org.


Torture is a Moral Issue
A Statement of Conscience of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear. It degrades everyone involved -- policy-makers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation's most cherished ideals. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable.

Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now -- without exceptions.


"Torture is a Moral Issue" Ad
On Tuesday, June 13, 2006, 27 religious leaders from across the religious spectrum, including Nobel laureates Pres. Jimmy Carter and Elie Weisel, joined together in an advertisement on the op-ed page of the New York Times, calling for the elimination of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment as part of U.S. policy. (The ad was paid for in full by an anonymous donor.)