National Religious Campaign Against Torture
In March, 2006, the Maine Council of Churches became an Endorsing Member of the National Reliigous Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). A year later, MCC became a Participating Member of NRCAT. In 2010, MCC Executive Director Jill Saxby joined the Board of Directors of NRCAT.
For more information, actions you can take and resources you can use, go to: http://www.nrcat.org
Since 2006, MCC has joined interfaith partners from across the country, through NRCAT to:
- Educate people of faith in Maine regarding the religious and ethical issues raised by U.S.-sponsored torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners through public programs/forums, promoting the use of NRCAT-produced videos, study guides and other materials in Maine congregations and actions for public witness.
- Advocate for an end to U.S.-sponsored torture, for the closing of the prison at Guatanamo, Cuba, for the release of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee report on U.S. treatment of prisoners in the global “war on terror,” for the establishment of an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate and establish a record on U.S. practices and treatment of prisoners since Sept. 11, 2001.
- Joined NRCAT in adding “advocating for an end to torture by other nations” to its mission; endorsed the Statement caling for the ratification of the Optional Protocol Against Torture
- When NRCAT added advocating for the abolition of prolonged solitary confinement in U.S. prisons to its mission in 2010, MCC joined other prison reform advocates in Maine to work toward an end to the use of solitary confinement in Maine prisons as a form of punishment and for more humane treatment of prisoners, especially those suffering from mental illness.
Why is torture still an issue?
- Because President Obama’s Executive Orders, though a large step in the right direction, could be undone at any time by his, or any future, administration.
- Because telling the truth about what happened is the first step toward ensuring that it never happens again.
because the prophetic religious voice must be heard on behalf of the dignity of all human beings, saying “torture is a moral issue.”
