Frail Barrier Against Savagery

Twenty countries have raised a tiny flag in behalf of helpless humanity. They signed a United Nations treaty this week against torture, which is practiced in at least one-third of the nations of the world to control political dissent.

That such a treaty, seven years in preparation, is considered necessary is in itself a melancholy reflection on the horrors of a 20th Century in which torture, as Amnesty International reports, is “part of the machinery” of government in nearly 100 nations.

Amnesty International, the London-based organization that monitors these atrocities, made the observation recently that political killings are not limited to any single political system or ideology,and that no one is exempt--not even little children.

The treaty, adopted unanimously last December by the U.N. General Assembly, contains two important provisions. One is a U.N. procedure for an investigation of complaints of torture, and the other is an agreement requiring that torturers be prosecuted in whatever country they are found or extradited to for trial. The treaty will become effective after ratification by 20 countries. This will require Senate approval in the United States, which supported the pact but is awaiting a legal review of its contents before signing it.

The treaty is a frail barrier against the savagery that torments this world, but it is not insignificant. It represents human voices amid jungle snarls.