It says something about the evil of organised global terrorism that it should give civilised nations reason to examine their consciences about core values such as basic human rights.
For example, the United States has had to justify the detention without trial and interrogation of thousands of terror suspects; Britain is still struggling to come to terms with the killing by police of an innocent man on a London Underground train because they feared he was a suicide bomber; and countries recognised for their commitment to civil liberties have been divided over the adoption of draconian internal security laws to protect their citizens from possible terrorist attacks.
Until now, however, none has felt compelled to give an assurance that it is still committed to abide by the global ban on torture.
It is 57 years to this day since the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including a ban on torture that has since been given the force of international law in the UN Convention Against Torture, the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Sadly, torture and other forms of inhuman treatment remain tools of repressive regimes and inhumane oppressors.
It was reassuring this week to hear the secretary of state of the US, the chief prosecutor of the so-called 'war on terror', reaffirm its commitment to the global ban on torture, amid concerns about reports of secret transfers of prisoners to countries with poor human-rights records.
