the proposed convention will not defeat the exemption from tax which a host country may grant to the salary of diplomatic officials of the other country.

The saving clause (as modified by paragraph 4(b) of Article 1) does not apply to this article, so that, for example, U.S. diplomats who are considered Spanish residents generally are able to receive the benefits of this article with respect to Spanish tax.

ARTICLE 29. ENTRY INTO FORCE

The proposed treaty is subject to ratification in accordance with the applicable procedures of each country and the instruments of ratification are to be exchanged as soon as possible in Washington. In general, the proposed treaty will enter into force when the instruments of ratification are exchanged.

With respect to taxes on dividends, interest, and royalties, the treaty will be effective for amounts paid or credited on or after the first day of the second month next following the date on which the treaty enters into force. With respect to other taxes, the treaty is to be effective for taxable periods beginning on or after January 1 of thing on or after January 1 of the year following the date on which the treaty enters into force.

Provision 20 of the proposed protocol contains a rule requiring the competent authorities of the two countries to consult together regarding the appropriateness of negotiating any modification of the proposed treaty to reflect subsequent substantial changes in the domestic legislation of either country or in their tax relations with third countries. Need for such negotiations might be provoked either by new developments in one of the country's tax treaty negotiating policy or as a consequence of changes which may occur in the supernational systems of integration to which the two countries are parties. For example, if one of the countries revised its treaty policy with respect to rates of withholding taxes, the competent authorities would consult regarding the possibility of extending that revised policy to this treaty.

ARTICLE 30. TERMINATION

The proposed treaty will continue in force indefinitely, but either country may terminate it at any time after five years from its entry into force. Notice of termination must be made through diplomatic channels, and given at least six months before the end of a calendar year.

If termination occurs, it will be effective for taxes chargeable for any taxable year beginning on or after the first day of January in the calendar year next following the year in which notice is given.

IX. TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION OF RATIFICATION

Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring therein), That the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the Convention between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, together with a related Protocol, signed at Madrid on February 22, 1990 (Treaty Doc. 101-16).

О

2d Session

SENATE

101-30

CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT

AUGUST 30, 1990.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. PELL, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
submitted the following

REPORT

together with

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

[To accompany Treaty Doc. 100-20]

The Committee on Foreign Relations to which was referred the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by unanimous agreement of the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1984, and signed by the United States on April 18, 1988, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with three reservations, eight understandings, and two declarations, and recommends that the Senate give its advice and consent to ratification thereof.

XI. Appendix A: Bush_Administration Reservations, Understandings, and
Declarations, as Transmitted

35

XII. Appendix B: Correspondence from the Bush Administration to Members of the Foreign Relations Committee........

39

PURPOSE

The Convention establishes a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on the principle of "universal jurisdiction" and on the obligation to extradite or prosecute. Each State Party is bound to establish criminal jurisdiction over torture and to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution. The Convention also obligates States Parties to include acts of torture as extraditable offenses in treaties concluded between them. States Parties are obligated to take legislative, administrative, judicial, or other measures to prevent acts of torture in territories under their jurisdiction. The Convention also requires States Farties to undertake to prevent acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in their territories.

The Convention establishes a Committee Against Torture to monitor compliance and to investigate allegations of the use of torture.

BACKGROUND

The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted by unanimous agreement of the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1984, and entered into force on June 26, 1987. As of August 1 of this year, 52 States had become Party to the Convention and 21 others had signed.

The United States signed the Convention on April 18, 1988. President Reagan transmitted the Convention to the Senate on May 20, 1988, with several proposed U.S. conditions. In a letter of May 8, 1989 to Senator Pell, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, the Bush administration designated the Convention Against Torture as one for which there is an "urgent need for Senate approval." In January 1990, the Bush administration submitted a revised and reduced list of proposed U.S. conditions.

Adoption of the Convention in 1984 culminated more than a decade of efforts at the international level to eliminate the practice of torture. In 1973 the U.N. General Assembly adopted Resolution 3059 rejecting "any form of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Two years later, it adopted the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from being subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Article 2 of the declaration states that "any act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is an offense to human dignity and shall be condemned as a denial of the purposes of the Charter of the United Nations and as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Article 3 states that "no State may permit or tolerate torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." The declaration served as the foundation for the Convention.

The Convention itself was the product of 7 years of intense negotiations, in which the United States played an active part. The United States helped to focus the Convention on torture rather

than other less abhorrent practices and to strengthen the effectiveness of the Convention by pressing for provisions that would ensure that torture is a punishable offense. Congress demonstrated its support for these activities in 1984 through passage of a joint resolution, sponsored by Senators Pell and Percy, reaffirming the U.S. Government's opposition to torture and commitment to combat the practice of torture and expressing support for the involvement of the U.S. Government in the formulation of international standards and effective implementing mechanisms against torture.

COMMITTEE ACTION

On January 30, 1990, the Committee on Foreign Relations held a public hearing on the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Testimony was heard from two administration witnesses, Abraham D. Sofaer, Legal Adviser, Department of State, and Mark Richard, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, Department of Justice. The following public witnesses also presented testimony: Winston Nagan, Chairman, Board of Directors, Amnesty International USA; David Forte, Professor of Law, Cleveland State University; James Silkenat, Chairman, Section of International Law and Practice, American Bar Association; Charles Rice, Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School; and David Weissbrodt, Briggs and Morgan Professor of Law, University of Minnesota, and Center for Victims of Torture, the Minnesota Lawyers International Human Rights Committee.

The committee met to consider the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on July 19, 1990. The committee voted 10 to 0 to report favorably the Convention with a resolution of ratification to the Senate for its advice and consent. Ayes: Senators Pell, Biden, Sarbanes, Cranston, Dodd, Kerry, Simon, Sanford, Moynihan, and Robb.

The resolution of ratification reported by the committee contains the reservations, understandings, and declarations submitted by the Bush administration.

COMMITTEE COMMENTS

The committee regards the Convention Against Torture as a major step forward in the international community's efforts to eliminate torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Convention codifies international law as it has evolved, particularly in the 1970's, on the subject of torture and takes a comprehensive approach to the problem of combating torture. The strength of the Convention lies in the obligation of States Parties to make torture a crime and to prosecute or extradite alleged torturers found in their territory.

Ratification of the Convention Against Torture will demonstrate clearly and unequivocally U.S. opposition to torture and U.S. determination to take steps to eradicate it. Ratification is a natural follow-on to the active role that the United States played in the negotiating process for the Convention and is consistent with longstanding U.S. efforts to promote and protect basic human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the world. As a party to the