June 26th is United Nations International Day in Support of Torture Victims. Several years ago, religious and human rights organizations in the United States declared the month of June to be Torture Awareness Month as a way to provide greater visibility to this issue and provide an opportunity for coordinated efforts across the country.

This will be a pivotal year in NRCAT’s work to end the use of torture, as we recognize the degree to which torture has taken root in American culture and consciousness.

We have become a people:

• who applaud when high-ranking government officials openly advocate for the use of torture or admit to having authorized it;
• of whom roughly half believe that torture is often or sometimes justified to gain information from terrorists (see this poll and p. 27 of this one);
• who accept the long-term solitary confinement of tens of thousands of men and women in our domestic prisons;
• who exhibit increasingly hostile attitudes toward our Muslim brothers and sisters, fostering an environment that denies our common humanity and lays the foundation for violence and even torture; who accept our politicians’ calls to “look forward, not backward” and avoid the deeply spiritual work of repentance, redemption and national healing.

Under the theme “2012 – Confronting the Culture of Torture,” NRCAT is highlighting the following aspects of our work as opportunities for congregations, religious organizations and people of faith to mark Torture Awareness Month:

• Push back against the public advocacy of torture with a faith-based response
• Repeal indefinite detention
• End prolonged solitary confinement
• Combat anti-Muslim bigotry
  
• Pursue accountability for U.S.-sponsored torture

>> GET INVOLVED: Click here for more information about each of these areas, including specific activities for Torture Awareness Month.