Torture you? That’s a good idea. I like that.
by David Steven | Jun 24, 2008
The good news from today’s World Public Opinion poll on torture? A majority of Americans oppose torture in all circumstances.
The bad news? 31% believe that terrorists should be tortured to save innocent lives. And worse, more than one in eight believe that “in general governments should be allowed to use torture to try to get information”, even “in cases that have nothing to do with terrorism.”
In the UK, 82% oppose torture in all cases, 11% would torture terrorists, while 4% would allow Gordon Brown to water board David Davis.
Full results:
Title courtesy of Mr Blonde.
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David Steven is a senior fellow at the UN Foundation and at New York University, where he founded the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children and the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a multi-stakeholder partnership to deliver the SDG targets for preventing all forms of violence, strengthening governance, and promoting justice and inclusion. He was lead author for the ministerial Task Force on Justice for All and senior external adviser for the UN-World Bank flagship study on prevention, Pathways for Peace. He is a former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of The Risk Pivot: Great Powers, International Security, and the Energy Revolution (Brookings Institution Press, 2014). In 2001, he helped develop and launch the UK’s network of climate diplomats. David lives in and works from Pisa, Italy.
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