Brussels, 17/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - “After the human rights breakdown during the 'war on terror'”, it is now time for Europeans to take stock of the situation and put things right, said Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, on Monday 16 March. “European governments must now review their own conduct during the Bush administration and take corrective action”, he added, referring to the new US administration's announcement that the Guantanamo camp would be closed within a year and that torture during interrogation would be banned, as would secret prisons. To support his comment, the Swedish official cites the report published in February by an independent, international panel of eminent judges and lawyers on damage caused by the “war on terror” since 2001. The report describes counter-terrorism practice such as torture, disappearances, arbitrary and secret detention, unfair trials, and persistent impunity for gross human rights violations. It also points out that a number of European security services worked in close cooperation with the CIA in the rendition programme to transfer suspects to Guantanamo and other locations where they could be interrogated using unlawful methods, sometimes with the participation of European agents. Mr Hammarberg, who considers the findings of the report “alarming”, calls on European governments to take corrective action. As the political situation in Washington has changed, it should now be possible to begin constructive dialogue on ways to ensure that cooperation between services does not give rise to human rights violations, he said. “This requires a determined position on cleaning up the immediate past”, was Mr Hammarberg's firm view. The Canadian government has opened a detailed inquiry into the case of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen arrested in an airport in the United States and then transported to Syria where he was subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. “This investigation could serve as an example for European governments”, said Mr Hammarberg, considering that the time has come for commissions to establish the facts. Mr Hammarberg's comments in full are available at: http://www.commissioner.coe.int . (B.C./transl.jl)