War No Excuse for Rights Abuses: Pope

"The truth of peace must also let its beneficial light shine even amid the tragedy of war," the pontiff said in a 12-page New Year peace message traditionally released by the Vatican ahead of the Christmas period, reported Reuters.

Pope Benedict said the Vatican was convinced international humanitarian law had to be respected "even in the midst of war".

Although he did not name any countries or wars, Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican Justice and Peace department, said the pontiff's words applied to all wars.

Asked if Iraq was included, he said: "That's correct."

Human Rights Watch revealed that US troops routinely subjected Iraqi detainees to severe beatings and other cruel and inhumane treatment as a "way of sport" or just to "relieve stress".

Respect Geneva

Asked if Pope Benedict was singling out the US for condemnation, Martino said the pontiff "is not condemning anybody but is inviting them to observe the Geneva Convention."

Washington also maintains that the Geneva Convention does not apply to foreign detainees in its so-called "war on terror".

However, human rights activists counter that the US is still bound by the 1984 UN Convention against torture to which it is a signatory.

"Torture is a humiliation of the human person, whoever he is," said Martino.

"The Church does not admit it ... there are other means to make people talk," he added.

Last week, a group of American Roman Catholic peace activists held a march to the US Naval Guantanamo Bay, protesting conditions for terror suspects.

The US has been keeping hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The New York Times revealed on October 17, 2004, that uncooperative detainees in Guantanamo were regularly tortured by US guards.

The HRW issued a report entitled "The Road To Abu Ghraib" linking the abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo to the policies adopted by US President George W. Bush in his so-called war on terror.

CIA Abductions

Marty said information "reinforced the credibility" of accusations on the transfer and temporary detention of individuals in Europe. (Reuters)

In a related development, the Strasburg-based Council of Europe said on Tuesday that the US appeared to have abducted and detained individuals and transformed them between countries, reported Agence France Presse (AFP).

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