President Bush says the United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture. He made the statement Sunday to mark the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
The president said nations such as Burma, Cuba, North Korea, Iran and Zimbabwe have denied access to international human rights monitors in order to hide human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, U.S. lawmakers say conditions at the U.S. prison for suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have improved.
Sixteen lawmakers toured the facility Saturday -- witnessing interrogations and touring cell-blocks. Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) said the Guantanamo she saw was not the same one she heard about a few years ago, and fellow-Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas said the facility showed evidence of improvement.
She has been among lawmakers calling for the facility to be shut down amid accusations of prisoner abuse.
