(Re)interpreting Human Rights: The Case of the “Torture Memos” and their Translation into Italian

The language of human rights can prove as difficult to define as it is to
determine its boundaries as a legal discipline and to assert its universal acceptance. The
indeterminacy and vagueness often observed in the language of its documents is clearly
aimed at fostering Human Rights acknowledgment and protection; however, these same
features are also a powerful tool for States seeking manipulative interpretations of human
rights conventions. By combining the Appraisal Framework with an analysis of the
rhetorical strategies employed in a specific type of legal document, this paper will explore
the linguistic devices and rendering in translation of the so-called “Torture Memos”
released by the US Government after 9/11 in an attempt to provide a legal framework for
the CIA interrogation program for “unlawful combatants”.