Well, I didn't get the lawyer-thingy, I'm not making a legal argument, I couldn't care less about that. You are not technically bound to follow it, but if you intend to make the world livable, you are bound to follow it. And isn't that what the bush administration is claiming to do? Civilized countries have chosen to put the human rights court above their own laws, and I hope the US will follow our example. The HR were created to avoid the atrocities of ww2 to happen again. For that to happen, it will first need recognition, which it has. Second, it will need authority, which it only has in a few places in the world.

And no, a charge doesn't have to mean criminal charge. Take a look at the cases in the human rights court, and you'll see that the definitions of that document are extremely broad catch-all phrases. Also, listen to what human rights organizations are saying about guantanamo. Not a single one of them claim that the prisoners aren't protected by the human rights, or that their rights are not broken.

The HR were created by basically the entire world. It's not like a few people sat down and decided something. And it's special in the case of the US, since they figured heavily in the making of them. If what you claim is correct, then the document is basically completely worthless. Why then do we have a human rights court, and trials where states are punished and they follow the verdict to the letter? So I'll ask you, do you think the document is a waste of paperwork, or is it a good foundation for a civilized society?

As for Ajaxfetish' comment, I fully stand by that claim, except that a new one can replace it, though that should happen in the same context that it was created.