The use of torture and other ill-treatment remains an alarmingly persistent global issue. Torture is often wrongly considered a necessary means to extract confessions or gather information, and instrumentalised to intimidate communities and suppress dissent.
The serious negative consequences of torture are incontrovertible: torture leads to false confessions and unreliable testimony, spreads distrust in public institutions, and causes long-term physical and psychological pain and suffering not just for those directly targeted, but also for their families and communities, requiring deep healing and reconciliation.
United Nations Convention against Torture, Article 1.
– Severe pain or suffering;
– Intentionally inflicted;
– For a particular purpose;
– By, at the instigation of, or with consent and acquiescence of a public official or others acting in an official capacity.
There is no internationally agreed definition for “other ill-treatment”, and it is not defined under UNCAT. All forms of torture and other cruel and inhuman treatment or punishment require the infliction of severe pain or suffering. The key criteria to distinguish ‘other ill-treatment’ from torture includes the following:
– Not intentionally inflicted;
– For no prohibited purpose;
– Pain or suffering is not necessarily as severe (e.g. in cases of ‘degrading’ treatment or punishment).
See the report of the former Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, A/HRC/13/39, para. 60.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 5
– the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 7)
– the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 37)
– the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Article 15)
– International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (Article 10)
– the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Articles 7 & 8)
– the 1949 Geneva Conventions (Common Article 3).
It is also explicitly recognised in all the regional human rights treaties, namely:
– the European Convention on Human Rights (Article 3)
– the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Article 5)
– the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 37)
– the American Convention on Human Rights (Article 5(2)).
– Absolute: no exceptions in normal circumstances
– Non-derogable: no exceptions even in times of war and national emergencies
– No anmesties or statutes of limitations are allowed
– A jus cogens norm of international law, meaning it is accepted by the international community as binding on all States.
Article 2(3), UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT)
The practice of torture is a stark indicator of a distressed State, and interferes with economic and social progress.
Adopted in 1984, the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is the key international human rights treaty dedicated to eradicating torture worldwide. It contains five binding obligations for States, which are summarised here:
States are obligated to criminalise torture under their national laws. Evidence gained through torture, such as statements or confessions, is to be excluded from all proceedings. The criminalisation of torture includes the obligation not to expel, refoul or extradite any person to where they may risk torture.
States must put in place measures to prevent torture through through laws, training, and oversight, including the systematic review of interrogation rules, custody and detention procedures and institutions; as well as applying the principle of 'non-refoulement', the obligation not to deport any person to where they may be at risk of torture.
States are required to allow complaints of torture and to promptly and impartially investigate all allegations; to prosecute and punish perpetrators, with penalties that take into account the grave nature of the crime; and ensure no safe havens by cooperating with other States on extradition.
States are required to provide reparation for torture victims, ensuring they have an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation, as well as the fullest rehabilitation possible.
States are required to periodically report to the Committee against Torture on the measures they have taken to implement the Convention.
Prohibiting and preventing torture rely heavily on enforcement through domestic institutions, and this is where the work of CTI is primarily focused.
The Convention against Torture established a treaty monitoring body known as the Committee against Torture (CAT), which reviews State performance against their commitments under the Convention.
State parties are required to submit periodic reports to the Committee on the legislative, judicial, administrative or other measures they have taken to implement the Convention.
The Committee consists of 10 experts, nominated and elected by State parties, of high moral standing and who have a recognised competence in the field of human rights. While they are nationals of State parties, they serve in their own personal capacity. These members are elected with consideration of equitable geographical and gender distribution. They serve four-year terms and may be re-elected.
The Committee carries out three further functions, subject to the State party accepting its jurisdiction to do so:
The Committee can launch an inquiry if there are “well-founded indications” of systematic torture in a State party's territory, provided the State has accepted this procedure. The State is invited to cooperate, including by submitting its own observations. The inquiry may involve a visit to the country, and findings along with recommendations are shared confidentially with the State. The results may be made public only if the State consents.
More information is available here.
The Committee can consider individual complaints of Convention violations (called “communications”), but only if the person has met admissibility criteria, including exhaustion of all available domestic remedies. The Committee’s “views” on the complaint are public, and a summary of the communications reviewed are included in its Annual Report.
The Treaty Bodies jurisprudence database is available here.
The Committee may receive and consider communications from a State party that alleges another State party is not fulfilling its obligations under the Convention.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), adopted in 2002, strengthens torture prevention with the addition of two extra obligations requiring States to:
CTI’s expert team responds confidentially to governments and national institutions, offering one-to-one technical support on a wide range of issues relevant to the implementation of UNCAT – such as police and law enforcement, legislative review and reform, policy drafting, prison reform, complaints, investigations and prosecutions, and redress for victims. We have advised many governments and supported them in taking action on torture prevention, eradication and redress.
Contact us at info@cti.international.