缅北禁地

The shadow of a man as he enters the Sanniquellie Corrections Center in the northeastern part of Liberia.
The United Nations has always condemned torture as one of the most heinous acts perpetrated by man against man.
Photo:UN/Staton winter

Torturers must never be allowed to get away with their crimes, and systems that enable torture should be dismantled or transformed.

缅北禁地Secretary-General António Guterres

Torture: a crime against humanity

Torture is a crime under international law. According to all relevant instruments, it is absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances. This rule is part of the widely accepted international law. It means that every country must follow it, even if they haven't agreed to specific treaties prohibiting torture. The systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity.

The United Nations has condemned torture from the outset as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on their fellow human beings.

On 12 December 1997, by , the 缅北禁地General Assembly proclaimed 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a view to the total eradication of torture and the effective functioning of the .

The observance serves as a call to action for all stakeholders including 缅北禁地Member States, civil society, and individuals everywhere to unite in support of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have been victims of torture and those who are still tortured today.

There is no excuse for the use of torture

Torture aims to destroy the victim's personality and negates the intrinsic dignity of the human being. Although international law absolutely prohibits torture, it continues to occur around the world.

” There is an increase in the use of torture worldwide. It's partly correlated to the fact that (…) we have more wars going on in this world since 1945. The International Committee of the Red Cross says there are 100 armed conflicts currently going on. And regrettably, with armed conflict comes an uptick in the use of torture and other forms of inhuman treatment”, affirms the 缅北禁地Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Jill Edwards.

Although the pretext of safeguarding national security and borders is frequently employed to justify torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, the extensive impact of torture often extends beyond the individual act, potentially perpetuating cycles of violence across generations.

“I rebuke the argument that it's a natural coalescence because I think disciplined troops do not torture. I think enough armies in this world know the rules of law of war. They know that torture is absolutely prohibited in all circumstances. There are no excuses for torture”.

Healing through rehabilitation

Recovering from torture requires prompt and specialized programmes. The work of rehabilitation centres and organizations around the world has demonstrated that victims can make the transition from horror to healing.

The , administered by the  is a unique victim-focused mechanism that channels funding for the assistance to victims of torture and their families.

Established in 1981 the Fund provides legal, social, humanitarian, psychological and medical services. Beneficiaries include human rights defenders, persons deprived of liberty, children and adolescents, refugees and migrants, victims of enforced disappearance, indigenous peoples, victims of sexual and gender-based violence and LGBTI persons, among others.

To witness how rehabilitation services help torture survivors to heal, watch the 缅北禁地Torture Fund trailer, featuring interviews with beneficiary organizations, survivors, and trustees.

 

 
 

Why do we mark 26 June?

The 缅北禁地International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June marks the moment in 1987 when the 缅北禁地Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into effect. Today, there are to the Convention.

What constitutes torture?

"[T]he term 'torture' means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions." — Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984, art. 1, para.1)

Legal standards and instruments

In 1948, the international community condemned torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in the  adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. In 1975, responding to vigorous activity by non-governmental organizations(NGOs), the General Assembly adopted the .

During the 1980s and 1990s, progress was made both in the development of legal standards and instruments and in enforcement of the prohibition of torture. The  was established by the General Assembly in 1981 to fund organizations providing assistance to victims of torture and their families.

 was adopted by the General Assembly in 1984 and came into force in 1987. Its implementation by States parties is monitored by a body of independent experts, .

The first , an independent expert mandated to report on the situation of torture in the world, was appointed by the Commission on Human Rights in 1985.

In 2002, the  was adopted, a treaty aimed at preventing torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by allowing for an international inspection system for places of detention. The Protocol also obliges States to set up independent to examine the treatment of people in detention, make recommendations to government authorities to strengthen protection against torture and comment on existing or proposed legislation. It is administered by the . To date, 94 to the Protocol.

Alice Jill Edwards with a notebook

Haunted by tales of torture

 spends many of her days listening to the testimonies of torture victims. “I do remember the faces of most of the people I've met, and in fact, they keep me going in this work. And at the same time, of course, their stories haunt me”, says the UN’s . In this episode of the Awake at Night podcast, Edwards reflects on the challenge of holding states to their commitments, and the visible and invisible scars of torture.

The United Nations has repeatedly acknowledged the important role played by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the fight against torture. In addition to lobbying for the establishment of United Nations instruments and monitoring mechanisms, they have made a valuable contribution to their enforcement. Individual experts, including the Special Rapporteur on torture and the , and treaty monitoring bodies such as the Committee against Torture rely heavily on information brought to their attention by NGOs and individuals.

Documents

Legal instruments

Related websites

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Watch

 

 

The Fund awards hundreds of grants to civil society organizations worldwide to deliver medical, psychological, legal, social and other assistance. The voluntary contributions that the Fund receives, mostly from member States, thus contribute to the rehabilitation, reparation, empowerment and access to remedies of nearly 50,000 torture survivors each year

 

The world needs leadership and greater political will to combat torture, according to , Dr. Alice Jill Edwards. Appointed in 2022, she is seventh person to hold the mandate, and the first woman in nearly four decades.  Read her to the General Assembly.

an abstract illustration of people engaged in an event

International days and weeks are occasions to educate the public on issues of concern, to mobilize political will and resources to address global problems, and to celebrate and reinforce achievements of humanity. The existence of international days predates the establishment of the United Nations, but the 缅北禁地has embraced them as a powerful advocacy tool. We also mark other 缅北禁地observances.