No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

UNITED NATIONS

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) (article 5)

This fundamental UN human rights document asserts that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Several provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have become part of customary international law, which means that they are binding on all states, regardless of whether the state is a party to the specific universal or regional instrument. Torture is consequently prohibited by international customary law whether it is committed on a widespread and systematic basis and, therefore, a crime against humanity, or committed against a single victim. The prohibition of torture is also an obligation for the entire international community, which all states have a right to enforce through the exercise of universal jurisdiction over suspects found in their territory.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) (article 7)

This treaty, also known as ICCPR, was adopted by the General Assembly in December 1966 and entered into force in 1976. It elaborates the principles laid out in the UDHR. Torture is prohibited under article 7, which states "no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation." This provision cannot be suspended or limited even in times of emergency.

Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1975)

This declaration was adopted by the General Assembly in December 1975. It contains 12 articles and a definition of torture.

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984)

This is the principal UN treaty concerned with torture. It was adopted by UN General Assembly and came into force in June 1987. It comprises 33 articles covering the rights at stake and the enforcement mechanisms.

The treaty created a Committee Against Torture under article 17. The Committee is composed of ten experts elected for a four-year term. The Committee reviews periodic reports by state parties to the Convention. It is able to invite UN agencies, regional and non-governmental bodies, to submit information.

Under article 20, the Committee also has the power to initiate state visits providing the consent of the state concerned is obtained. All proceedings are confidential and all actions carried out in cooperation with the state concerned. The treaty allows for individual complaints to the Committee under article 22, on the condition that all domestic remedies have been exhausted. This represented an important development in international law at the time as it enabled an individual to file a complaint to an international body about his/her own government. However, the application of this provision is subject to a government making a declaration that it accepts this article. To date, a minority of states have made such a declaration, meaning that most people do not have access to this procedure.

Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (2002)

Under article 2, the Optional Protocol sets up an expert body, a Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of the Committee Against Torture, to carry out inspection visits to places of detention and to submit confidential reports to the relevant authorities on how to prevent torture and ill-treatment. The Protocol also requires states to establish national bodies to make similar visits to places of detention.

Special Rapporteur on Torture

The Special Rapporteur on Torture collects information on legislative and administrative measures taken by governments, responds to concerned raised through an urgent action procedure, carries out consultations and country visits, and reports back to the UN Human Rights Council. Unlike the Committee Against Torture, the mandate extends to all Member and Observer States of the UN and not only those that are parties to the Convention against Torture.

The Special Rapporteur receives communications on violations from organizations and individuals. The Special Rapporteur is able to issue an urgent appeal to prevent imminent violations. Specific allegations are taken up by the Special Rapporteur directly with the government in question. Problems have been reported with the follow-up and some governments have failed to respond to issues taken up by the Special Rapporteur. Wider issues such as persistent reports of impunity or infringements of international human rights law by national legislation are contained in reports of the Special Rapporteur. The Special Rapporteur also carries out country visits for the purpose of obtaining first-hand information.

Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the Role of Health Personnel, particularly Physicians, in the Protection of Prisoners and Detainees against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1982)

These principles, adopted by the General Assembly in December 1982, oblige medical personnel to protect the physical and mental health of detainees and secondly, prohibits their active or passive engagement in acts of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

A number of UN treaties concerned with the rights of specific groups expressly or implicitly prohibit torture and other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment. Such concerns have therefore been raised with the bodies overseeing the implementation of these treaties:

Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) (article 37)

Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child determines that "no child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" and violations have been registered with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.

In addition to children, women are particularly vulnerable to forms of sexual torture including rape, and other forms of sexual violence. Complaints have been lodged with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women as breaches of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). A Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, passed by the General Assembly in December 1993, explicitly makes reference to the right of women not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (article 3h).

Torture may also be used in a discriminatory fashion and target specific racial groups. In such circumstances it violates the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and can be raised with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which oversees the implementation of the convention.

The issue of torture is often interwoven with other human rights issues such as detention, arbitrary arrest and enforced disappearances. The occurrence of such human rights violations may make torture more likely. Treaties concerned with these issues are therefore also of relevance when considering torture and inhuman and degrading treatment.

A number of specific codes have been developed on such issues to supplement the general provisions of international human rights law. The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners were adopted by the first UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders in 1955. They set out general principles but do not go into detail. Rule 31 specifically determines that corporal punishment, punishment by placing in a dark cell and all cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment is absolutely prohibited. A Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials was adopted by the General Assembly in December 1979, which prohibits torture. A Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances was adopted by the General Assembly in December 1992. It recalls other UN treaties and reiterates, in article 1, the right to be protected from torture.

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998) (article 7, 8)

The Rome Statute specifically prohibits torture under various provisions, giving the International Criminal Court jurisdiction in such cases. If torture, defined as "intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, upon a person in the custody or under the control of the accused; except that torture shall not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions" (article 7e) is "committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population", it constitutes a "crime against humanity" (article 7). "Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments" (article 8.2.a.ii) constitute "war crimes" (article 8)

International humanitarian law

The right to freedom from torture is absolute and includes times of war, as prohibited by the 1949 Geneva Conventions. There is a duty to protect the life, health and safety of civilians and other non-combatants, including soldiers who are captured or who have laid down their arms. Torture of such protected persons is absolutely forbidden. Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions, for example, bans "violence of life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture" as well as "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment."

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1949) (article 31)

The use of force to obtain information is specifically prohibited in article 31 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which states that "no physical or moral coercion shall be exercised against protected persons, in particular to obtain information from them or from third parties."

Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (1949) (article 12, 14, 17, 130)

Provisions in the Third Geneva Convention say that prisoners of war "are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their persons and their honour" (article 14) and "must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity" (article 13). Article 17 stipulates that "no physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind." Torture or inhuman treatment of prisoners of war is a grave breach of the Convention (article 130).

Some elements of international humanitarian law have also become part of customary international law. This means that all detainees in wartime are protected by certain minimum safeguards irrespective of their legal status.

Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) (1977) (article 75)

Article 75 ("Fundamental Guarantees") of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, which is recognized as restating customary international law, provides that "torture of all kinds, whether physical or mental" against "persons who are in the power of a Party to the conflict and who do not benefit from more favourable treatment under the [Geneva] Conventions," shall "remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever,

whether committed by civilian or military agents." "Cruel treatment and torture" of detainees is also prohibited under common article 3 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which is considered indicative of customary international law.