United Nations Convention Against Torture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Convention against Torture
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Type of treaty	Human rights convention
Drafted	10 December 1984
Signed - location	10 December 1984 New York
Effective - condition	26 June 1987 20 ratifications
Signatories	75
Parties	145
Depositary	UN Secretary-General
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
	Wikisource original text: Convention against Torture

Map of the world with parties to the Convention against Torture shaded dark green, states that have signed but not ratified the treaty in light green, and non-parties in grey

The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the purview of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world.

The Convention requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture within their borders, and forbids states to return people to their home country if there is reason to believe they will be tortured.

The text of the Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1984 and, following ratification by the 20th state party, it came into force on 26 June 1987. 26 June is now recognised as the International Day in Support of Torture Victims, in honour of the Convention. As of June 2008, 145 nations are parties to the treaty, and another nine have signed but not ratified it.^[1]

[edit] Main provisions

Article 1 of the Convention defines torture as "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."

Article 2 requires each state party to "take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction". It stipulates that "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture", and "An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture".

Article 3 prohibits parties from returning or extraditing any person to a state "where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture".

The treaty provides no means of sanctioning a state that breaches its obligations.

[edit] Optional Protocol

The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2002 and in force since 22 June 2006, provides for the establishment of "a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," to be overseen by a Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ("Subcommittee on Prevention").

[edit] Committee against Torture

The Committee against Torture (CAT) is a body of human rights experts that monitors implementation of the Convention by State parties. The Committee is one of seven UN-linked human rights treaty bodies.

All State parties are obliged under the Convention to submit regular reports to the CAT on how the rights are being implemented. Upon ratifying the Convention, States must submit a report within one year, after which they are obliged to report every four years. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations”.

Under certain circumstances, the CAT may consider complaints or communications from individuals claiming that their rights under the Convention have been violated.

The CAT usually meets in May and November each year in Geneva.

The current membership of the CAT is:

• Chairman - Myrna Kleopas - term expires in 2011
• Vice Chairman - Abdoulaye Gaye - term expires in 2011
• Vice Chairman - Claudio Grossman - term expires in 2011
• Vice Chairman - Alexander Kovalev - term expires in 2009
• Rapporteur - Felice Gaer - term expires in 2011
• Luis Gallegos Chiriboga - term expires in 2011
• Nora Sveass - term expires in 2009
• Xuexian Wang - term expires in 2009
• Essadia Belmir - term expires in 2009
• Fernando Mariño Menéndez - term expires in 2009

[edit] See also

• Command responsibility
• OPCAT
• Torture
• Military Commissions Act of 2006
• Torture by proxy
• Uses of torture in recent times

[edit] External links

• Official text of the Convention
• Official UN site with list of countries participating in the Convention
• Optional Protocol
• U.N. Committee against Torture
• Human Rights Watch summary of the Convention
• List of links to other related documents

[edit] References