A/RES/60/148
and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 3 acts of torture constitute
war crimes and can constitute crimes against humanity,
Commending the persistent efforts by non-governmental organizations,
including the considerable network of centres for the rehabilitation of victims of
torture, to combat torture and to alleviate the suffering of victims of torture,
Condemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
1.
treatment or punishment, including through intimidation, which are and shall remain
prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified,
and calls upon all States to implement fully the absolute prohibition of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
Emphasizes that States must take persistent, determined and effective
2.
measures to prevent and combat torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, including their gender-based manifestations, and also
emphasizes the importance of taking fully into account the recommendations and
conclusions of the relevant treaty bodies and mechanisms, including the Committee
against Torture and the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
Condemns any action or attempt by States or public officials to legalize,
3.
authorize or acquiesce in torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment under any circumstances, including on grounds of national security or
through judicial decisions;
Stresses that all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or
4.
degrading treatment or punishment must be promptly and impartially examined by
the competent national authority, that those who encourage, order, tolerate or
perpetrate acts of torture must be held responsible and severely punished, including
the officials in charge of the place of detention where the prohibited act is found to
have been committed, and takes note in this respect of the Principles on the
Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Principles) 4 as a useful tool in
efforts to combat torture;
5.
Stresses also that all acts of torture must be made offences under
domestic criminal law, and emphasizes that acts of torture are serious violations of
international humanitarian law and in this regard constitute war crimes and can
constitute crimes against humanity, and that the perpetrators of all acts of torture
must be prosecuted and punished;
Urges States to ensure that any statement that is established to have been
6.
made as a result of torture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings,
except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made;
Stresses that States must not punish personnel who are involved in the
7.
custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest,
detention or imprisonment for not obeying orders to commit or conceal acts
amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
_______________
3
Official Records of the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment
of an International Criminal Court, Rome, 15 June–17 July 1998, vol. I: Final documents (United Nations
publication, Sales No. E.02.I.5), sect. A.
4
Resolution 55/89, annex.
2