A/RES/59/182
prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified,
and calls upon all Governments to implement fully the prohibition of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
Condemns in particular any action or attempt by States or public
2.
officials to legalize or authorize torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment under any circumstances, including on grounds of national
security or through judicial decisions, and calls upon Governments to eliminate any
practices of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
Urges Governments to take effective measures to prevent torture and
3.
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including their
gender-based manifestations;
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) 3 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 can constitute crimes against humanity and war
crimes 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;
Recalls that States shall not expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a
8.
person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that the
person would be in danger of being subjected to torture;
Stresses that national legal systems must ensure that victims of torture
9.
and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment obtain redress, are
awarded fair and adequate compensation and receive appropriate social and medical
rehabilitation, urges Governments to take effective measures to this end, and in this
regard encourages the development of rehabilitation centres;
10. Calls upon all Governments to take appropriate effective legislative,
administrative, judicial and other measures to prevent and prohibit the production,
trade, export and use of equipment that is specifically designed to inflict torture or
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;
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3
2
Resolution 55/89, annex.