A/77/502 embedded in discrimination and prejudice – are hard to repair, and we have seen how they are easy triggers for hatred against the “other”, provoked for ugly purposes, including insurrection, coups d’état, election violence, authoritarian rule, occupation and outright war. Torture is a threat to international peace and security. Confident human rights-promoting States neither employ nor tolerate torture; if in cidents do occur, such States root them out quickly and investigate, prosecute and punish those responsible. Victims are compensated and rehabilitated. 8. Torture is cruelty, plain and simple. It is inherently inhumane and degrades, in effect or purpose, the victim. The impact of torture can be physical, psychological, social, functional and existential. 1 Physical forms of torture often cause psychological trauma, while psychological torture can result in short - and long-term physiological symptoms and illnesses; 2 the relationship is non-linear, life-altering and intergenerational. For families and wider communities too, and for countries, it can disrupt social norms and community coherence. Such trust is not easily restored. 9. While there continue to be many sensational or extreme forms of torture that rightly provoke our collective disgust and moral judgment, the majority of incidents that fall within the class of prohibited conduct are “everyday” or routine forms of inhuman or degrading treatment, perpetrated against persons deprived of their liberty or those who come into contact with the law, often committed by officers who are poorly trained, underprepared and prejudiced, and are emboldened to act owing to a lack of disciplinary consequences and impunity. Such abuse and misconduct by a public authority can be a telltale sign of other insipid problems of a society. We ignore perceived “minor” assaults at our peril. 10. The struggle to eradicate torture and ill-treatment is very real. Many of today’s conflicts are characterized by widespread and unconstrained torture and other similar war crimes perpetrated as deliberate military strategies or by delinquent or opportunistic soldiers, paramilitaries, militias, mercenaries and criminals. We continue to witness heavy-handedness, racism and discrimination by police and law enforcement 3 in many settings (see A/HRC/47/53). The revival and extension of torture and other inhumane practices in the name of counter-terrorism and fighting extremism undermine basic principles of humanity. In some countries, prisons are so overcrowded, and conditions so poor, that the whole system is on the verge of collapsing. Psychiatric hospitals, health-care settings and homes for orphans, juveniles, persons with disabilities and the elderly are prone to terrifying abuse and neglect compounded by the residents’ acute vulnerability and powerlessness (see A/HRC/22/53). The distressing risks, violence and exploitation facing refugees and migrants are unresolved and potentially worsening (see A/HRC/37/50), while the lack of legal recognition and nationality of stateless persons, and the co nsequent deprivation of rights, is tantamount to inhuman and degrading treatment. The global __________________ 1 2 3 4/17 Nimisha Patel, “Good practices and current challenges in the rehabilitation of torture survivors”, discussion paper for a regional meeting of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe States convened by the Convention against Torture Initiative, Copenhagen, 23 –24 June 2016, para. 13. Pau Pérez-Sales, “Psychological torture”, in Research Handbook on Torture, Malcolm D. Evans and Jens Modvig, eds. (Cheltenham, United Kingdom, and Northampton, Massachusetts, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020). The term “law enforcement officials” is widely interpreted as including all officers of the law who exercise police powers, especially powers of arrest and detention; see the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials (General Assembly resolution 34/169, annex). For the purposes of the Special Rapporteur’s work, she will be adopting a wider under standing of “law enforcement agencies” to refer to “police, gendarmerie, customs, immigration and border services, as well as related oversight bodies, such as ministries of interior and/or justice”. United Nations, Department of Peacekeeping Operations and Department of Field Support, “Community-oriented policing in United Nations peace operations”, 2018, p. 2. 22-22673