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Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The preceding examples of torture and ill-treatment in health-care settings likely represent a small fraction of this global problem. Such interventions always amount at least to inhuman and degrading treatment, often they arguably meet the criteria for torture, and they are always prohibited by international law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- The prohibition of torture is one of the few absolute and non-derogable human rights, a matter of jus cogens, a peremptory norm of customary international law. Examining abuses in health-care settings from a torture protection framework provides the opportunity to solidify an understanding of these violations and to highlight the positive obligations that States have to prevent, prosecute and redress such violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 8c
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to:] Establish an effective mechanism for monitoring dependence treatment practices and compliance with international norms;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 8d
- Paragraph text
- [The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to:] Ensure that all harm-reduction measures and drug-dependence treatment services, particularly opioid substitution therapy, are available to people who use drugs, in particular those among incarcerated populations (A/65/255, para. 76).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Mistreatment in health-care settings has received little specific attention by the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, as the denial of health-care has often been understood as essentially interfering with the "right to health".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- While different aspects of torture and ill-treatment in health-care settings have been previously explored by the rapporteurship and other United Nations mechanisms, the Special Rapporteur feels that there is a need to highlight the specific dimension and intensity of the problem, which often goes undetected; identify abuses that exceed the scope of violations of the right to health and could amount to torture and ill-treatment; and strengthen accountability and redress mechanisms.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Both the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have stated that the definition of torture is subject to ongoing reassessment in light of present-day conditions and the changing values of democratic societies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- The conceptualization of abuses in health-care settings as torture or ill-treatment is a relatively recent phenomenon. In the present section, the Special Rapporteur embraces this ongoing paradigm shift, which increasingly encompasses various forms of abuse in health-care settings within the discourse on torture. He demonstrates that, while the prohibition of torture may have originally applied primarily in the context of interrogation, punishment or intimidation of a detainee, the international community has begun to recognize that torture may also occur in other contexts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- The analysis of abuse in health-care settings through the lens of torture and ill-treatment is based on the definition of these violations provided by the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its authoritative interpretations. In order to demonstrate how abusive practices in health-care settings meet the definition of torture, the following section provides an overview of the main elements of the definition of torture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- At least four essential elements are reflected in the definition of torture provided in article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention against Torture: an act inflicting severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental; the element of intent; the specific purpose; and the involvement of a State official, at least by acquiescence (A/HRC/13/39/Add.5, para. 30). Acts falling short of this definition may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under article 16 of the Convention (A/63/175, para. 46). The previous Special Rapporteurs have covered in great detail the main components of the definition of torture. Nevertheless, there are a few salient points worth elaborating for the purpose of the present report.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Although it may be challenging to satisfy the required purpose of discrimination in some cases, as most likely it will be claimed that the treatment is intended to benefit the "patient", this may be met in a number of ways. Specifically, the description of abuses outlined below demonstrates that the explicit or implicit aim of inflicting punishment, or the objective of intimidation, often exist alongside ostensibly therapeutic aims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Certain forms of abuses in health-care settings that may cross a threshold of mistreatment that is tantamount to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2013, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- Notwithstanding the commitment to scale-up methadone treatment and evidence-based treatment as opposed to punitive approaches, those remanded to compulsory treatment in the punitive drug-free centres continue to exceed, exponentially, the number receiving evidence-based treatment for drug dependence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 19
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- In the international human rights context, commissions of inquiry are independent investigative commissions created in response to human rights violations including, but not limited to, torture, genocide, extrajudicial killings, disappearances and incidents involving multiple or high-profile killings (A/HRC/8/3, para. 12). Most commissions of inquiry are established at the initiative of national Government authorities. International experts may be part of their composition. In the present report, commissions of inquiry are defined as national commissions of inquiry and truth commissions, as well as investigations undertaken by national human rights institutions. The quest for accountability and victims' rights are common denominators for commissions of inquiry and truth commissions. While a commission of inquiry is likely to be established at the height of violence, a truth commission may only be established once a conflict is over. Both national and international commissions of inquiry often result from concerted demands by civil society or the international community. International commissions of inquiry tend, however, to have comparatively briefer temporal mandates which seek to identify patterns of violations during a protracted period of armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Generally speaking, the scope of a commission's investigation is limited temporally and/or geographically, and is often restricted to the investigation of a particular event or series of events. In an effort by the State to prevent future violations or to strengthen the criminal justice system, a commission of inquiry may also be given a broader mandate to report on the causes of the violation and to propose recommendations for institutional reform and recommend reparations to victims.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol) provides comprehensive guidance on the relevant international legal standards and ethical obligations for investigative procedures, interviews and collection of both physical and psychological evidence of torture, including a section on commissions of inquiry into torture and other forms of ill-treatment. In addition, the updated set of principles for the protection and promotion of human rights through action to combat impunity contains eight principles specific to commissions of inquiry. However, the circumstances under which commissions of inquiry are appropriate, and the ways in which they may provide unique benefits, remain little discussed.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Indeed, the process of achieving accountability can be aided by the work of a commission of inquiry where the information and names collected by the commission are shared with prosecuting authorities. While evidence collected by a commission of inquiry is often inadmissible in a court of law owing to the lower standards of evidence used by commissions to encourage broad participation, such information may be used as background information and provide further evidentiary leads.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 26a
- Paragraph text
- [Commissions of inquiry may also be designed to address other objectives, including:] To contribute to accountability for perpetrators;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 26b
- Paragraph text
- [Commissions of inquiry may also be designed to address other objectives, including:] To respond to the needs of victims;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 26c
- Paragraph text
- [Commissions of inquiry may also be designed to address other objectives, including:] To identify institutional responsibility and propose institutional, legal and personnel reforms;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 26d
- Paragraph text
- [Commissions of inquiry may also be designed to address other objectives, including:] To promote reconciliation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Although commissions of inquiry can vary in their origin and mandate, there are three characteristics that make them an effective and unique tool: they are generally ad hoc, autonomous and independent, as well as being victim-centred, therefore allowing greater and active participation of victims in the process of establishing facts and identifying the priority elements that comprise reparations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The independent structure and mandate of commissions of inquiry may also make them well suited for identifying institutional responsibility and proposing reforms. Due to the numerous sources of evidence and facts submitted to commissions of inquiry, they are often able to pinpoint the failure of particular policies and detect systemic shortcomings or practices of certain Government agencies. Lastly, commissions of inquiry can aid in identifying measures to promote reconciliation within divided societies by directly confronting past violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Commissions of inquiry into torture and other forms of ill-treatment may be traced back at least to the practice of ad hoc public inquiries or royal inquiries into a defined issue in the United Kingdom in the eleventh century, and subsequently in other Commonwealth countries. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, public inquiries became prolific in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The inquiries were appointed to advise the Government on a wide range of public policy issues, allegations of wrongdoing by Government officials and investigation into the causes of major disasters. Many other States, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Kenya, Morocco, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sweden and the United States of America, have also historically or recently established commissions of inquiry with prescribed membership or given national human rights institutions the mandate to undertake inquires more systematically in order to investigate specific crimes or events.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- In general, it should be seen as a positive development if States undertake to establish a commission of inquiry in response to alleged violations, since States are accountable to the international community for their solemnly acquired obligations. Some States may, however, establish a commission to give the impression that there is a serious inquiry under way so that the international community is less likely to take action. It is appropriate to presume good faith on the part of the State that establishes a commission of inquiry, but ultimately that good faith should be tested in the results of the exercise.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- There are also examples of commissions of inquiry that have had limited success owing to other factors. In 2009, the Government of Sri Lanka dissolved the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, established to look into serious violations of human rights committed since 2006. The Commission was unable to complete its mandate as no extensions were granted owing to a lack of resources and political will. The final report of the truth and reconciliation commission in Liberia received criticism that it was poorly drafted, lacked transparent explanation of the evidence on which it was based and contained inconsistent policy recommendations. The law that established the truth and reconciliation commission in Indonesia in 2005 was struck down by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that the prerequisite of granting amnesties to perpetrators violated victims' rights as protected by the Constitution of Indonesia. The truth and reconciliation commission established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2003 suffered from a number of critical flaws in its structure, including, most prominently, a lack of transparency in the selection of the commissioners, who included individuals with ties to those implicated in the crimes to be investigated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- In recent years, the United Nations has appointed non-judicial commissions of inquiry that have taken a variety of forms. Such commissions were established by the Security Council in the case of, for example, Darfur (resolution 1564 (2004)) and Lebanon (resolutions 1595 (2005), 1636 (2005) and 1644 (2005)); and by the Secretary-General in the case of, for instance, Côte d'Ivoire, Timor-Leste (resolution 1690 (2006)), Guinea and Pakistan. The commissions of inquiry had prescribed terms of reference that focused on violations of human rights and humanitarian law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The "Arab spring" uprisings and the violent repression that followed have also been the subject of several recent commissions of inquiry established by the Human Rights Council. For example, in its resolution S-15/1, the Council established an independent commission of inquiry, to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, establish facts and identify those responsible, make recommendations on accountability measures. The Council, in its resolution S-16/1, established an independent international commission of inquiry to investigate alleged violations of international human rights law in the Syrian Arab Republic since March 2011.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- During county visits undertaken by the mandate holder, reports of torture from national sources, such as official commission of inquiry, have been analysed in an effort to corroborate allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. In May 2011, the Special Rapporteur conducted a visit to Tunisia to engage with the interim Government to examine the violations committed by the previous regime, assess the violations committed in the interim period under the transitional Government and identify measures to be implemented to prevent torture and other forms of ill-treatment in the future. In his report thereon (A/HRC/19/61/Add.1), the Special Rapporteur refers to the "national commission to establish the facts of abuses and violations from 17 December until the elimination of the cause", and recommends improvement of the fact-finding commission's methodology, particularly with regard to measures that could be taken to best preserve evidence gathered.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- In Bahrain, a commission of inquiry was established pursuant to Royal Order No. 28 in response to the events of February and March 2011 and thereafter, to investigate alleged international human rights violations and propose recommendations. In response to the Commission's report, published in November 2011, the Government engaged in a consultation process with relevant actors in order to implement the recommendations, including an examination of all complaints of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the opportunity to follow up on the Commission's report, within the scope of his mandate, and to contribute further to the reform process during his official visit to Bahrain in March 2012.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Commissions of inquiry are able to complement the prosecutorial function as they may make use of information not admissible in a court of law because the evidentiary standards are less rigorous. For example, in commissions of inquiry, hearsay evidence is generally admissible owing to the lower evidentiary standards required. Similarly, often the required burden of proof is not as high as it would be in criminal trials; for example, a preponderance of the evidence may be sufficient, as opposed to proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreover, in the case of commissions of inquiry, individuals are typically invited voluntarily to testify or submit written statements, unlike the more formal deposition proceedings generally required in traditional courts of law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph