Torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment
A/RES/74/143
the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment;
10. Calls upon all States to adopt and implement effective measures to prevent
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in particular
in the context of the use of force by law enforcement officials and in places of
detention and other places where persons are deprived of their liberty, including legal
and procedural safeguards, as well as to ensure that the competent judicial or
disciplinary authorities and, where relevant, the prosecution can effectively ensure
compliance with such safeguards;
11. Recalls its resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988 on the Body of
Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or
Imprisonment, and in this context stresses that ensuring that any individual arrested
or detained is promptly brought before a judge or other independent judicial officer
in person, and permitting prompt and regular medical care and legal counsel
throughout all stages of detention, as well as visits by family members and
independent monitoring mechanisms, are effective measures for the prevention of
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
12. Stresses the obligation of States to ensure that anyone who is arrested is
informed at the time of arrest of the reasons for the arrest and is promptly informed
of any charges against him or her, in accessible forms of communication, including
in a language that he or she understands, and is provided with information about, and
an explanation of, his or her rights;
13. Calls upon States to include education and information regarding the
absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment in the training of law enforcement personnel and other personnel
authorized to resort to force or who may be involved in the custody, in terrogation or
treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or
imprisonment, which may include training on the use of force, all available modern
scientific methods for the investigation of crimes and the critical importance of
reporting instances of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment to superior authorities;
14. Emphasizes that States shall keep under systematic review interrogation
rules, instructions, methods and practices, as well as arrangements for the custody
and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment
in any territory under their jurisdiction, and stresses the importance of the
development of domestic guidelines on the conduct of interrogations, with a view to
preventing any cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment;
15. Welcomes the collaboration between practitioners, experts and other
relevant stakeholders on the elaboration of a set of universal standards for
non-coercive interviewing methods and procedural safeguards aimed at
operationalizing the presumption of innocence, improving effective policing and
ensuring that no person is subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment during questioning, and encourages the continued
collaboration between practitioners, experts and other relevant stakeholders tow ards
this goal;
16. Encourages all States to take appropriate effective legislative,
administrative, judicial and other measures to apply the United Nations Standard
Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules); 6
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Resolution 70/175, annex.
19-22243