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Solitary confinement 2011, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- When a State fails to uphold the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners during a short period of time of solitary confinement, there may be some debate on whether the adverse effects amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or torture. However, the longer the duration of solitary confinement or the greater the uncertainty regarding the length of time, the greater the risk of serious and irreparable harm to the inmate that may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment or even torture.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2011
Paragraphe
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- States' due diligence obligations to ensure redress remain intact when non-State actors perpetrate conflict-related sexual violence. Gender-sensitive practices must be employed when investigating violations during and after the armed conflict. Silence or lack of resistance cannot be used to imply consent, which furthermore cannot be inferred from the words or conduct of a victim who was subjected to force, threats, or a coercive environment (A/HRC/7/3). Comprehensive assistance and reparations programmes in these contexts often require years to be fully implemented.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2016
Paragraphe
Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture 2010, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Rehabilitation centres also assume a decisive role in holding perpetrators accountable. With their forensic expertise they ensure that torture traumas, whether visible or invisible, are scrupulously documented before they disappear. Even if, at the time of the examination, it may seem unlikely that proceedings will be held, adequate records can eventually constitute crucial evidence in later criminal or civil cases. In this regard, the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol) provides an important standard for the documentation of abuse, which goes beyond the therapeutic purpose in a narrow sense. Medical records can be instrumental in overcoming the otherwise lack of objective evidence with which survivors of torture are so commonly confronted, given that torture mostly takes place without witnesses. They provide evidence which can corroborate the victim's account of the ordeal. Establishing the facts of torture before a court and holding perpetrators accountable can give torture survivors a sense of justice and facilitate both a coming to terms with their past suffering and a comprehensive process of healing. Additionally, monetary compensation as a result of civil proceedings may provide the necessary funds for additional medical treatment. Acknowledging the importance of the Istanbul Protocol, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and the Turkish Medical Association, together with the Government of Turkey, concluded last year the training of 4,000 medical doctors, 1,000 prosecutors and 500 judges.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2010
Paragraphe
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Solitary confinement reduces meaningful social contact to an absolute minimum. The level of social stimulus that results is insufficient for the individual to remain in a reasonable state of mental health.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2011
Paragraphe
Solitary confinement 2011, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The jurisprudence on solitary confinement within the Inter-American System on Human Rights is more conclusive than within the bodies discussed above. Since its earliest judgments, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has found that certain elements of a prison regime and certain physical prison conditions in themselves constitute cruel and inhuman treatment, and therefore violate article 5 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which recognizes the right to the integrity of the person. For example, the Court held that "prolonged isolation and deprivation of communication are in themselves cruel and inhuman treatment, harmful to the psychological and moral integrity of the person and a violation of the right of any detainee to respect for his inherent dignity as a human being". The Court has additionally addressed physical conditions of detention, asserting that "isolation in a small cell, without ventilation or natural light, ... [and] restriction of visiting rights ..., constitute forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment".
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2011
Paragraphe
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- In paragraph 7 of its resolution 1996/15, the Economic and Social Council urged Member States in which the death penalty might be carried out to effectively apply the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners in order to keep to a minimum the suffering of prisoners under sentence of death and to avoid any exacerbation of such suffering. Taking into account new forensic evidence and discussions concerning the various forms of executions and the situation of persons sentenced to death awaiting execution on death row, the Special Rapporteur urges serious reconsideration of whether the actual practice of the death penalty amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, or even torture.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In 1994, the High Court of the United Republic of Tanzania found, in the Mbushuu' case that the death penalty was unconstitutional on the grounds that execution by hanging violated the right to dignity of a person and constituted inherently cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In the Kigula case (2009) before the Supreme Court of Uganda, Justice Egonda Ntende, in dissent, cited powerful evidence of the cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of hanging. Finding the expert evidence concerning hangings to be chilling, Justice Ntende concluded that various practices associated with hanging in Uganda, including subjecting those who do not die instantly to bludgeoning or the plucking off of heads, constituted, without a doubt, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The affirmative obligation of States to investigate gross violations of human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law is inextricably linked to the obligation to prosecute, and also to the right to truth. In its jurisprudence, the Human Rights Committee regularly invokes the obligation of States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to investigate and punish human rights violations. In the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, the General Assembly asserted that the obligation to implement international human rights law and international humanitarian law includes the duty to investigate violations effectively, promptly, thoroughly and impartially and, where appropriate, to take action against those allegedly responsible in accordance with domestic and international law. Moreover, States have the duty to investigate and, if there is sufficient evidence, the duty to submit to prosecution the person allegedly responsible for the violations and, if found guilty, the duty to punish him or her.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- To date, the death penalty has been treated under the provisions concerning the right to life, and therein as an exception provided for by international law. A new approach is needed as there is evidence of an evolving standard within international bodies and a robust State practice to frame the debate about the legality of the death penalty within the context of the fundamental concepts of human dignity and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This evolving standard, along with the resulting illegality of the death penalty under such prohibition, is developing into a norm of customary law, if it has not already done so.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- An increasing number of national constitutional courts and political instances have pronounced their conviction that the death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment not reconcilable with the inherent right to physical and mental integrity and human dignity. It can be said, therefore, that there is an evolving standard whereby States and judiciaries consider the death penalty to be a violation per se of the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. A review of precedents to determine the existence of such a norm as an already established custom is beyond the capacity of the present report. Nevertheless, the Special Rapporteur is convinced that a customary norm prohibiting the death penalty under all circumstances, if it has not already emerged, is at least in the process of formation.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 80b
- Paragraph text
- [Whether or not a customary norm prohibiting the death penalty has crystallized, the Special Rapporteur calls upon all retentionist States to observe rigorously the restrictions and conditions imposed by article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 1 or article 16 of the Convention against Torture. The Special Rapporteur calls upon retentionist States:] To ensure that the method of execution employed causes the least possible physical and mental suffering and that it does not violate the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; establish that there are no more humane alternatives available; and justify the use of a particular method of execution. The Special Rapporteur reiterates that the burden of proof is on the State;
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 51c
- Paragraph text
- [According to the Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the main purposes of effective investigation and documentation of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are:] Facilitation of prosecution and/or, as appropriate, disciplinary sanctions for those indicated by the investigation as being responsible and demonstration of the need for full reparation and redress from the State, including fair and adequate financial compensation and provision of the means for medical care and rehabilitation. The characteristics of an effective investigation include the establishment of a mechanism that can receive and investigate complaints, competent and impartial investigators, careful documentation of crimes perpetrated, and adequate protection of victims, witnesses and those conducting investigations. Only when an allegation is manifestly ill-founded should a public official implicated be allowed to retain office pending the outcome of an investigation and any subsequent legal or disciplinary proceedings.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Given the excessive use of pretrial detention for long periods of time, it is absolutely necessary to ensure that all persons deprived of liberty have access to activities and can benefit from other privileges to which the general prison population is entitled. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that it may be difficult to implement this principle, given the fairly rapid turnover of persons awaiting trial and the fact that police stations and other detention facilities may not be adapted for this purpose. As the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has noted, however, prisoners cannot simply be left to languish for weeks, possibly months, locked up in their cells (see CPT/Inf (92) 3, para. 47).
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Persons on the move
- Année
- 2013
Paragraphe
Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- It is equally important that interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices be kept under systematic review with a view to preventing cases of torture and other ill-treatment (Convention against Torture, art. 11). The Special Rapporteur recalls that counsel must be present during all interview interrogations, in their entirety. The duration of interrogations and the intervals between interrogations must be recorded (preferably with a video recorder but at least with an audio recorder) and the identity of the officials conducting the interrogation should be registered (Body of Principles, principle 23). Individuals arrested legally should not be held in facilities under the control of their interrogators or investigators for more time than is required by law to obtain a judicial warrant of pretrial detention, which, in any case, should not exceed a period of 48 hours. They should be transferred to a pretrial facility under a different authority at once, after which no further unsupervised contact with the interrogators or investigators should be permitted (see E/CN.4/2003/68, para. 26 (g)).
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2013
Paragraphe
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- A commission of inquiry should be given the means to conduct a serious and rigorous examination of facts, most of which will be hidden or difficult to ascertain. For that reason, it is imperative that a commission have at its disposal the financial resources to travel, to provide for witness protection, to commission reports from experts and to finance forensic investigations and examinations. A commission should be able to hire staff of confidence and with proven professional expertise, including legal counsel, who should be shielded from political influence. Technical expertise and investigatory experience should be part of the recruitment process.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
Review of the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The principle of humane treatment of persons deprived of liberty constitutes the starting point for any consideration of prison conditions and the design of prison regimes. It complements and overlaps the principle on the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment by requiring States (and consequently the prison authorities) to take positive measures to ensure minimum guarantees of humane treatment for persons in their custodial care (see Human Rights Committee general comment No. 21, para. 3). Treating all persons deprived of their liberty with humanity and with respect for their dignity is a fundamental and universally applicable rule, the application of which, at a minimum, cannot be dependent on the material resources available in the State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (para. 4). In this regard, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has consistently affirmed that States cannot invoke economic hardship to justify imprisonment conditions that do not comply with the minimum international standards and respect the inherent dignity of the human being.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2013
Paragraphe
The death penalty and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment 2012, para. 80d
- Paragraph text
- [Whether or not a customary norm prohibiting the death penalty has crystallized, the Special Rapporteur calls upon all retentionist States to observe rigorously the restrictions and conditions imposed by article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 1 or article 16 of the Convention against Torture. The Special Rapporteur calls upon retentionist States:] To improve conditions on death row in accordance with international standards, such as the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment; all persons deprived of their liberty must be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, as protected by article 10, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2012
Paragraphe
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. 54
- Paragraph text
- Generally, denial of pain treatment involves acts of omission rather than commission, and results from neglect and poor Government policies, rather than from an intention to inflict suffering. However, not every case where a person suffers from severe pain but has no access to appropriate treatment will constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. This will only be the case when the suffering is severe and meets the minimum threshold under the prohibition against torture and ill-treatment; when the State is, or should be, aware of the suffering, including when no appropriate treatment was offered; and when the Government failed to take all reasonable steps to protect individuals' physical and mental integrity.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2013
Paragraphe
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Collection and forensic evaluation of psychological evidence involves the assessment of an individual's psychological condition and the causes thereof. The process of forensic psychological evaluation parallels the analytical process for the forensic evaluation of physical evidence: determining the consistency of allegations with the victim's experience and existing sequelae. A rigorous, extensive and intensive psychometric and psychiatric assessment can have high probative value. Moreover, the Istanbul Protocol emphasizes a comprehensive physical and psychological evaluation considered together as the forensic cornerstone to verifying a victim's allegations of torture. This comprehensive forensic evaluation and verification of allegations includes knowledge of human rights and political context, the personal biographical history, previous health records, description of the acts of torture, consistency between verbal and non-verbal communication, coherence in the events described, consistency between the events described and the emotion and resonance with which they are expressed, acute symptoms, social life and circumstances. The Istanbul Protocol should be used for assessment of allegations of torture and medico-legal reports undertaken in compliance with the standards and principles of the Protocol, including independence and impartiality, present reliable findings on torture. These medico-legal reports therefore should be considered as reliable evidence on the issue of whether torture has or has not been perpetrated. There have been noticeable positive steps towards recognition of psychological evidence as probative and integral. While the European Court and the Inter-American system seem to afford an important role to psychological evidence in relation to proving allegations of torture of primary victims as well as their dependents, there is still a need for significant improvements at the national level.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Too often the victim's participation in legal proceedings only generates additional distress for the torture survivor and to witnesses, lawyers and health professionals subjected to threats. Safeguards and mechanisms should be in place to enable victims, health and legal professionals to report allegations and evidence of torture and other ill-treatment in an environment free from any harassment, intimidation or retaliation and in a manner compliant with their duties of confidentiality. Courts are responsible for their protection against any threat or intimidation, since such acts compromise the integrity of the judicial process as a whole.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- States have an obligation to put in place and apply an effective process of evidence collection that accords with the Istanbul Protocol to comply with their obligation to investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur notes that adequate, extensive forensic evaluation in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol, and the effective training of health, legal and other professionals involved in documenting and investigations of torture and other ill-treatment, will positively impact the detection and prevention of torture. Properly supported cases with good quality forensic reports are revolutionizing the investigation of torture and improving outcomes. Good reports include analysis and interpretation of findings in terms of consistency with alleged events. They make clear that the absence of outward signs does not exclude the events from having happened.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
Role of forensic and medical sciences in the investigation prevention torture and other ill-treatment 2014, para. 68b
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations regarding the effective investigation of allegations of torture or other ill-treatment:] Ensure that all forensic evaluations, including compulsory medical examinations in pretrial detention and the penitentiary system, are independent of law enforcement, prosecution and/or military authority; funding and supervision of such health professionals should be separate from the criminal justice system, and health professionals should have sufficient security of status and employment to ensure independence; and forensic medical services should be under the highest judicial or health services authority, not under the same governmental authority as the police and the penitentiary system;
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
The scope and objective of the exclusionary rule in judicial proceedings and in relation to acts by executive actors 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The admission of evidence, including real evidence obtained through a violation of the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment in any proceedings, constitutes an incentive for law enforcement officers to use investigative methods that breach those absolute prohibitions. It indirectly legitimizes such conduct and objectively dilutes the absolute nature of the prohibition. The exclusionary rule is not limited to criminal proceedings but extends to military commissions, immigration boards and other administrative or civil proceedings. Moreover, the use of the phrase "any proceedings" suggests that a broader range of processes is intended to be covered; essentially, any formal decision-making by State officials based on any type of information.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
The scope and objective of the exclusionary rule in judicial proceedings and in relation to acts by executive actors 2014, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- It is of great concern that, in practice, the burden of proof on the admissibility of material obtained by torture or other ill-treatment in courts, seems to lie with the defendant rather than with the State, creating a real risk that such evidence is admitted in court because the individual is unable to prove that it was obtained under torture. The Special Rapporteur finds that the central question is the interpretation of the word "established" in article 15 of the Convention. In this context, it is necessary to have due regard for the special difficulties in proving allegations of torture, which is often practised in secret by experienced interrogators who are skilled at ensuring that no visible signs are left on the victim. In addition, all too frequently those who are charged with ensuring that torture or other ill-treatment does not occur are complicit in its concealment.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
The scope and objective of the exclusionary rule in judicial proceedings and in relation to acts by executive actors 2014, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment enjoys the enhanced status of a jus cogens or peremptory norm of general international law and requires States not merely to refrain from authorizing or conniving at torture or other ill-treatment but also to suppress, prevent and discourage such practices. States have not only the obligation to "respect", but to "ensure respect" for, the absolute prohibition against torture. In this context, the Human Rights Committee has authoritatively interpreted article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and found that it is not sufficient for the implementation of article 7 to prohibit such treatment or punishment, or to make it a crime: States should inform the Committee of the measures they take to prevent and punish acts of torture or other ill-treatment in any territory under their jurisdiction.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
The scope and objective of the exclusionary rule in judicial proceedings and in relation to acts by executive actors 2014, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- The exclusionary rule covers the exclusion of statements obtained through torture or other ill-treatment of the defendant himself, or of a third party, and evidence obtained in a third State, even if the State seeking to rely on the information had no previous involvement in or connection to the acts of torture or other ill-treatment. Similarly, documentary or other evidence obtained as a result of acts of torture or other ill-treatment must be excluded, irrespective of whether such evidence has been corroborated or is not the only decisive evidence in the case.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
Prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment from an extraterritorial perspective 2015, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- According to article 4 (1) of the Convention, interpreted in line with international criminal law jurisprudence, "complicity" contains three elements: (a) contribution by way of assistance, encouragement or support; (b) a substantial effect on the perpetration of the crime; and (c) knowledge that the help rendered assists in the perpetration of the crime. Thus, individual responsibility for complicity in torture arises also in situations in which State agents do not themselves directly inflict torture or other ill-treatment but direct or allow others to do so, or acquiesce in it. In addition, orders from superiors or other public authorities cannot be invoked as a justification or excuse. Similarly, draft article 16 requires either the knowledge that the assistance is facilitating the wrongful act, or that there is an intention to do so.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2015
Paragraphe
The scope and objective of the exclusionary rule in judicial proceedings and in relation to acts by executive actors 2014, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The very secrecy of such evidence undermines the preventive element of the exclusionary rule. Wherever secret evidence is admitted there is an enhanced risk that evidence obtained by torture or other ill-treatment will be admitted, whether deliberately or inadvertently, since such evidence cannot be challenged in open court. In addition, much of the closed evidence used in cases which concern national security is heavily reliant on information from secret intelligence sources. Such evidence may contain second- or third- hand testimony, or other material which would not normally be admissible in ordinary criminal or civil proceedings. Effective control of the implementation of the exclusionary rule and assessment of the compatibility of the conduct of the Government with the exclusionary rule in secret proceedings becomes difficult or even impossible.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- N.A.
- Année
- 2014
Paragraphe
Prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment from an extraterritorial perspective 2015, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The Convention requires States to criminalize all acts of torture "wherever they occur, and to establish criminal jurisdiction over various extraterritorial acts of torture, including universal jurisdiction when an offender is present in 'any territory under its jurisdiction'". Universal jurisdiction exists in recognition that some international norms are erga omnes, that is, owed to the international community as a whole. At a minimum, the domestic courts of all States have the power to prosecute under international law those responsible for crimes against humanity, war crimes (including serious violations of common article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 on the protection of victims of war), genocide and torture.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2015
Paragraphe
Prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment from an extraterritorial perspective 2015, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- International and regional jurisprudence clearly indicates that, whenever a State exercises effective control over a territory, area, place or person outside its borders, it is required not only to abstain from unlawful acts but also to ensure a broader range of positive human rights obligations. States have positive obligations to protect individuals against infringement of their rights and preventive obligations to ensure that actors over whom they have jurisdiction, including extraterritorially, do not engage in or contribute to acts of torture. While clearly responsible for wrongful acts committed extraterritorially or having an extraterritorial effect, a State may also be responsible for "indirectly attributable extraterritorial wrongfulness" owing to a failure to fulfil its positive human rights obligations. In such scenarios the criterion of "effective control" may be taken into account to assess the standards of due diligence that a State is legally obliged to demonstrate in a given situation.
- Status juridique
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Personnes concernées
- All
- Année
- 2015
Paragraphe