United Nations Convention Against Torture Explained

United Nations Convention Against Torture
Long Name:Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Type:Human rights convention
Date Drafted:10 December 1984
Date Signed:4 February 1985[1]
Location Signed:New York
Date Effective:26 June 1987
Condition Effective:20 ratifications[2]
Signatories:83
Parties:174
Depositor:UN Secretary-General[3]
Languages:Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish[4]
Wikisource:Convention against Torture

The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (commonly known as the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)) is an international human rights treaty under the review of the United Nations that aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world.

The Convention requires member states to take effective measures to prevent torture in any territory under their jurisdiction, and forbids member states to transport people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.

The text of the convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1984 and, following ratification by the 20th state party, it came into force on 26 June 1987. 26 June is now recognized as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, in honor of the convention. Since the convention's entry was enforced, the absolute prohibition against torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment has become accepted as a principle of customary international law.[5] As of April 2024, the convention has 174 state parties.[6]

Summary

The Convention follows the structure of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), with a preamble and 33 articles, divided into three parts:

Part I (Articles 1–16) contains a definition of torture (Article 1), and commits parties to taking effective measures to prevent any act of torture in any territory under their jurisdiction (Article 2). These include ensuring that torture is a criminal offense under a party's municipal law (Article 4), establishing jurisdiction over acts of torture committed by or against a party's nationals (Article 5), ensuring that torture is an extraditable offense (Article 8), and establishing universal jurisdiction to bring cases of torture to trial where an alleged torturer cannot be extradited (Article 5). Parties must promptly investigate any allegation of torture (Articles 12 and 13), and victims of torture, or their dependents in case victims died as a result of torture, must have an enforceable right to compensation (Article 14). Parties must also ban the use of evidence produced by torture in their courts (Article 15), and are barred from deporting, extraditing, or refouling people where there are substantial grounds for believing they will be tortured (Article 3). Parties are required to train and educate their public servants and private citizens involved in the custody, interrogation, or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention, or imprisonment, regarding the prohibition against torture (Article 10). Parties also must keep interrogation rules, instructions, methods, and practices under systematic review regarding individuals who are under custody or physical control in any territory under their jurisdiction, in order to prevent all acts of torture (Article 11). Parties are also obliged to prevent all acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in any territory under their jurisdiction, and to investigate any allegation of such treatment. (Article 16).

Part II (Articles 17–24) governs reporting and monitoring of the convention and the steps taken by the parties to implement it. It establishes the Committee Against Torture (Article 17), and empowers it to investigate allegations of systematic torture (Article 20). It also establishes an optional dispute-resolution mechanism between parties (Article 21) and allows parties to recognize the competence of the committee to hear complaints from individuals about violations of the convention by a party (Article 22).

Part III (Articles 25–33) governs ratification, entry into force, and amendment of the convention. It also includes an optional arbitration mechanism for disputes between parties (Article 30).

Main provisions

Definition of torture

Article 1.1 of the Convention defines torture as:

The words "inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions" remain vague and very broad. It is extremely difficult to determine what sanctions are "inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions" in a particular legal system and what are not. The drafters of the Convention neither provided any criteria for making such determination nor did it define the terms. The nature of the findings would so differ from one legal system to another that they would give rise to serious disputes among the parties to the convention. It was suggested that the reference to such rules would make the issue more complicated, for it would endow the rules with a semblance of legal binding force. This allows state parties to pass domestic laws that permit acts of torture that they believe are within the lawful sanctions clause. However, the most widely adopted interpretation of the lawful sanctions clause is that it refers to sanctions authorized by international law. Pursuant to this interpretation, only sanctions that are authorized by international law will fall within this exclusion. The interpretation of the lawful sanctions clause leaves no scope of application and is widely debated by authors, historians, and scholars alike.[7]

Ban on torture

Article 2 prohibits torture, and requires parties to take effective measures to prevent it in any territory under their jurisdiction. This prohibition is absolute and non-derogable. "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever"[8] may be invoked to justify torture, including war, threat of war, internal political instability, public emergency, terrorist acts, violent crime, or any form of armed conflict.[5] In other words, torture cannot be justified as a means to protect public safety or prevent emergencies.[8] Subordinates who commit acts of torture cannot abstain themselves from legal responsibility on the grounds that they were just following orders from their superiors.[5]

The prohibition on torture applies to anywhere under a party's effective jurisdiction inside or outside of its borders, whether on board its ships or aircraft or in its military occupations, military bases, peacekeeping operations, health care industries, schools, day care centers, detention centers, embassies, or any other of its areas, and protects all people under its effective control, regardless of nationality or how that control is exercised.[5]

The other articles of part I lay out specific obligations intended to implement this absolute prohibition by preventing, investigating, and punishing acts of torture.[5]

Ban on refoulement

Article 3 prohibits parties from returning, extraditing, or refouling any person to a state "where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture."[9] The Committee Against Torture has held that this danger must be assessed not just for the initial receiving state, but also to states to which the person may be subsequently expelled, returned or extradited.[10]

Obligation to prosecute or extradite

Article 7 obligates the government of the state in which the alleged offense occurred to either prosecute the accused party, or extradite them to a state that will, under the principle of aut dedere aut judicare.[11]

Ban on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment

Article 16 requires parties to prevent "other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment which do not amount to torture as defined in article 1" in any territory under their jurisdiction. Because it is often difficult to distinguish between cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment and torture, the Committee regards Article 16's prohibition of such act as similarly absolute and non-derogable.[5]

Signatories and ratifications

ParticipantSignatureRatification, accession (a), succession (d)
4 February 19851 April 1987
Albania11 May 1994 a
Algeria26 November 198512 September 1989
Angola24 September 20132 October 2019
Andorra5 August 200222 September 2006
Antigua and Barbuda19 July 1993 a
Argentina4 February 198524 September 1986
Armenia13 September 1993 a
Australia10 December 19858 August 1989
Austria14 March 198529 July 1987
Azerbaijan16 August 1996 a
Bahamas16 December 200831 May 2018
Bahrain6 March 1998 a
Bangladesh5 October 1998 a
Belarus19 December 198513 March 1987 (as the)
Belgium4 February 198525 June 1999
Belize17 March 1986 a
Benin12 March 1992 a
Bolivia (Plurinational State of)4 February 198512 April 1999
Bosnia and Herzegovina1 September 1993 d
Botswana8 September 20008 September 2000
Brazil23 September 198528 September 1989
Brunei Darussalam22 September 2015
Bulgaria10 June 198616 December 1986
Burkina Faso4 January 1999 a
Burundi18 February 1993 a
Cabo Verde4 June 1992 a
Cambodia15 October 1992 a
Cameroon19 December 1986 a
Canada23 August 198524 June 1987
Central African Republic11 October 2016 a
Chad9 June 1995 a
Chile23 September 198730 September 1988
China12 December 19864 October 1988
Colombia10 April 19858 December 1987
Comoros22 September 2000
Congo30 July 2003 a
Costa Rica4 February 198511 November 1993
Côte d'Ivoire18 December 1995 a
Croatia12 October 1992 d
Cuba27 January 198617 May 1995
Cyprus9 October 198518 July 1991
Czech Republic22 February 1993 d (previously ratified by on 7 July 1988)
Democratic Republic of the Congo 18 March 1996 a (as)
Denmark4 February 198527 May 1987
Djibouti5 November 2002 a
Dominican Republic4 February 198524 January 2012
Ecuador4 February 198530 March 1988
Egypt25 June 1986 a
El Salvador17 June 1996 a
Equatorial Guinea8 October 2002 a
Eritrea25 September 2014 a
Estonia21 October 1991 a
Ethiopia14 March 1994 a
Fiji1 March 201616 March 2016
Finland4 February 198530 August 1989
France4 February 198518 February 1986
Gabon21 January 19868 September 2000
Gambia23 October 198528 September 2018
Georgia26 October 1994 a
Germany13 October 19861 October 1990 (Signed as the . The also ratified on 9 September 1987)
Ghana7 September 20007 September 2000
Greece4 February 19856 October 1988
Grenada26 September 2019 a
Guatemala5 January 1990 a
Guinea30 May 198610 October 1989
Guinea-Bissau12 September 200024 September 2013
Guyana25 January 198819 May 1988
Holy See26 June 2002 a
Honduras5 December 1996 a
Hungary28 November 198615 April 1987
Iceland4 February 198523 October 1996
India14 October 1997
Indonesia23 October 198528 October 1998
Iraq7 July 2011 a
Ireland28 September 199211 April 2002
Israel22 October 19863 October 1991
Italy4 February 198512 January 1989, 5 July 2017 a[12]
Japan29 June 1999 a
Jordan13 November 1991 a
Kazakhstan26 August 1998 a
Kenya21 February 1997 a
Kiribati22 July 2019 a
Kuwait8 March 1996 a
Kyrgyzstan5 September 1997 a
Lao People's Democratic Republic21 September 201026 September 2012
Latvia14 April 1992 a
Lebanon5 October 2000 a
Lesotho12 November 2001 a
Liberia22 September 2004 a
Libya16 May 1989 a (then Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)
Liechtenstein27 June 19852 November 1990
Lithuania1 February 1996 a
Luxembourg22 February 198529 September 1987
Madagascar1 October 200113 December 2005
Malawi11 June 1996 a
Maldives20 April 2004 a
Mali26 February 1999 a
Malta13 September 1990 a
Marshall Islands12 March 2018 a
Mauritania17 November 2004 a
Mauritius9 December 1992 a
Mexico18 March 198523 January 1986
Monaco6 December 1991 a
Mongolia24 January 2002 a
Montenegro23 October 2006 d
Morocco8 January 198621 June 1993
Mozambique14 September 1999 a
Namibia28 November 1994 a
Nauru12 November 200126 September 2012
Nepal14 May 1991 a
Netherlands4 February 198521 December 1988
New Zealand14 January 198610 December 1989
Nicaragua15 April 19855 July 2005
Niger5 October 1998 a
Nigeria28 July 198828 June 2001
Norway4 February 19859 July 1986
Pakistan17 April 20083 June 2010
Palau20 September 2011
State of Palestine2 April 2014 a
Oman9 June 2020 a
Panama22 February 198524 August 1987
Paraguay23 October 198912 March 1990
Peru29 May 19857 July 1988
Philippines18 June 1986 a
Poland13 January 198626 July 1989
Portugal4 February 19859 February 1989
Qatar11 January 2000 a
Republic of Korea [South]9 January 1995 a
Republic of Moldova28 November 1995 a
Romania18 December 1990 a
Russian Federation10 December 19853 March 1987 (ratified as the)
Rwanda15 December 2008 a
Saint Kitts and Nevis21 September 2020 a
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1 August 2001 a
Samoa28 March 2019 a
San Marino18 September 200227 November 2006
São Tomé and Príncipe6 September 200010 January 2017
Saudi Arabia23 September 1997 a
Senegal4 February 198521 August 1986
Serbia12 March 2001 d (ratified as the ; had previously ratified on 10 September 1991)
Seychelles5 May 1992 a
Sierra Leone18 March 198525 April 2001
Slovakia28 May 1993 d (previously ratified by on 7 July 1988)
Slovenia16 July 1993 a
Somalia24 January 1990 a
South Africa29 January 199310 December 1998
South Sudan30 April 2015 a
Spain4 February 198521 October 1987
Sri Lanka3 January 1994 a
Sudan4 June 198610 August 2021
Suriname16 November 2021 a
Swaziland26 March 2004 a
Sweden4 February 19858 January 1986
Switzerland4 February 19852 December 1986
Syrian Arab Republic19 August 2004 a
Tajikistan11 January 1995 a
Thailand2 October 2007 a
North Macedonia12 December 1994 d
Timor-Leste16 April 2003 a
Togo25 March 198718 November 1987
Tunisia26 August 198723 September 1988
Turkey25 January 19882 August 1988
Turkmenistan25 June 1999 a
Tuvalu24 March 2024 a
Uganda3 November 1986 a
Ukraine27 February 198624 February 1987 (ratified as the)
United Arab Emirates19 July 2012 a
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland15 March 19858 December 1988 (British Indian Ocean Territory not included[13])
United States of America18 April 198821 October 1994[14] (With specific reservations detailed here.)
Uruguay4 February 198524 October 1986
Uzbekistan28 September 1995 a
Vanuatu12 July 2011 a
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)15 February 198529 July 1991
Viet Nam7 November 20135 February 2015
Yemen5 November 1991 a
Zambia7 October 1998 a

As of 17 November 2021, there are 173 States parties. 22 UN Member States are not yet party to the convention.

Optional Protocol

See main article: Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT), adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2002 and in force since 22 June 2006, provides for the establishment of "a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,"[15] to be overseen by a Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

As of April 2022, the Protocol has 76 signatories and 91 parties.[16]

Committee Against Torture

See main article: Committee Against Torture (UN). The Committee Against Torture (CAT) is a body of human rights experts that monitors implementation of the convention by State parties. The committee is one of eight UN-linked human rights treaty bodies. All state parties are obliged under the convention to submit regular reports to the CAT on how rights are being implemented. Upon ratifying the convention, states must submit a report within one year, after which they are obliged to report every four years. The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of "concluding observations". Under certain circumstances, the CAT may consider complaints or communications from individuals claiming that their rights under the Convention have been violated.

The CAT usually meets in April/May and November each year in Geneva. Members are elected to four-year terms by State parties and can be re-elected if nominated. The current membership of the CAT, :[17]

Name State Term Expires
Abderrazak Rouwane 31 December 2025
Ilvija Puce 31 December 2023
31 December 2025
Maeda Naoko 31 December 2025
Claude Heller (chairperson)31 December 2023
Erdogan Iscan (Rapporteur) 31 December 2023
Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov (Vice-chairperson) 31 December 2025
Ana Racu (Vice-chairperson) 31 December 2023
Sébastien Touze (Vice-chairperson) 31 December 2023
Liu Huawen 31 December 2025

Effects

A 2021 study in the American Journal of Political Science found that countries that adopt national laws that prohibit torture (defining it in line with the standards codified in the UN Convention against Torture) subsequently experience reductions in police torture.[18]

See also

Further reading

External links

Decisions of the Committee Against Torture

Notes and References

  1. https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/40/a40r128.htm General Assembly resolution 40/128
  2. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cat.htm Convention Against Torture
  3. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cat.htm Convention Against Torture
  4. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cat.htm Convention Against Torture
  5. Web site: CAT General Comment No. 2: Implementation of Article 2 by States Parties . Committee Against Torture . 23 November 2007 . 2008-06-16 . 2.
  6. United Nations Treaty Collection: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Retrieved on 26 June 2018.
  7. Book: Reproductive Freedom, Torture and International Human Rights: Challenging the Masculinisation of Torture . 145 . 4 December 2013 . Ronli Sifris . Routledge.
  8. Web site: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment . 2022-03-16 . OHCHR . en.
  9. http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cat.htm Convention Against Torture
  10. Web site: CAT General Comment No. 01: Implementation of article 3 of the Convention in the context of article 22 . UN OHCHR . 21 November 1997 . 2008-06-15 .
  11. Book: Manfred Nowak

    . United Nations Convention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol: A Commentary . 978-0-19-884617-8. Nowak . Manfred Nowak . Manfred. Birk. Moritz. Monina. Giuliana. 14 November 2019 . Oxford University Press .

  12. News: Italy passes law making torture a crime, critics say full of holes. 5 July 2017. Reuters. 2017-07-06.
  13. News: The BIOT: A judicial vacuum now consuming Tamil refugees . Bashfield . Samuel . Al Jazeera. 1 June 2022 . 10 June 2022.
  14. Web site: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment – Addendum to Initial reports of States parties due in 1995. U.S. Department of State . 10 December 2018.
  15. [Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment|OPCAT]
  16. Web site: 9.b Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. United Nations Treaty Collection . United Nations . 10 December 2018.
  17. Web site: Committee Against Torture – Membership . 2023 . United Nations OHCHR. 2023-06-12.
  18. Berlin. Mark S.. 2021. Does Criminalizing Torture Deter Police Torture?. American Journal of Political Science. 67 . 4 . 932–947 . en. 10.1111/ajps.12684. 244550445. 1540-5907.

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