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Torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts carried out by the state, but others include non-state organizations. Torture has been carried out since ancient times. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Western countries abolished the official use of torture in the judicial system, but torture continued to be used throughout the world. A variety of methods of torture are used, often in combination; the most common form of physical torture is beatings. Since the twentieth century, many torturers have preferred non-scarring or psychological methods to provide deniability. Torturers are enabled by organizations that facilitate and encourage their behavior. Most victims of torture are poor and marginalized people suspected of crimes, although torture against political prisoners o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Nations 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 into force, the absolute prohibition against torture a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torture In International Law
The prohibition of torture is a peremptory norm in public international law—meaning that it is forbidden under all circumstances—as well as being forbidden by international treaties such as the United Nations Convention Against Torture. United Nations Convention Against Torture The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into force in June 1987. The most relevant articles are Articles 1, 2, 3, and 16. Note several points: *Article 1: Torture is "severe pain or suffering". The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) influences discussions on this area of international law. See the section Other conventions for more details on the ECHR ruling. * Article 2: There are "no exceptional circumstances whatsoever where a state can use torture and not break its treaty obligations." [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interrogational Torture
Interrogational torture is the use of torture to obtain information in interrogation, as opposed to the use of torture to force a person to make a confession regardless of whether it is true or false. Torture has been used throughout history during interrogation, although it is now illegal and a violation of international law. Although there is limited information as to whether interrogational torture is ever an effective interrogation method, it frequently generates false or misleading information and can impair subsequent information collection. Investigation of effectiveness Governments that have used torture for interrogation on a large scale have not disclosed systematic information on how their torture programs were carried out, hampering efforts to investigate their effectiveness by those who lack access to classified information. Young and Kearns state that "Experiments on whether or not torture is effective are extremely challenging to implement in a safe yet realistic way ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Definitions Of Torture
Torture is generally defined as deliberately inflicting "severe pain or suffering" on a prisoner, but exactly what this means in practice is disputed. International level UN Convention Against Torture The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which is currently in force since 26 June 1987, provides a broad definition of torture. Article 1.1 of the UN Convention Against Torture reads: This definition was restricted to apply only to nations and to government-sponsored torture and clearly limits the torture to that perpetrated, directly or indirectly, by those acting in an official capacity, such as government personnel, law enforcement personnel, medical personnel, military personnel, or politicians. It appears to exclude: # torture perpetrated by gangs, hate groups, rebels, or terrorists who ignore national or international mandates; # random violence during war; and # punishment allowed by national laws, even if ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inter-American Convention To Prevent And Punish Torture
The Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (IACPPT) is an international human rights instrument, created in 1985 within the Western Hemisphere Organization of American States and intended to prevent torture and other similar activities. The Inter-American Convention entered into force on February 28, 1987, and, as of 2013, 18 nations are party to it, with another two having signed but not yet ratified. The Inter-American Convention defines torture more expansively than the United Nations Convention Against Torture, including "the use of methods upon a person intended to obliterate the personality of the victim or to diminish his physical or mental capacities, even if they do not cause physical pain or mental anguish." The Convention is one of a series of OAS agreements that seek to protect human rights, within the framework of the American Convention on Human Rights, which bans torture in less detail. The Convention also requires states to take effective measu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Methods Of Torture
A list of torture methods and devices includes: Psychological torture methods *Being subjected to long periods of interrogation *Blackmailing *Chinese water torture *Exploitation of phobias; e.g., mock execution, leaving arachnophobes in a room full of spiders *Castor oil *Forced nudity *Music torture * Pharmacological torture *Sensory deprivation *Sensory overload *Sleep deprivation *Solitary confinement/ Isolation *Threat of permanent, severe disfigurement * Tickle torture *Waterboarding * White room torture Physical torture methods Instruments of torture Note that the line between "torture method" and "torture device" is often blurred, particularly when a specifically named implement is but one component of a method. Also, many devices that can be used for torture have mainstream uses, completely unrelated to torture. Medieval and early modern instruments of torture Chair of Torture Appearance There are many variants of the chair, though they all have one thin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychological Torture
Psychological torture or mental torture is a type of torture that relies primarily on psychological effects, and only secondarily on any physical harm inflicted. Although not all psychological torture involves the use of physical violence, there is a continuum between psychological torture and physical torture. The two are often used in conjunction with one another and often overlap in practice, with the fear and pain induced by physical torture often resulting in long-term psychological effects, and many forms of psychological torture involving some form of pain or coercion. United Nations 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) 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 Conven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cruel, Inhuman, Or Degrading Treatment
Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, but is not classified as torture. It is forbidden by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the United Nations Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Although the distinction between torture and CIDT is maintained from a legal point of view, medical and psychological studies have found that it does not exist from the psychological point of view, and people subjected to CIDT will experience the same consequences as survivors of torture. Based on this research, some practitioners have recommended abolishing the distinction. Inhuman treatment The Equality and Human Rights Commission defines inhuman treatment as: * serious physical assault * psychological interrogation * cruel detention conditions or restraints * physical or psychological abuse in a healthcare sett ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Human Rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of human behaviour and are regularly protected in municipal and international law. They are commonly understood as inalienable,The United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner of Human RightsWhat are human rights? Retrieved 14 August 2014 fundamental rights "to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being" and which are "inherent in all human beings",Burns H. Weston, 20 March 2014, Encyclopædia Britannicahuman rights Retrieved 14 August 2014. regardless of their age, ethnic origin, location, language, religion, ethnicity, or any other status. They are applicable everywhere and at every time in the sense of being universal, and they are egalitarian in the sense of being the same for everyone. They are r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malcolm Evans (academic Lawyer)
Sir Malcolm David Evans, (born 1959) is an English legal scholar. He is currently Principal of Regent's Park College, Oxford, England and started in 2023. Biography Until 2023 Evans was Professor of Public International Law at the University of Bristol. He has worked extensively on human rights issues for numerous international bodies and NGOs. His research interests include the law of the sea and the international protection of human rights, with particular focus on the freedom of religion (for which he was knighted in 2015) and the prevention of torture. He studied law at Regent's Park College, Oxford (1979–82 and 1983–87) primarily for undergraduate and then for doctorate. He was appointed to a lectureship at the University of Bristol in 1988 and in 1999 was appointed Professor of Public International Law. He was Head of the School of Law 2003-05 before becoming Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Law from xxxx-yyyy. In 2012 he was awarded an honorary fellowship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Rack
The rack is a torture device consisting of a rectangular, usually wooden frame, slightly raised from the ground, with a roller at one or both ends. The victim's ankles are fastened to one roller and the wrists are chained to the other. As the interrogation progresses, a handle and ratchet mechanism attached to the top roller are used to very gradually retract the chains, slowly increasing the strain on the prisoner's shoulders, hips, knees, and elbows and causing excruciating pain. By means of pulleys and levers, this roller could be rotated on its own axis, thus straining the ropes until the sufferer's joints were dislocated and eventually separated. Additionally, if muscle fibres are stretched excessively, they lose their ability to contract, rendering them ineffective. One gruesome aspect of being stretched too far on the rack is the loud popping noises made by snapping cartilage, ligaments or bones. Another method for putting pressure upon prisoners was to force them to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strappado
The strappado, also known as corda, is a form of torture in which the victim's hands are tied behind his back and the victim is suspended by a rope attached to the wrists, typically resulting in dislocated shoulders. Weights may be added to the body to intensify the effect and increase the pain. This kind of torture would generally not last more than an hour without rest, as it would likely result in death. Other names for strappado include "reverse hanging", "Palestinian hanging" and . It was employed by the medieval Inquisition and many governments, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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