Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment

Cruel, inhuman (inhumane) or degrading treatment (CIDT) is treatment of persons which is contrary to human rights or dignity, . 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 a distinction between torture and CIDT is maintained from a legal point of view, medical and psychological studies have found that this distinction is virtually nonexistent from a psychological point of view, and that people subjected to CIDT experience the same consequences as survivors of torture. Based on this research, some practitioners have recommended abolishing the distinction.