On 10 December 1984, the UN General Assembly (Resolution 39/46) adopted the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). This Convention, which entered into force on 26 June 1987, obliges States to make torture a crime and to prosecute and punish those guilty of it. It notes explicitly that neither higher orders nor exceptional circumstances can justify torture.

It was an important step to acknowledge that torture, and all forms of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, are absolutely and universally illegal. Proposed by Denmark, the UN General Assembly in December 1997 marked the historic date - 26 June - as International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Sources:
The United Nations
International Federation of ACAT (FI.ACAT)
Intuition in Service

The CAT interprets torture as
"any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions." (Article 1)

Torture may include:

• systematic beatings
• being deprived of sleep for several days
• being subjected to electric shock
• being submerged head first in foul water
• being confined to mental hospital on other than medical grounds
• being given sophisticated drugs
• starvation
• exposure to extreme temperatures
• electric shock treatment
• live burials ...

Victims of torture are often caught up in government suppression of dissent, they are not charged with any criminal offence and they may be the wives or young children of suspects. They suffer, physically and mentally, long after release.

Effects of torture may include:

• serious injury and/or paralyses
• destroyed minds
• emotional scars
• death
• disappearance - a terrible form of torture for those left behind ...

Torture is not just an expression of sadism, practiced by those who deal with prisoners. It becomes an institution, part of the system, authorised by governments, connived by officials at every level, and accepted as a "necessary evil".

Sources:
The United Nations
Christian Against Torture

History of Torture
From Torture Survivors Network

Past

Torture has been with us since the beginning of human history because somewhere, buried deep, the seeds are planted in all of us. We still are unclear about all that causes those seeds to flourish, but we do know what excuses are used to justify it and how people go about institutionalizing it.

Religious fervor, incredibly, was the root and justification for torture during the days of the Crusades and the Inquisition. But were they simply a rationalized excuse for individuals to maintain power? Christians encompass the reality of the crucifixion of Jesus in religious practice, but rarely put it into the context of "torture" which continues in many forms in our modern world.

Desirable land throughout time has been the instigator of wars which inevitably encompass evil - in widespread orgies of torture in all of its forms. Again, it was individuals who desired the land. Wanting and desiring anything to an excess, we call "greed."

Another familiar expression of contemporary times is "power-hungry." Greed and power are the hallmarks to seek when looking for the roots of the evil we call torture. They are the constant throughout history and including modern times.

Words such as "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" are not causes, they are secondary, masking the deeper narcissistic urge for power. For this reason it is always best to look deeper than philosophic, political, or pragmatic rationalizations for the use of torture, or even war. There will always be a few individuals at the heart of the effort who are greedy and are seeking power.

Present

In modern "civilized" times, there are at least 123 countries which utilize torture as a means of controlling its citizens. This figure includes industrial as well as "third-world" nations. It is about the need to control and the necessity of using force to establish control - always ultimately, by a few individuals.

One of the most efficient means of control is to terrorize a society into passivity and submission. The way to exert that control is by torture. The public exposure of the results of that torture - the destruction of the physical, psychological, and/or mental capacities of a community leader - will strike terror in the hearts of his or her community. How many strong and freedom-loving people will speak out against evil if their child has been kidnapped or rape or maimed, then returned as an omnipresent warning? There are hundreds in one of our neighboring countries and it continues as this is being written.

The CAT remains the least ratified of the six international human rights treaties with only 128 states parties in May 2002. Those in Asia who have not yet signed are Bhutan, Brunei, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

In the Asia Pacific, torture is a widespread practice that exists in all its regional groupings:

Torture in police custody is common throughout the region - inflicted on both criminal suspects and political dissidents. People have died as a result of torture in several Asia Pacific countries including India, Burma and China.

Many of the region's governments have failed to take the most basic steps to prevent torture or investigate complaints. Corruption, official acquiescence and a lack of adequate human rights training for law-enforcement officials, means that in many countries torture has become routine practice.

In many Asia-Pacific countries there is a clear link between discrimination and torture - those at most risk are the poorest and most marginalised groups in society. They may be ethnic minority groups who face discrimination in society at large, drug users and petty criminals, street children and women. Women in South Asia are particular vulnerable to torture by private individuals. Governments continue to fail to investigate patterns of torture including rape in custody, acid attacks and dowry-related murders.

In areas of conflict, including in Sri Lanka, India and Solomon Islands, whole populations are often at risk of torture from both state agents and armed opposition groups.

A climate of impunity runs across the region and affects almost all countries. From South Asia across to the Pacific, torturers act without fear of prosecution. Impunity is fuelled by official complacence, lack of judicial independence and shortcomings in criminal justice systems.

Source: Diplomacy Training Program

Join any movement in your country to convince government to:

• sign the UN Convention against Torture, if it has not yet ratified;
• fully implement its responsibilities under the Convention, if it has ratified.

Write a letter to the editor of your local or national newspaper, expressing your concern that:

• your government has not ratified the Convention against Torture;
• the Convention should be implemented in national legislation;
• your government should support training and education programmes for police and prison officers;
• your government should take initiative aimed at addressing the needs of victims of torture and their families.

Start a group in your community to encourage letter-writing campaign and raise awareness of human rights issues.

Read newspapers and watch media reports so as to be informed.

Pray for the victims and their families, torturers, lawyers and judges who ignore prisoners' protests, police surgeons who overlook evidence of abuse or even stand by to declare the prisoner fit for further abuse, military commanders who demand results and the politicians who lean on them, Church leaders who are too frightened to speak out, and countries which export instruments of torture and arms.

Contribute to the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture which support projects providing medical, psychological, economic, social and legal assistance to victims of torture and to members of their families. It also supports a few projects that share the objective of organizing training seminars for health professionals specialized in the treatment of torture victims.

Sources:
International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
Christians Against Torture (CAT)

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
is today the largest international coalition of NGOs fighting against torture, summary executions, forced disappearances and all other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in order to preserve Human Rights.

Association for the Prevention of Torture
is an independent non-governmental organisation working worldwide against torture and ill-treatment by focusing on the prevention of such abuses.

International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)
is an independent, international health professional organization, which promotes and supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and works for the prevention of torture worldwide.

The Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC)
is dedicated to the eradication of torture in the world and seeks to raise awareness about torture through legislation and other forms of non-violent social action; it provides a forum for survivors to speak out about torture, to begin to build trust in one another, in community and in humanity as well.

The Torture Survivors Network
is a forum for the survivors' voices, for sharing information between treatment centers and professionals, for those interested in starting a program in their own community, and for the general public.

REDRESS - Seeking Reparation for Torture Survivors
is an internationally focused, non-profit legal / human rights organisation, which helps torture survivors use available legal remedies to obtain reparation and to campaign for effective remedies where they do not exist.

Christians Against Torture (CAT)
is a voluntary human-rights organisation, affiliated to Amnesty International and working 'under the umbrella' of Cytun (the Council of Churches in Wales) in Wales and affiliated to FiACAT; it campaigns on behalf of "adopted" political prisoners or issues, publishing details of these campaigns through "Action Sheets" with updates appearing in regular newsletters.