United Nations Convention Against Torture

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United Nations Convention Against Torture
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
CAT members.svg
  states parties
  states that have signed, but not ratified
  states that have not signed
Type Human rights convention
Drafted10 December 1984 [1]
Signed4 February 1985 [2]
LocationNew York
Effective26 June 1987 [1]
Condition20 ratifications [3]
Signatories83 [1]
Parties174 [1]
Depositary UN Secretary-General [4]
LanguagesArabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish [5]
Full text
Wikisource-logo.svg Convention against Torture at Wikisource

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.

Contents

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 [1] and, following ratification by the 20th state party, [3] it came into force on 26 June 1987. [1] 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. [6] As of April 2024, the convention has 174 state parties. [1]

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:

For the purpose of this Convention, the term "torture" means 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.

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. [6] 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. [6]

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. [6]

The other articles of part I lay out specific obligations intended to implement this absolute prohibition by preventing, investigating, and punishing acts of torture. [6]

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. [6]

Signatories and ratifications

ParticipantSignatureRatification, accession (a), succession (d)
Flag of Afghanistan (2013-2021).svg Afghanistan4 February 19851 April 1987
Flag of Albania.svg Albania11 May 1994 a
Flag of Algeria.svg Algeria26 November 198512 September 1989
Flag of Angola.svg Angola24 September 20132 October 2019
Flag of Andorra.svg Andorra5 August 200222 September 2006
Flag of Antigua and Barbuda.svg Antigua and Barbuda19 July 1993 a
Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina4 February 198524 September 1986
Flag of Armenia.svg Armenia13 September 1993 a
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia10 December 19858 August 1989
Flag of Austria.svg Austria14 March 198529 July 1987
Flag of Azerbaijan.svg Azerbaijan16 August 1996 a
Flag of the Bahamas.svg Bahamas16 December 200831 May 2018
Flag of Bahrain.svg Bahrain6 March 1998 a
Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh5 October 1998 a
Flag of Belarus.svg Belarus19 December 198513 March 1987 (as the Flag of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (1951-1991).svg  Byelorussian SSR)
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium4 February 198525 June 1999
Flag of Belize.svg Belize17 March 1986 a
Flag of Benin.svg Benin12 March 1992 a
Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg Bolivia (Plurinational State of)4 February 198512 April 1999
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina1 September 1993 d
Flag of Botswana.svg Botswana8 September 20008 September 2000
Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil23 September 198528 September 1989
Flag of Brunei.svg Brunei Darussalam22 September 2015
Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria10 June 198616 December 1986
Flag of Burkina Faso.svg Burkina Faso4 January 1999 a
Flag of Burundi.svg Burundi18 February 1993 a
Flag of Cape Verde.svg Cabo Verde4 June 1992 a
Flag of Cambodia.svg Cambodia15 October 1992 a
Flag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon19 December 1986 a
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada23 August 198524 June 1987
Flag of the Central African Republic.svg Central African Republic11 October 2016 a
Flag of Chad.svg Chad9 June 1995 a
Flag of Chile.svg Chile23 September 198730 September 1988
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China12 December 19864 October 1988
Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia10 April 19858 December 1987
Flag of the Comoros.svg Comoros22 September 2000
Flag of the Republic of the Congo.svg Congo30 July 2003 a
Flag of Costa Rica.svg Costa Rica4 February 198511 November 1993
Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg Côte d'Ivoire18 December 1995 a
Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia12 October 1992 d
Flag of Cuba.svg Cuba27 January 198617 May 1995
Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus9 October 198518 July 1991
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic22 February 1993 d (previously ratified by Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia on 7 July 1988)
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Democratic Republic of the Congo18 March 1996 a (as Flag of Zaire (1971-1997).svg  Zaire)
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark4 February 198527 May 1987
Flag of Djibouti.svg Djibouti5 November 2002 a
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Dominican Republic4 February 198524 January 2012
Flag of Ecuador.svg Ecuador4 February 198530 March 1988
Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt25 June 1986 a
Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador17 June 1996 a
Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg Equatorial Guinea8 October 2002 a
Flag of Eritrea.svg Eritrea25 September 2014 a
Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia21 October 1991 a
Flag of Ethiopia.svg Ethiopia14 March 1994 a
Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji1 March 201616 March 2016
Flag of Finland.svg Finland4 February 198530 August 1989
Flag of France.svg France4 February 198518 February 1986
Flag of Gabon.svg Gabon21 January 19868 September 2000
Flag of The Gambia.svg Gambia23 October 198528 September 2018
Flag of Georgia.svg Georgia26 October 1994 a
Flag of Germany.svg Germany13 October 19861 October 1990 (Signed as the Flag of Germany.svg  Federal Republic of Germany . The Flag of East Germany.svg  German Democratic Republic also ratified on 9 September 1987)
Flag of Ghana.svg Ghana7 September 20007 September 2000
Flag of Greece.svg Greece4 February 19856 October 1988
Flag of Grenada.svg Grenada26 September 2019 a
Flag of Guatemala.svg Guatemala5 January 1990 a
Flag of Guinea.svg Guinea30 May 198610 October 1989
Flag of Guinea-Bissau.svg Guinea-Bissau12 September 200024 September 2013
Flag of Guyana.svg Guyana25 January 198819 May 1988
Flag of the Vatican City - 2001 version.svg Holy See26 June 2002 a
Flag of Honduras.svg Honduras5 December 1996 a
Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary28 November 198615 April 1987
Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland4 February 198523 October 1996
Flag of India.svg India14 October 1997
Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia23 October 198528 October 1998
Flag of Iraq.svg Iraq7 July 2011 a
Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland28 September 199211 April 2002
Flag of Israel.svg Israel22 October 19863 October 1991
Flag of Italy.svg Italy4 February 198512 January 1989, 5 July 2017 a [12]
Flag of Japan.svg Japan29 June 1999 a
Flag of Jordan.svg Jordan13 November 1991 a
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg Kazakhstan26 August 1998 a
Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya21 February 1997 a
Flag of Kiribati.svg Kiribati22 July 2019 a
Flag of Kuwait.svg Kuwait8 March 1996 a
Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg Kyrgyzstan5 September 1997 a
Flag of Laos.svg Lao People's Democratic Republic21 September 201026 September 2012
Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia14 April 1992 a
Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon5 October 2000 a
Flag of Lesotho.svg Lesotho12 November 2001 a
Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia22 September 2004 a
Flag of Libya.svg Libya16 May 1989 a (then Flag of Libya (1977-2011).svg Libyan Arab Jamahiriya)
Flag of Liechtenstein.svg Liechtenstein27 June 19852 November 1990
Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania1 February 1996 a
Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg22 February 198529 September 1987
Flag of Madagascar.svg Madagascar1 October 200113 December 2005
Flag of Malawi.svg Malawi11 June 1996 a
Flag of Maldives.svg Maldives20 April 2004 a
Flag of Mali.svg Mali26 February 1999 a
Flag of Malta.svg Malta13 September 1990 a
Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Marshall Islands12 March 2018 a
Flag of Mauritania.svg Mauritania17 November 2004 a
Flag of Mauritius.svg Mauritius9 December 1992 a
Flag of Mexico.svg Mexico18 March 198523 January 1986
Flag of Monaco.svg Monaco6 December 1991 a
Flag of Mongolia.svg Mongolia24 January 2002 a
Flag of Montenegro.svg Montenegro23 October 2006 d
Flag of Morocco.svg Morocco8 January 198621 June 1993
Flag of Mozambique.svg Mozambique14 September 1999 a
Flag of Namibia.svg Namibia28 November 1994 a
Flag of Nauru.svg Nauru12 November 200126 September 2012
Flag of Nepal.svg Nepal14 May 1991 a
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands4 February 198521 December 1988
Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand14 January 198610 December 1989
Flag of Nicaragua.svg Nicaragua15 April 19855 July 2005
Flag of Niger.svg Niger5 October 1998 a
Flag of Nigeria.svg Nigeria28 July 198828 June 2001
Flag of Norway.svg Norway4 February 19859 July 1986
Flag of Pakistan.svg Pakistan17 April 20083 June 2010
Flag of Palau.svg Palau20 September 2011
Flag of Palestine.svg State of Palestine2 April 2014 a
Flag of Oman.svg Oman9 June 2020 a
Flag of Panama.svg Panama22 February 198524 August 1987
Flag of Paraguay.svg Paraguay23 October 198912 March 1990
Flag of Peru.svg Peru29 May 19857 July 1988
Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines18 June 1986 a
Flag of Poland.svg Poland13 January 198626 July 1989
Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal4 February 19859 February 1989
Flag of Qatar.svg Qatar11 January 2000 a
Flag of South Korea.svg Republic of Korea [South]9 January 1995 a
Flag of Moldova.svg Republic of Moldova28 November 1995 a
Flag of Romania.svg Romania18 December 1990 a
Flag of Russia.svg Russian Federation10 December 19853 March 1987 (ratified as the Flag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union)
Flag of Rwanda.svg Rwanda15 December 2008 a
Flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis.svg Saint Kitts and Nevis21 September 2020 a
Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1 August 2001 a
Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa28 March 2019 a
Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino18 September 200227 November 2006
Flag of Sao Tome and Principe.svg São Tomé and Príncipe6 September 200010 January 2017
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg Saudi Arabia23 September 1997 a
Flag of Senegal.svg Senegal4 February 198521 August 1986
Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia12 March 2001 d (ratified as the Flag of Serbia and Montenegro (1992-2006).svg  Federal Republic of Yugoslavia; Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg  SFR Yugoslavia had previously ratified on 10 September 1991)
Flag of Seychelles.svg Seychelles5 May 1992 a
Flag of Sierra Leone.svg Sierra Leone18 March 198525 April 2001
Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia28 May 1993 d (previously ratified by Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czechoslovakia on 7 July 1988)
Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia16 July 1993 a
Flag of Somalia.svg Somalia24 January 1990 a
Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa29 January 199310 December 1998
Flag of South Sudan.svg South Sudan30 April 2015 a
Flag of Spain.svg Spain4 February 198521 October 1987
Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka3 January 1994 a
Flag of Sudan.svg Sudan4 June 198610 August 2021
Flag of Suriname.svg Suriname16 November 2021 a
Flag of Eswatini.svg Swaziland26 March 2004 a
Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden4 February 19858 January 1986
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Switzerland4 February 19852 December 1986
Flag of Syria.svg Syrian Arab Republic19 August 2004 a
Flag of Tajikistan.svg Tajikistan11 January 1995 a
Flag of Thailand.svg Thailand2 October 2007 a
Flag of North Macedonia.svg North Macedonia12 December 1994 d
Flag of East Timor.svg Timor-Leste16 April 2003 a
Flag of Togo.svg Togo25 March 198718 November 1987
Flag of Tunisia.svg Tunisia26 August 198723 September 1988
Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey25 January 19882 August 1988
Flag of Turkmenistan.svg Turkmenistan25 June 1999 a
Flag of Tuvalu.svg Tuvalu24 March 2024 a
Flag of Uganda.svg Uganda3 November 1986 a
Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine27 February 198624 February 1987 (ratified as the Flag of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1949-1991).svg  Ukrainian SSR)
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg United Arab Emirates19 July 2012 a
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland15 March 19858 December 1988 (British Indian Ocean Territory not included [13] )
Flag of the United States.svg United States of America18 April 198821 October 1994 [1] [14] (With specific reservations detailed here.)
Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay4 February 198524 October 1986
Flag of Uzbekistan.svg Uzbekistan28 September 1995 a
Flag of Vanuatu.svg Vanuatu12 July 2011 a
Flag of Venezuela.svg Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)15 February 198529 July 1991
Flag of Vietnam.svg Viet Nam7 November 20135 February 2015
Flag of Yemen.svg Yemen5 November 1991 a
Flag of Zambia.svg 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

states parties
states that signed, but have not ratified
states that have not signed OPCAT members.svg
  states parties
  states that signed, but have not ratified
  states that have not signed

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

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, as of June 2023: [17]

NameStateTerm Expires
Abderrazak RouwaneFlag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 31 December 2025
Ilvija PuceFlag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 31 December 2023
Todd F. Buchwald Flag of the United States.svg  United States 31 December 2025
Maeda NaokoFlag of Japan.svg  Japan 31 December 2025
Claude Heller (chairperson)Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 31 December 2023
Erdogan Iscan (Rapporteur)Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 31 December 2023
Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov (Vice-chairperson)Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 31 December 2025
Ana Racu (Vice-chairperson)Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 31 December 2023
Sébastien Touze (Vice-chairperson)Flag of France.svg  France 31 December 2023
Liu HuawenFlag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 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

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 United Nations Treaty Collection: Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Retrieved on 26 June 2018.
  2. General Assembly resolution 40/128 (13 December 1985), Status of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, A/RES/40/128, under 2.
  3. 1 2 Convention Against Torture Archived 9 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Article 27. Retrieved on 30 December 2008.
  4. Convention Against Torture Archived 9 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Article 25. Retrieved on 30 December 2008.
  5. Convention Against Torture Archived 9 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Article 33. Retrieved on 30 December 2008.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "CAT General Comment No. 2: Implementation of Article 2 by States Parties" (PDF). Committee Against Torture. 23 November 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
  7. Ronli Sifris (4 December 2013). Reproductive Freedom, Torture and International Human Rights: Challenging the Masculinisation of Torture. Routledge. p. 145.
  8. 1 2 "Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment". OHCHR. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  9. Convention Against Torture Archived 9 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine , Article 3.1. Retrieved on 30 December 2008.
  10. "CAT General Comment No. 01: Implementation of article 3 of the Convention in the context of article 22". UN OHCHR. 21 November 1997. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  11. Nowak, Manfred; Birk, Moritz; Monina, Giuliana (14 November 2019). United Nations Convention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol: A Commentary. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-884617-8.
  12. "Italy passes law making torture a crime, critics say full of holes". Reuters. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  13. Bashfield, Samuel (1 June 2022). "The BIOT: A judicial vacuum now consuming Tamil refugees". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  14. "Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment – Addendum to Initial reports of States parties due in 1995" (PDF). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  15. OPCAT, Article 1.
  16. "9.b Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment". United Nations Treaty Collection. United Nations. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  17. "Committee Against Torture – Membership". United Nations OHCHR. 2023. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  18. Berlin, Mark S. (2021). "Does Criminalizing Torture Deter Police Torture?". American Journal of Political Science. 67 (4): 932–947. doi:10.1111/ajps.12684. ISSN   1540-5907. S2CID   244550445.

Further reading

Decisions of the Committee Against Torture