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Issues of Torture
The Geneva Convention is perhaps the most well-known international document on torture. There are four Geneva Conventions that set standards for international human rights law. The First Geneva Convention was adopted in 1864. The Third Geneva Convention was first adopted in 1929 and then revised in 1949. It lays out proper conduct toward prisoners of war during armed conflicts. Signatories of the Conventions agree not to torture those protected under the agreement, including prisoners of war and other enemy personnel.
In 1948, the United Nations passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is an integral part of international standards and is often used to exert pressure on states that are seen as violating fundamental human rights. In particular, Article 5 of the document states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” While the Declaration is technically not part of international law, it is a widely accepted document that is used to shape states’ actions.
On December 16, 1966, the UN ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The treaty is monitored by the Human Rights Committee, which meets several times a year to review individual country reports on the state of their compliance with the treaty. Article 7 of the Covenant deals specifically with torture stating: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”
The UN’s Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment supplements the provisions of the UDHR and the ICCPR. The Convention was ratified on December 10, 1984 and reinforces previous UN initiatives to eradicate torture in the international community. The Convention is monitored by the Committee Against Torture, which reviews country reports and then judges their compliance with the treaty. In December 2006, an Optional Protocol was added to the Convention that allows in-country inspections of detention facilities. These documents form the groundwork for international standards and guidelines on torture. They are a benchmark used to test the treatment people receive at the hands of governments.
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