Human Rights Folk School TORTURE & UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) By Baseer Naweed

KEY POINTS Why is torture important? Failure of domestic remedies Impunity International mechanism to prevent torture Possible remedies

QUESTIONS ● What are the general methods of torture in your country? ● Have you heard, seen or passed through such situations? ● Have you talked with victims of torture? ● Share the experience.

Declarations on Torture Article 5 of UDHR: Article 7 of ICCPR: “No one shall be subjected to Torture”

INTERNATIONAL MECHANISMS UN Convention against Torture (CAT) UN CAT committee, recommendations, concluding observations Optional Protocol to CAT Rome Statute on International Criminal Court UN Special Procedures: SR on the question of Torture

Definition of torture 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.

ELEMENTS OF TORTURE (Definition) Intentional act to cause pain Severe pain or suffering (whether physical or mental) Purposes: 1) taking information 2) confession 3) punishment 4) coercion By Whom: Public official or any other person acting in an official capacity

QUESTIONS Why do we blame the Police or the LEAs for torture, not the other groups? Perpetrators of torture should also be tortured or not?

Obligations of the states 1 Article 2 - effective legislative, judicial administrative, measures 2/2 no exception in any circumstances Article 3 No State Party shall expel, return or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.

Obligations of the states 11 Article 4. Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. Article 5. the offences are committed in any territory under its jurisdiction or on board a ship or aircraft registered in that State; Article 6, The duty of the State to take action once torture is confirmed to have taken place. Article 10 - Ensuring education of State officers with regard to torture

Obligations of the states- III Article 11 - duty of the each State to ensure and enforce regulations with regard to interrogation methods and practices Article14 – Each State Party shall ensure in its legal system redress and compensation for the victim Article 15 - Exclusion of confessions obtained under torture Article 16 - Prevention of torture – responsibility of the State

QUESTIONS What are the domestic remedies available/unavailable for victims? System of Policing / prosecution / judiciary How to get the remedies at local level? Role of Human Rights Defenders

STATUS OF RATIFICATION OF CAT Not ratified: Burma, Pakistan, Thailand Only signed: India (1997) and Pakistan in April 2009 Already ratified: Bangladesh (1998), Cambodia (1992), Indonesia (1998), Nepal (1991), S. Korea (1995), Philippines (1986), Sri Lanka (1994), Japan (1999), China (1988) Made torture a crime: only Sri Lanka & Hong Kong