THE ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF TORTURE RIGHTS AND REALITIES

1.The Aftermath of World War II / The Setting - United Nations Charter (1945) - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948); core rights - The Genocide Convention (1948) - The Red Cross Geneva Conventions (1949); minimum humanitarian standards - The European Convention on Human Rights (1950)

2. What is Torture? - The United Nations Convention Against Torture (1984) ● Definition of Torture ● Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ● Absolute Prohibition ● Non-refoulement; diplomatic assurances? ● Duty to Investigate ● Redress and Reparation for victims/survivors - The issue of amnesties, pardons - Necessity of avoiding greater harm, legal and moral considerations

3. What allows torture to happen? No definition in domestic law Patterns of impunity; the status of public officials Lack of effective complaint mechanisms Lack of prevention; national and international prevention mechanisms; systems of visits

4. Justification in exceptional circumstances; war on terror - Ticking Bomb Scenario (TBS); “The lesser evil” - Higher values? State Security; Struggle for liberation and Self-determination - Policies and Practices * Secret Detentions / Incommunicado and Indefinite Detentions * Extraordinary Renditions * Extracting Information * Aggressive Interrogation Techniques * Limiting the Definition of Torture -Patterns of Immunity and Impunity -Erosion of fundamental norms

5. Some Notable Developments; in particular gender-specific - Gender-specific forms of torture * rape and other forms of sexual assault against women in detention * rape and sexual abuse of women in armed conflicts * flogging and death by stoning for adultery as punishments in certain “legal” systems * domestic violence; “due diligence” * female circumcision - Extraterritorial reach of the obligations of States to prevent and prohibit torture * persons in custody outside the territory of the State

6. Experiences as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture - The Special Rapporteur and other anti-torture mechanisms; appointments and elections - Tasks and working methods * bringing issues of general concern and recommendations thereon to the attention of UN policy organs * receiving allegations on violations and asking governments for explanations * sending urgent appeals to governments; cooperation with other mandate holders; examples of urgent appeals * country visits; consent of governments concerned; ground rules of investigation; setting the agenda of the visit; sources of information - Visits to Uzbekistan and Spain; cancelled visit to China

7. Items for further discussion (if time permits) Can torture be justified under certain circumstances? What are means and methods to prevent torture? Who are the people most likely to be the targets of torture? How (in)effective are efforts to combat torture?