Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment
Commission on Human Rights resolution 2003/32
The Commission on Human Rights,
Reaffirming that no one should be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, that such actions constitute a criminal attempt to destroy a fellow human being physically and mentally, which can never be justified under any circumstances by any ideology or by any overriding interest, and convinced that a society that tolerates torture can never claim to respect human rights,
Recalling that freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is a non-derogable right and that the prohibition of torture is explicitly affirmed in all relevant international instruments, as set out in the second preambular paragraph of Commission resolution 2001/62 of 25 April 2001,
Recalling also the definition of torture contained in article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
Appalled at the widespread occurrence of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
Recalling all relevant resolutions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Human Rights, in particular Commission resolution 2002/38 of 22 April 2002 and Assembly resolution 57/200 of 18 December 2002,
Mindful of the proclamation by the General Assembly, in its resolution 52/149 of 12 December 1997, of 26 June as United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture,
Commending the persistent efforts by non-governmental organizations to combat torture and to alleviate the suffering of victims of torture,
Emphasizing the importance of Governments' taking persistent action to prevent and combat torture and commending those Governments which have also cooperated in this regard with non-governmental organizations,
1. Condemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, which are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and calls upon all Governments to implement fully the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
2. Condemns in particular any action or attempt by States or public officials to legalize or authorize torture under any circumstances, including through judicial decisions, and calls upon Governments to eliminate practices of torture;
3. Urges all Governments to promote the speedy and full implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (A/CONF.157/23), in particular Part II, section B.5, relating to freedom from torture, in which it is stated that States should abrogate legislation leading to impunity for those responsible for grave violations of human rights such as torture and prosecute such violations, thereby providing a firm basis for the rule of law;
4. Also urges Governments to take effective measures to provide redress and to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including their gender-based manifestations;
5. Reminds Governments that corporal punishment, including of children, can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or even to torture;
6. Also reminds Governments that intimidation and coercion, as described in article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, including serious and credible threats, as well as death threats, to the physical integrity of the victim or of a third person, can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or to torture;
7. Stresses that, under article 4 of the Convention, torture must be made an offence under domestic criminal law and emphasizes that acts of torture are serious violations of international humanitarian law and that the perpetrators are liable to prosecution and punishment;
8. Stresses in particular that all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment should be promptly and impartially examined by the competent national authority, that those who encourage, order, tolerate or perpetrate acts of torture must be held responsible and severely punished, including the officials in charge of the place of detention where the prohibited act is found to have taken place, notes in this respect the Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Principles) annexed to Commission resolution 2000/43 and General Assembly resolution 55/89 as a useful tool in efforts to combat torture, and reiterates its request to the Special Rapporteur, in the normal course of his work, to solicit views from Governments and non-governmental organizations;
9. Stresses that States must not punish personnel for not obeying orders to commit acts amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
10. Also stresses that national legal systems should ensure that the victims of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment obtain redress and are awarded fair and adequate compensation and receive appropriate socio-medical rehabilitation, and in this regard encourages the development of rehabilitation centres for victims of torture;
11. Urges Governments to protect medical and other personnel for their role in documenting torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and in treating victims of such acts;
12. Calls upon all Governments to take appropriate effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent and prohibit the production, trade, export and use of equipment which is specifically designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;
13. Takes note with appreciation of the Special Rapporteur's study (E/CN.4/2003/69) on the situation of trade and production in such equipment, its origin, destination and forms, calls upon States and non-governmental organizations to provide the information requested by the Special Rapporteur to enable him to carry out further work with a view to finding the best ways to prohibit such trade and production and to combat its proliferation, and requests the Special Rapporteur to report thereon to the Commission;
14. Reminds all States that prolonged incommunicado detention may facilitate the perpetration of torture and can in itself constitute a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture, and urges all States to respect the safeguards concerning the liberty, security and the dignity of the person;
15. Urges all States to consider becoming parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as a matter of priority, with a view to achieving universal ratification, and welcomes the ratifications and accessions since the fifty-eighth session of the Commission;
16. Encourages States parties to consider limiting the extent of any reservations they lodge to the Convention, to formulate any reservations as precisely and narrowly as possible, to ensure that no reservation is incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention and to review regularly any reservations made in respect of the provisions of the Convention, with a view to withdrawing them;
17. Invites all States ratifying or acceding to the Convention and those States parties that have not yet done so to make the declarations provided for in articles 21 and 22 of the Convention and to avoid making, or consider the possibility of withdrawing, reservations to article 20;
18. Urges States parties to notify the Secretary-General of their acceptance of the amendments to articles 17 and 18 of the Convention as soon as possible;
19. Also urges all States parties to comply strictly with their obligations in accordance with article 19 of the Convention, including their reporting obligations, and, in particular, those States parties whose reports are long overdue to submit their reports forthwith, and invites States parties to incorporate a gender perspective and information concerning children and juveniles when submitting reports to the Committee against Torture;
20. Emphasizes the obligation of States parties under article 10 of the Convention to ensure education and training for personnel who may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment, and calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in conformity with the mandate established in General Assembly resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993, to provide, at the request of Governments, advisory services in this regard, as well as technical assistance in the development, production and distribution of appropriate teaching material for this purpose;
21. Invites donor countries, recipient countries and relevant United Nations organizations, funds and programmes, in particular the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to consider, where appropriate, including in their respective bilateral programmes and technical cooperation projects relating to the training of armed forces, security forces, prison and police personnel and health-care personnel, matters relating to the protection of human rights, including the prevention of torture, while bearing in mind a gender perspective;
22. Calls upon States parties to consider signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention, providing further measures for the use in the fight against and prevention of torture, which was adopted on 18 December 2002 by the General Assembly in its resolution 57/199;
23. Takes note that ratifications from 20 States parties are required for the Optional Protocol to enter into force;
24. Welcomes the report of the Committee against Torture on its twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth sessions (A/57/44);
25. Also welcomes the work of the Committee and its practice of formulating concluding observations after the consideration of reports and recognizes the importance of the process of individual communications relating to States which have made a declaration under article 22 of the Convention, as well as its practice of carrying out inquiries into cases where there are indications of the systematic practice of torture within the jurisdiction of States parties, and urges States parties to take into account such conclusions and recommendations, as well as views on individual communications;
26. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the status of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (E/CN.4/2003/60) and requests the Secretary-General to continue to submit an annual report to the Commission;
27. Also takes note with appreciation of the work of the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and notes the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/2002/68 and Addenda), as well as the recommendations made in previous years, and encourages the Special Rapporteur to include among his recommendations proposals for the prevention and investigation of torture, taking into account information received concerning training manuals and activities aimed at facilitating the practice of torture;
28. Draws the attention of the Special Rapporteur to those aspects related to his activities set out in paragraphs 3, 27, 28, 31, 32 and 36 of Commission resolution 2001/62, with a view to his reporting to the Commission as appropriate;
29. Considers it desirable that the Special Rapporteur continue to exchange views with the relevant human rights mechanisms and bodies, especially the Committee against Torture and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in particular with a view to enhancing further their effectiveness and mutual cooperation, while avoiding unnecessary duplication with other special procedures, and that he pursue cooperation with other relevant United Nations programmes, notably that on crime prevention and criminal justice;
30. Reiterates the need for the Special Rapporteur to be able to respond effectively, in particular through urgent appeals, to credible and reliable information that comes before him, invites the Special Rapporteur to continue to seek the views and comments of all concerned, in particular Governments, and underlines that the facts forming the basis for the urgent appeals should be clearly set out;
31. Calls upon all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his task, to supply all necessary information requested by him and to react appropriately and expeditiously to his urgent appeals;
32. Urges those Governments that have not yet responded to communications transmitted to them by the Special Rapporteur to answer without further delay;
33. Calls upon all Governments to give serious consideration to responding favourably to the Special Rapporteur's requests to visit their countries and urges them to enter into a constructive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur with respect to the follow-up to his recommendations, so as to enable him to fulfil his mandate even more effectively;
34. Invites the Special Rapporteur to submit an interim report to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session on the overall trends and developments with regard to his mandate and a full report to the Commission at its sixtieth session, including as addenda all replies sent by Governments that are received in any of the official languages of the United Nations;
35. Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (A/57/268 and E/CN.4/2003/61 and Add.1);
36. Recognizes the global need for international assistance to victims of torture, expresses its gratitude and appreciation to those Governments, organizations and individuals that have contributed to the Fund and encourages them to continue to do so;
37. Stresses the importance of the work of the Board of Trustees of the Fund and appeals to all Governments, organizations and individuals to contribute annually to the Fund and preferably by 1 March before the annual meeting of the Board, if possible with a substantial increase in the contributions in order to take into consideration the ever-increasing requests for assistance, in particular the increasing need for assistance to rehabilitation services for victims of torture and to small projects of humanitarian assistance to victims of torture;
38. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to include the Fund, on an annual basis, among the programmes for which funds are pledged at the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities and to transmit to all Governments the appeals of the Commission for contributions to the Fund;
39. Calls upon the Board of Trustees of the Fund to report to the Commission at its sixtieth session, and requests an independent evaluation, in accordance with United Nations rules and regulations, of the functioning of the Fund, including in particular the lessons and best practices learned from the Fund's activities, with a view to further enhancing its effectiveness; the independent evaluation should be initiated before the next session of the Commission using extrabudgetary funding;
40. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure, within the overall budgetary framework of the United Nations, the provision of an adequate and stable level of staffing, as well as the necessary technical facilities, for the bodies and mechanisms involved in combating torture and assisting victims of torture, in order to ensure their effective performance commensurate with the strong support expressed by Member States for combating torture and assisting victims of torture;
41. Calls upon all Governments, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and United Nations bodies and agencies, as well as relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to commemorate on 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture;
42. Decides to continue to consider this matter at its sixtieth session, as a matter of priority.
23 April 2003
Source:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
http://www.unhchr.ch
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