Humanelaw

On 10th December 1984, United Nations General Assembly adopted a convention known as United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. This convention came into power on 26 June 1987 and consequently this day is recognized as the International Day in favor of the sufferers of torture.

The goal of this convention is to avert torture across the globe. The Torture Convention is an important United Nations human right instrument to fight torture. The Torture Convention has established a committee named “Committee against Torture”. The primary aim of this committee is to scrutinize the implementation of the convention in each state. The United Nations convention was intended to preserve the human rights of citizens by protecting them from torture.

The Torture Convention comprises of many articles. Few articles inscribed in the convention consider torture as an illicit offence. It is also mentioned in the article of the convention that victims of torture have a right to compensate their loss. The Torture Convention asserts that the authorities of every state party can perform investigations where there is rational ground to trust that an act of torture has been instituted. An important addition to the United Nations Convention against torture is “The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment” (OPCAT). OPCAT has established an arrangement of regular visits to places of detention in order to fight against torture and prevent torture.

The effectiveness of the OPCAT and the Torture Convention would depend on the supervision system and its implementation. The European Convention for the Prevention of Torture has established a European Committee which examines the case of an individual deprived of their liberty and subjected to torture. The Committee examines the case of an individual with a view to strengthen the protection of individual from torture and inhuman treatment. Torture is a serious violation of human rights and hence is strictly protested by international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.