On 26 June 1987, the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came into force. In the first article, the widely accepted definition of torture is given as: “(…)any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person (…)”

Some of the most commonly used practices of torture are sleep deprivation, exposure to severe temperature or excessive noise, water suffocation, repetitive music, electroshock, beatings, forced labour and drug dependence without medical assistance.

The grave nature of these offences aims either at forcing a person to confess his/her crime, to reveal the name of accomplices, or to make the person confess other crimes of which he/she is not directly accused.

In addition to this, certain forms of torture are connected to gender-based discrimination. This is a particular problem as these forms of torture are often more culturally accepted and considered part of a rite of passage. Usually, the victims are marginalized women, often belonging to ethnic and racial minorities or having mental or physical disabilities. 

Below are a few countries where the right to personal dignity and security are still not guaranteed:

PAKISTAN – In Pakistan’s largest province, Balochistan, the practice of enforced disappearances has been taking place for many years, mostly conducted by military and para-military groups against the Baloch people. These operations are directly connected with practices of torture and ill-treatment. After being forcibly abducted, held in detention for weeks or even months, and finally released, the victims reported forms of torture, including whipping, inversed hanging and the insertion of pins under fingernails. Many of these cases remain unresolved and the practice is on-going.

MAURITANIA – Biram Dah Abeid – anti-slavery campaigner, director of Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) and winner of the 2013 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk – has been arrested, held in detention and ill-treated without being able to receive any legal assistance. In Mauritania, many human rights defenders continue to be arbitrarily arrested as a result of government impunity.

IRAN – Over the past 40 years, more than 1,000 Iranian Kurds have been publicly executed,. while the vast majority still suffer from persecution, discrimination and marginalisation. Abdollah Hejab – leader of the Iranian Kurdistan Party (PDKI), who has been elected to the UNPO Presidency on November 2012 – reported that many Kurdish political leaders have been detained, threatened or exiled. Their bodies usually bear evidence of torture.

TIBET – Under the campaign entitled “Solidify the Foundations, Benefit the Masses”, the Chinese government has sent more than 20,000 officials and communist party cadres to Tibetan villages. In order to “improve the ideological consciousness of the masses”, the campaign aims to undertake intrusive supervision of people, to categorize Tibetans according to their religious and political thinking, and to carry out a widespread re-education program. As a result, hundreds of arrests, sentences, and punitive measures have been carried out against Tibetan monks and villagers considered likely to cause political unrest or supposedly associated with the self-immolation protests of other Tibetans.   International human rights organizations have documented endemic use of torture, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment against Tibetans in detention.

However, it must be noted that torture is not limited to repressive regimes and dictatorships. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on New York on 11 September 2001, many instances of torture have been perpetrated by countries that previously endorsed the elimination of torture. Extraordinary rendition and the abuses in Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and many other locations cannot be justified.

Furthermore, there are issues within the European Union itself. Italy, one of its oldest members, has failed to adopt all the required legislation for the criminalization of torture. Despite the Convention obligations and the Italian constitutional provisions, its Criminal Code does not recognise the crime of torture yet.

Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is that, although many countries are signatories to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention, torture is still not treated as a crime and its condemnation remains weak and ineffective whilst “no exceptional circumstances (…), nor a state of war (…) or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture”. (Art. 2 UN Convention).

Right to Rehabilitation is the theme of the 26 June 2013 campaign, which reminds us that it is essential to prevent torture as well as to take all the appropriate measures to guarantee a comprehensive rehabilitation for the victims by means of psychological counselling, special care and expert advice. This is particularly important given that torture aims at destroying the victim’s personality and dignity, and produces physical and emotional scars. The Right to Rehabilitation is a fundamental right and must be recognised.

UNPO condemns all kinds of torture, which is an undemocratic and heinous violation of human rights. The elimination of torture requires practical action such as the development of better documentation, the sharing of information, lobbying at national and international levels, effective advocacy programs and immediate humanitarian assistance programs. UNPO welcomes this international day and its specific theme, the right to rehabilitation, and stands united with its members in the fight against torture.