Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment : report of the Special Rapporteur.

1990/34. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or Punishment: report of the Special Rapporteur

The Commission on Human Rights, Having regard to article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which provide that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Recalling the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture or Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 3452 (XXX) of 9 December 1975, Noting with appreciation that the number of States which have become parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is steadily increasing, Taking note with satisfaction of the establishment of the Committee provided for in the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which began its work on 13 November 1989, Seriously concerned, however, about the persistence of an alarming number of reported cases of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment taking place in various parts of the world, Recalling its resolution 1985/33 of 13 March 1985, by which it decided to appoint for one year a Special Rapporteur to examine questions relevant to torture, and its resolutions 1986/50 of 13 March 1986 and 1987/29 of 10 March 1987, by which that mandate was extended annually, Recalling also its resolution 1988/32 of 8 March 1988, by which it decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for two years, while maintaining the annual reporting cycle, Noting that, on 18 April 1989, the Special Rapporteur had an exchange of views with the Committee against Torture established under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Aware that torture constitutes a criminal obliteration of the human personality 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, Determined to promote the full implementation of the prohibition under international and national law of the practice of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Convinced that efforts to eradicate torture should first and foremost be concentrated on prevention, Noting, in this regard, the importance of the provision of advisory services and technical assistance as forms of practical assistance to interested States with a view to enabling them to develop the necessary infrastructure to meet international human rights standards, Recalling the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, approved by the Economic and Social Council by its resolutions 663 C (XXIV) of 31 July 1957 and 2076 (LXII) of 13 May 1977, the Principles of Medical Ethics relevant to the role of health personnel, particularly physicians, in the protection of prisoners and detainees against torture or punishment adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 37/194 of 18 December 1982 for Victims of Crime and the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice Abuse of Power adopted by the Assembly in its resolution 40/34 of 29 November 1985, Recalling also the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment approved by the General Assembly in its resolution 431173 of 9 December 1988, Recalling further the conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur underlined in Commission resolutions 1987/29 and 1988/32, as well as 1989/33 of 6 March 1989,

1. Commends the Special Rapporteur on his report (E/CN.4/1990/17 and Add.1);

2. Stresses once again the previous conclusions and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur concerning the importance of instituting a system of periodic visits by independent experts to places of detention (E/CN.4/1987/13, sect. VII);

3. Welcomes the intention of the Special Rapporteur to keep himself informed of the work of and, as necessary, to seek contacts with the Committee established under the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, in the belief that the work of this Committee will make it possible to gain useful experience which may make it easier to determine whether such a system of periodic visits can also be envisaged in other regions or on a world wide scale;

4. Stresses again the conclusions of the Special Rapporteur emphasizing the importance of limiting, and eventually declaring illegal, incommunicado detention under national law, since the great majority of allegations refer to torture practised during incommunicado detention;

5. Also stresses the recommendation of the Special Rapporteur that legal provisions should be adopted prescribing that a person shall be given prompt access to a legal counsel after he has been arrested and making it obligatory promptly to inform the relatives of an arrested person of both the arrest and the place where the detainee is being held;

6. Further stresses the recommendation of the Special Rapporteur aiming at the organization of proper medical inspections for arrested or detained persons as promptly as possible after their admission to the place of detention and after every transfer to another place of detention;

7. Takes note of the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur that interrogation of detainees should take place only at official interrogation centres and that each interrogation should be recorded and start with the identification of all the persons present;

8. Stresses the repeated recommendations of the Special Rapporteur pertaining to the establishment at the national level of an independent authority able to receive complaints by individuals about torture or other severe maltreatment;

9. Endorses the recommendation of the Special Rapporteur that whenever found to be responsible for acts of torture or severe maltreatment, a person should be brought to trial and, if found guilty, severely punished;

10. Recalls that it is desirable for Governments and medical associations to take strong action against all persons belonging to the medical profession who have in that capacity had a function in the practice of torture;

11. Calls upon all States to sign and to accede to or ratify as soon as possible the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and requests the Special Rapporteur to continue to promote universal accession to that Convention and to encourage all States to fulfil its provisions strictly;

12. Emphasizes the importance of training programmes for law and security personnel and draws the attention of interested Governments to the possibilities offered in this connection by the United Nations programme of advisory services in the field of human rights;

13. Decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a further two years, while maintaining the annual reporting cycle, in order to enable him to submit further conclusions and recommendations to the Commission;

14. Decides that the Special Rapporteur, in carrying out his mandate, shall continue to seek and receive credible and reliable information from Governments, as well as from specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations;

15. Considers it desirable that the Special Rapporteur should continue to have periodic consultations with the Committee against Torture, in particular with a view to establishing the procedures for co-operation and avoiding any overlapping in the activities of the United Nations in combating torture;

16. Invites the Special Rapporteur, in carrying out his mandate, to bear in mind the need to be able to respond effectively to credible and reliable information that comes before him and to carry out his work with discretion;

17. Appeals to all Governments to co-operate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his tasks and to furnish all information requested;

18. Encourages Governments to give serious consideration to inviting the Special Rapporteur to visit their country so as to enable him to fulfil his mandate even more effectively;

19. Expresses its thanks to the Governments which have invited the Special Rapporteur and requests them to give due consideration to his recommendations;

20. Requests the Secretary-General to provide all necessary assistance to the Special Rapporteur to enable him to submit his report to the Commission at its forty-seventh session.

48th meeting
2 March 1990
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. X.]