Foreword = 1
1.The growth of the international response to torture = 5
1.1 The rise of an international movement = 5
1.2 Changing understandings of torture = 10
1.3 Torture and discrimination = 12
1.4 The importance of political will: Amnesty International’s 12-Point Program = 16
1.5 The international system for human rights protection = 18
2 The fight against torture - case studies = 23
2.1 Introduction = 23
2.2 Israeli Occupied Territories: Outlawing “legal” torture = 23
2.3 Peru: Designating torture as a specific crime = 31
2.4 USA: Federal action to combat local abuses = 35
2.5 India: Landmark judgment establishes safeguards = 39
2.6 Austria: Death of deportee triggers human rights reforms = 44
2.7 South Africa: Exposing torture under apartheid = 49
3 International law and the obligations of states = 57
3.1 Introduction = 57
3.2 A conjunction of international standards = 58
3.2.1 General human rights instruments = 58
3.2.2 Specialized instruments on the prohibition and prevention of torture = 59
3.2.3 Other specialized human rights treaties = 60
3.2.4 International humanitarian law = 61
3.2.5 Crimes under international law: war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide = 62
3.2.6 General international law = 65
3.2.7 Non-binding standards = 66
3.3 What is prohibited? = 67
3.3.1 Defining torture = 69
3.3.2 Rape as torture = 74
3.4 The expanding understanding of the scope of torture = 76
3.5 When is torture prohibited? = 80
3.6 Relation to other human rights norms = 82
3.7 Obligations of the state: prevention, investigation, punishment, reparation = 83
3.8 Protection against abuses by private individuals = 85
4 Safeguards in custody = 89
4.1 Introduction = 89
4.2 Safeguards at arrest = 92
4.2.1 Grounds and procedures for arrest = 92
4.2.2 Informing prisoners of the reasons for their arrest, and of their rights = 93
4.2.3 Notifying relatives and others = 93
4.2.4 Safeguards during transport to a place of detention = 94
4.2.5 Record-keeping = 95
4.3 No secret detention = 96
4.4 Bringing prisoners before a judicial authority = 96
4.5 Access to the outside world = 99
4.6 Access to legal counsel = 100
4.7 Medical examinations and care = 100
4.8 Habeas corpus and other judicial remedies for protecting prisoners = 102
4.9 Safeguards during interrogation = 103
4.10 Safeguards for particular groups = 106
4.11 Safeguards at release = 108
4.12 Blocking the use of evidence obtained through torture = 109
5 Conditions of detention = 113
5.1 Introduction = 113
5.2 Reducing the use of custody and imprisonment = 118
5.3 Accommodation = 120
5.3.1 Physical conditions = 120
5.3.2 Separation of categories of prisoners = 120
5.3.3 Location = 121
5.3.4 Sanitation, hygiene, clothing and beds = 121
5.4 Other aspects of treatment = 122
5.4.1 Food and drink = 122
5.4.2 Medical care and the role of health professionals = 123
5.4.3 Exercise, recreation and other facilities = 125
5.4.4 Contact with the outside world = 127
5.5 Discipline and security = 127
5.5.1 Searches = 127
5.5.2 Use of force = 127
5.5.3 Restraint techniques and devices = 128
5.5.4 Disciplinary punishments = 130
5.5.5 Solitary confinement = 131
5.5.6 Preventing inter-prisoner violence = 132
5.6 Record-keeping = 132
5.7 Standards for particular groups = 133
5.7.1 Women = 133
5.7.2 Children = 134
5.7.3 Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people = 135
5.7.4 Pre-trial detainees = 135
5.7.5 Asylum-seekers and other immigration detainees = 137
5.8 Visits of inspection = 139
5.9 Ensuring prisoners’ rights = 142
5.9.1 Explaining prisoners’ rights = 142
5.9.2 Complaints = 143
6 Other settings = 145
6.1 Introduction = 145
6.2 Institutional settings = 145
6.2.1 Mental institutions and institutions for people with developmental difficulties = 145
6.2.2 Corporal punishment in schools = 146
6.2.3 Orphanages = 147
6.2.4 Forced medical treatment to change sexual orientation or gender identity = 148
6.2.5 Ill-treatment in the armed forces = 148
6.3 Use of force in law enforcement = 148
6.3.1 Police weapons = 151
6.4 Judicial and administrative corporal punishment = 152
6.5 Torture in armed conflict = 155
6.6 Violence in the community and the family = 159
7 Overcoming impunity = 167
7.1 Introduction = 167
.2 Prohibition in law = 171
7.3 Investigation = 173
7.4 Bringing those responsible to justice = 179
7.5 Justice abroad: universal jurisdiction = 183
7.6 International criminal tribunals = 186
7.7 Reparation = 189
8 Building a world without torture = 195
8.1 Introduction = 195
8.2 Action towards other governments = 195
8.3 Protecting people fleeing from torture = 198
8.4 Stopping the torture trade = 202
8.5 Intergovernmental action: the unfinished agenda = 204
8.6 The role of the medical profession = 205
8.7 Towards a world without torture: the role of civil society = 208
Appendices = 211
Appendix 1 - Bibliography: Books, articles and manuals = 216
Appendix 2 - Bibliography: Amnesty International documents = 220
Appendix 3 - Bibliography: United Nations documents and publications = 225
Appendix 4 - Cases and judicial rulings = 225
Appendix 5 - Checklist of international and regional instruments = 231
Appendix 6 - Prohibitions of torture and ill-treatment in international and regional human rights instruments (extracts) = 239
Appendix 7 - Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Part 1) = 240
Appendix 8 - Common Article 3 to the four Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 (extract) = 244
Appendix 9 - Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (extracts) = 245
Appendix 10 - Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment = 247
Appendix 11 - General Comment 20 on Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the Human Rights Committee = 249
Appendix 12 - General Recommendation 19 on violence against women, adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women = 252
Appendix 13 - Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women = 253
Appendix 14 - Consolidated recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on torture = 256
Appendix 15 - Corporal punishment: Observations of the Special Rapporteur on torture = 260
Appendix 16 - Amnesty International’s 12-Point Program for the Prevention of Torture by Agents of the State = 263
Endnotes = 267
1.The growth of the international response to torture = 5
1.1 The rise of an international movement = 5
1.2 Changing understandings of torture = 10
1.3 Torture and discrimination = 12
1.4 The importance of political will: Amnesty International’s 12-Point Program = 16
1.5 The international system for human rights protection = 18
2 The fight against torture - case studies = 23
2.1 Introduction = 23
2.2 Israeli Occupied Territories: Outlawing “legal” torture = 23
2.3 Peru: Designating torture as a specific crime = 31
2.4 USA: Federal action to combat local abuses = 35
2.5 India: Landmark judgment establishes safeguards = 39
2.6 Austria: Death of deportee triggers human rights reforms = 44
2.7 South Africa: Exposing torture under apartheid = 49
3 International law and the obligations of states = 57
3.1 Introduction = 57
3.2 A conjunction of international standards = 58
3.2.1 General human rights instruments = 58
3.2.2 Specialized instruments on the prohibition and prevention of torture = 59
3.2.3 Other specialized human rights treaties = 60
3.2.4 International humanitarian law = 61
3.2.5 Crimes under international law: war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide = 62
3.2.6 General international law = 65
3.2.7 Non-binding standards = 66
3.3 What is prohibited? = 67
3.3.1 Defining torture = 69
3.3.2 Rape as torture = 74
3.4 The expanding understanding of the scope of torture = 76
3.5 When is torture prohibited? = 80
3.6 Relation to other human rights norms = 82
3.7 Obligations of the state: prevention, investigation, punishment, reparation = 83
3.8 Protection against abuses by private individuals = 85
4 Safeguards in custody = 89
4.1 Introduction = 89
4.2 Safeguards at arrest = 92
4.2.1 Grounds and procedures for arrest = 92
4.2.2 Informing prisoners of the reasons for their arrest, and of their rights = 93
4.2.3 Notifying relatives and others = 93
4.2.4 Safeguards during transport to a place of detention = 94
4.2.5 Record-keeping = 95
4.3 No secret detention = 96
4.4 Bringing prisoners before a judicial authority = 96
4.5 Access to the outside world = 99
4.6 Access to legal counsel = 100
4.7 Medical examinations and care = 100
4.8 Habeas corpus and other judicial remedies for protecting prisoners = 102
4.9 Safeguards during interrogation = 103
4.10 Safeguards for particular groups = 106
4.11 Safeguards at release = 108
4.12 Blocking the use of evidence obtained through torture = 109
5 Conditions of detention = 113
5.1 Introduction = 113
5.2 Reducing the use of custody and imprisonment = 118
5.3 Accommodation = 120
5.3.1 Physical conditions = 120
5.3.2 Separation of categories of prisoners = 120
5.3.3 Location = 121
5.3.4 Sanitation, hygiene, clothing and beds = 121
5.4 Other aspects of treatment = 122
5.4.1 Food and drink = 122
5.4.2 Medical care and the role of health professionals = 123
5.4.3 Exercise, recreation and other facilities = 125
5.4.4 Contact with the outside world = 127
5.5 Discipline and security = 127
5.5.1 Searches = 127
5.5.2 Use of force = 127
5.5.3 Restraint techniques and devices = 128
5.5.4 Disciplinary punishments = 130
5.5.5 Solitary confinement = 131
5.5.6 Preventing inter-prisoner violence = 132
5.6 Record-keeping = 132
5.7 Standards for particular groups = 133
5.7.1 Women = 133
5.7.2 Children = 134
5.7.3 Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people = 135
5.7.4 Pre-trial detainees = 135
5.7.5 Asylum-seekers and other immigration detainees = 137
5.8 Visits of inspection = 139
5.9 Ensuring prisoners’ rights = 142
5.9.1 Explaining prisoners’ rights = 142
5.9.2 Complaints = 143
6 Other settings = 145
6.1 Introduction = 145
6.2 Institutional settings = 145
6.2.1 Mental institutions and institutions for people with developmental difficulties = 145
6.2.2 Corporal punishment in schools = 146
6.2.3 Orphanages = 147
6.2.4 Forced medical treatment to change sexual orientation or gender identity = 148
6.2.5 Ill-treatment in the armed forces = 148
6.3 Use of force in law enforcement = 148
6.3.1 Police weapons = 151
6.4 Judicial and administrative corporal punishment = 152
6.5 Torture in armed conflict = 155
6.6 Violence in the community and the family = 159
7 Overcoming impunity = 167
7.1 Introduction = 167
.2 Prohibition in law = 171
7.3 Investigation = 173
7.4 Bringing those responsible to justice = 179
7.5 Justice abroad: universal jurisdiction = 183
7.6 International criminal tribunals = 186
7.7 Reparation = 189
8 Building a world without torture = 195
8.1 Introduction = 195
8.2 Action towards other governments = 195
8.3 Protecting people fleeing from torture = 198
8.4 Stopping the torture trade = 202
8.5 Intergovernmental action: the unfinished agenda = 204
8.6 The role of the medical profession = 205
8.7 Towards a world without torture: the role of civil society = 208
Appendices = 211
Appendix 1 - Bibliography: Books, articles and manuals = 216
Appendix 2 - Bibliography: Amnesty International documents = 220
Appendix 3 - Bibliography: United Nations documents and publications = 225
Appendix 4 - Cases and judicial rulings = 225
Appendix 5 - Checklist of international and regional instruments = 231
Appendix 6 - Prohibitions of torture and ill-treatment in international and regional human rights instruments (extracts) = 239
Appendix 7 - Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Part 1) = 240
Appendix 8 - Common Article 3 to the four Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949 (extract) = 244
Appendix 9 - Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (extracts) = 245
Appendix 10 - Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment = 247
Appendix 11 - General Comment 20 on Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the Human Rights Committee = 249
Appendix 12 - General Recommendation 19 on violence against women, adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women = 252
Appendix 13 - Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women = 253
Appendix 14 - Consolidated recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on torture = 256
Appendix 15 - Corporal punishment: Observations of the Special Rapporteur on torture = 260
Appendix 16 - Amnesty International’s 12-Point Program for the Prevention of Torture by Agents of the State = 263
Endnotes = 267