1 What Is Torture?
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Malcolm D. Evans
Abstract
Torture is one of the most widely prohibited forms of human rights abuse, yet precisely what torture is can be the subject of much debate and remains highly contested. Drawing largely on the foundational jurisprudence concerning Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, this chapter sets out the contours of the definition of torture in international law and its relationship to ‘inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment’. It argues that elements of the approach to that distinction which are often found in that jurisprudence are fundamentally flawed and offers an alternative approach to understanding what amounts to torture, legally speaking – and therefore what it is that the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture are intended to prevent.
Abstract
Torture is one of the most widely prohibited forms of human rights abuse, yet precisely what torture is can be the subject of much debate and remains highly contested. Drawing largely on the foundational jurisprudence concerning Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, this chapter sets out the contours of the definition of torture in international law and its relationship to ‘inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment’. It argues that elements of the approach to that distinction which are often found in that jurisprudence are fundamentally flawed and offers an alternative approach to understanding what amounts to torture, legally speaking – and therefore what it is that the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture are intended to prevent.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements vi
- Introduction 1
-
The Solution
- What Is Torture? 17
- Why Prevention? 34
- Establishing the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture 49
- What the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture Requires 65
- The Visiting Mandate of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture 84
- The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and National Preventive Mechanisms 102
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The Problem
- Visits: An Insider’s Story 123
- Accepting the Unacceptable 139
- Excusing the Inexcusable 149
- Prescribing the Inappropriate 160
- Working with Fictions 171
- Thinking Positively about Prevention 184
- References 199
- Index 203
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements vi
- Introduction 1
-
The Solution
- What Is Torture? 17
- Why Prevention? 34
- Establishing the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture 49
- What the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture Requires 65
- The Visiting Mandate of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture 84
- The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and National Preventive Mechanisms 102
-
The Problem
- Visits: An Insider’s Story 123
- Accepting the Unacceptable 139
- Excusing the Inexcusable 149
- Prescribing the Inappropriate 160
- Working with Fictions 171
- Thinking Positively about Prevention 184
- References 199
- Index 203
