LONDON
Amnesty international has accused governments around the world of betraying their commitment on stopping torture.
In a briefing entitled ‘Stop Torture’, the human rights organisation launched its latest global campaign to combat what it says is widespread torture and other ill-treatment in the modern world, even though it has been 30 years since the Convention Against Torture was adopted by the UN.
Since 1984, 155 states have ratified the UN Convention Against Torture, 142 of which are researched by Amnesty International. In 2014, Amnesty International says that 79 of these are still torturing people. A further 40 UN states haven’t adopted the Convention, although there is a global legal ban on torture making it incumbent on them to stop torture.
In the briefing, Amnesty highlighted a variety of torture techniques, from stress positions and sleep deprivation to electrocution of the genitals and water boarding, used against criminal suspects, security suspects, dissenting voices, political rivals and others.
The organisation said that it would concentrate on five countries in its latest campaign. Mexico, Morocco and Western Sahara, Nigeria, Uzbekistan and the Phillipines.
As part of the campaign Amnesty International commissioned a survey to gauge worldwide attitudes to torture. The survey found 44 percent of respondents, from 21 countries across every continent, feared they would be at risk of torture if taken into custody in their country.
The majority 82 percent believed there should be clear laws against torture. However, 36 percent still thought torture could be justified in certain circumstances.
Salil Shetty, Amnesty International’s Secretary General said, “Governments around the world are two-faced on torture - prohibiting it in law, but facilitating it in practice.”
“Torture is not just alive and well – it is flourishing in many parts of the world. As more governments seek to justify torture in the name of national security, the steady progress made in this field over the last thirty years is being eroded,” she added.
Amnesty International said that those countries that had taken the Convention against Torture seriously had put measures in place decrease the use of torture. The criminalization of torture in national legislation, opening detention centres to independent monitors, and video recording interrogations are all methods that had seen a decrease in the use of torture said the human rights organisation.
Amnesty International called on governments to implement protective mechanisms to prevent and punish torture such as proper medical examinations, prompt access to lawyers, independent checks on places of detention, independent and effective investigations of torture allegations, the prosecution of suspects and proper redress for victims.
“Thirty years ago Amnesty led the campaign for a worldwide commitment to combat torture resulting in the UN’s Convention Against Torture. Much progress has been made since, but it is disheartening that today we still need a worldwide campaign to ensure that those promises are fulfilled,” said Salil Shetty.
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