|
Asian Human Rights Commission
Footnote:
This is the text of a statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission for the
International Day against Torture, 26 June 2004. It is followed by a special
comment for the countries of South Asia, and the text of a written statement to
the United Nations Commission on Human Rights' sixtieth session this April 2004
by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC). The full text of all written
statements to the Commission can be found on the ALRC website,
http://www.alrc.net.
__________________________
Torture is the most serious obstacle to
the advancement of human rights in Asia, whether civil and political rights or
economic, social and cultural rights. This is because torture is the prime
generator of fear, which inhibits people’s ability to react when other rights
are threatened. Where large numbers of people decline to participate in ordinary
social affairs because of this fear, there is no social progress.
Torture is violence. So long as torture
is used by state agencies, the global fight against violence will not succeed.
When the officers of police stations or other government security agencies
routinely use torture, they are sending a strong message that the state
justifies the use of violence. Under these circumstances, the state cannot take
a moral stand against violence among the population. And without a moral
position, violence cannot be overcome. Thus, if states in Asia are serious about
eliminating violence in their societies, they must begin by ensuring that state
agencies do not resort to torture under any circumstances.
Torture is absolutely prohibited under
international law. By consenting to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or
by ratifying either the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, the state accepts this absolute prohibition. However, very little
action has been taken in Asia to see this prohibition implemented. In most
countries, torture has not been made a serious crime. Even where it has been
made a crime the law has not been enforced to ensure that torturers are
punished. There are hardly any independent and credible agencies to investigate
complaints of torture. Prosecutors are often unable and unwilling to fully
implement the law. Other government departments lack genuine commitment to the
principle that torture is absolutely prohibited.
Internationally there have been serious
setbacks in the fight against torture. Powerful countries are relegating the
absolute prohibition of torture to secondary importance. The use of torture is
in some quarters being openly advocated as a means to eradicate terrorism. These
attempts to diminish the absolute prohibition of torture are extremely
dangerous. They encourage violence, and polarise and undermine sensible
discourse aimed at obtaining peace.
Together we must put up a strong defence
of the absolute prohibition of torture. We must take firm steps to see torture
eradicated, lest we be prepared to suffer the disastrous consequences if the
principle is altogether breached.
Victims of torture must be assured of
justice. In Asia, we must work together to get all countries to ratify the
Convention against Torture, and implement it fully. This means every country of
Asia declaring torture a serious crime, and establishing competent and
independent investigative agencies to deal with cases of torture. It means
prosecutors and judges being educated about the absolute prohibition on torture,
and the history of the struggle to eliminate torture, to ensure that they act
without reservation to properly and fully enforce the law. It means ensuring
that the police and other law enforcement agencies understand that the use of
torture in criminal investigations is completely
prohibited.
Victims of torture must be given proper
care. This means establishing and allocating facilities for their physical and
psychological recovery. Such facilities do not exist in most parts of Asia.
Prompt and effective action should be taken to improve the quality of available
treatment. The professional integrity of doctors is also vital in eradicating
torture. Doctors can contribute enormously by providing proper medical
certificates upon which legal action against torturers can stand.
Above all, victims of torture need our
solidarity. Only with strong solidarity will victims of torture develop the
confidence to protest against what they have suffered. Only with strong
solidarity will victims of torture be sustained through long struggles to obtain
justice in courts. Only with strong solidarity will victims of torture overcome
their physical and psychological injuries. Only strong solidarity can rekindle
trust in the hearts and minds of persons who have been brutalised by torture.
And only strong solidarity can stand up to attempts to undermine the absolute
prohibition of torture, upon which our common humanity rests.
Make the SAARC region a
torture-free zone!
As the world commemorates the
International Day against Torture 2004, the countries of South Asia continue to
be known only for their collective record of endemic torture. From the
pre-colonial period to the present day, horrendous torture has been a
characteristic of law enforcement throughout the region. In virtually every
police station of every South Asian country, torture is today routinely
practiced. Police stations remain in the dark ages: there is neither investment
nor interest to modernise criminal investigation techniques, nor bring policing
in South Asia as a whole into the twenty-first century. As a result, torture
persists as the most common method of criminal investigation.
As the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) works to promote common interests and solve common
problems, torture should receive the attention of all its member states and
peoples. In fact, the foremost item on its agenda for social change should be to
outlaw and eradicate torture, without which other ventures such as poverty
alleviation will be all but meaningless. Therefore, the SAARC should
a.
Make a public
declaration proclaiming the SAARC region a torture-free
zone.
b.
Adopt a SAARC
convention against torture, fully incorporating the provisions of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(CAT).
c.
Encourage all member
countries to ratify the CAT and make torture a serious crime, as required by the
Convention, and also sign its Optional Protocol.
d.
Establish guidelines
for compensating torture victims, and offering adequate medical and
psychological care at hospitals and other facilities accessible to torture
victims from any of the SAARC member countries.
e.
Form expert teams of
judges, lawyers, doctors and human rights activists for the purpose of realising
the CAT in the region.
f.
Encourage all
national human rights commissions to develop effective means to implement the
CAT.
g.
Call for a
conference immediately to discuss and devise effective strategies towards the
above ends.
The
undermining of the absolute prohibition on torture
(Text of a written statement to the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights sixtieth session this April 2004 by
the Asian Legal Resource Centre)
1. As the Asian Legal Resource Centre
first warned during the fifty-ninth session of the Commission
(E/CN.4/2003/NGO/146), in recent years the absolute prohibition against torture
has been dangerously undermined. In the more developed democracies of the West,
particularly in the United States, there have been serious attempts to dilute
legal provisions on torture refined by centuries of international jurisprudence.
For the United States, this is part of the propaganda war against terrorism. As
a result, dictators, military regimes and other ruthlessly violent political
groups are now readily justifying their disregard for the absolute prohibition
on torture.
2. The argument that torture is
necessary and justified has not only corrupted intellectual debate but also has
resulted in increased torture throughout the world. Inevitably, extrajudicial
killings are also increasing in many countries, justified one way or another, be
they "encounter killings" of alleged criminals, killings of purported drug
dealers, or killings of "suspected terrorists"
3. When the absolute prohibition of
torture is slighted, other principles are undermined: these include the notions
of fair trial and independence of the judiciary. It is no surprise that there
have been some calls to abolish the Geneva Conventions. Others, such as the
Malimath Committee in India, have suggested abandoning established principles of
fair trial as a means to deal effectively with increasing crime figures.
4. Behind these disturbing developments
is a growth in new notions on punishment. Deterrence as a method of social
control, irrespective of the guilt or innocence of the accused, has been revived
as a common premise. Another is that law enforcement agencies should not be
overburdened with the difficulties associated with proof, but should be
liberated from fears of being punished for abuse of authority. Together these
amount to an ideological defense of impunity. Principles relating to certainty
of guilt and punishment, developed during a centuries-long arduous battle
against the draconian powers of investigators and prosecutors, are rapidly
evaporating.
5. The Asian Legal Resource Centre
wishes to draw the attention of the global human rights community to understand
that the very fabric of the values we defend is now under threat. This attack is
unprecedented: it is not an attempt to relativise human rights on cultural or
other grounds, like those that have come before, but rather a large-scale effort
to abandon completely human rights as inconvenient and irrelevant.
6.
In the fight against this assault on the foundations of human rights, absolute
principles, such as the prohibition on torture, should be openly and strongly
defended. All persons concerned with the protection and promotion of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or
Punishment need to revive debate on the most basic principles it represents. A
global campaign in favour of the Convention is now imperative. The defense of
the physical integrity of everyone, irrespective of whatever allegations may be
made against them, is essential if the whole body of human rights thought is to
be reasserted and enriched.
Posted on 2004-07-02
|
