International Day of the Victims of Torture
Since 1997, June 26 has been the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and commemorates the entry into force in 1987 of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (hereinafter referred to as the Convention).
Although the Convention is a milestone in the fight against the international crime of torture, the first international public rejection of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment was made in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly. Likewise, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights appointed in 1985 the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to report on the situation of the crime of torture at the international level. Currently, this position as independent expert is held by Swiss Professor Nils Melzer.
The Convention, which provides a definition of the crime of torture in Article 1, defines torture as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, to punish him for an act he or she has committed or is suspected of having committed, or to intimidate or coerce him or her or others, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by a public official or other person acting in an official capacity (…)” (Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment).
Thus, one of the fundamental characteristics of the crime of torture is that it must be committed by a specific person, namely, a public official in the exercise of his or her functions. It is also essential to mention that the Convention provides for the creation of the Committee against Torture, an independent body made up of 10 experts, which is responsible for the proper implementation of the Convention by the States parties, for consultations and for considering individual and inter-State complaints.
Finally, and in this regard, it is essential to remember that the crime of torture is considered a form of the crime against humanity; thus, the latter is one of the international crimes set forth in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998). Consequently, as a crime against humanity falls within the material jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, it may hear and prosecute acts of torture if they are committed in the context of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
In Spain, the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a function delegated to the Ombudsman, was approved in 2009. In 2015, the then Coordinator for the Prevention of Torture, compiled a total of 6,621 complaints of police ill-treatment or torture in Spain, although, the sentences issued by the courts in this matter are substantially lower. In this regard, the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Spain on up to six occasions for not having sufficiently investigated the aforementioned complaints, and the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture has even reprimanded the State for not investigating them.
Although all the legal instruments mentioned so far are essential in the fight against torture, measures for the prevention of this crime should not be overlooked, as well as specialized programs for rapid recovery from torture, aimed at the rehabilitation and healing of victims. In this regard, it is important to mention that the people most at risk of being tortured are those at risk of social exclusion, those belonging to a group subjected to discrimination, minors; although, special mention should be made of women who are at greater risk of being subjected to sexual torture such as rape or forced sterilization.
It is estimated that only in 2016 more than 5000 children and adolescents (excluding from this figure the elderly) were victims of torture; thus, it is clear that, although a long way has been traveled in the matter, there is still much to do and that, the recognition of the International Day of the Victims of Torture has to be a reminder of all the objectives that remain to be fulfilled in order to eradicate torture and fight effectively against it.
Ariadna Puyuelo Martínez, FIBGAR collaborator
