ODIHR Opinion on Definition of Torture and its Absolute Prohibition in Polish Legislation 15. As a leading principle, Article 5 of the 1948 Universal Declaration for Human Rights (UDHR) provides that “[n]o one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” Subsequently, the ban on torture and other illtreatment has been included in a number of international human rights treaties, including Article 7 and 10 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).2 16. The United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is central component of international law protecting persons against torture and other ill-treatment.3 Article 1 of the UNCAT 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, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.” 17. In addition, the Committee against Torture (CAT), which monitors the implementation of the UNCAT, interprets State obligations to prevent torture as indivisible, interrelated, and interdependent with the obligation to prevent other ill-treatment because “conditions that give rise to ill-treatment frequently facilitate torture.” Accordingly, the CAT has considered the prohibition of ill-treatment to be likewise non-derogable under the Convention and its prevention to be an effective and non-derogable measure.”4 18. Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR,) echoes the international obligation of the States’ prohibition to torture and other ill treatment.”5 Its definition should be read in conjunction with Article 15 of the ECHR that states that no derogation from Article 3 can be made, thus imposing an absolute prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment. The 1987 European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment recalls Article 3 of the ECHR and further establishes a European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT).6 19. OSCE participating States committed to prohibit torture and other ill-treatment and take effective legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures to prevent and punish 2 3 4 5 6 Republic of Poland ratified the ICCPR on 18 March 1977. In addition, see the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ratified by Poland on 30 July 1980, Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Poland on 7 June 1991. See also the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. The UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), adopted by General Assembly resolution A/RES/39/46 on 10 December 1984. Republic of Poland ratified the UNCAT 26 July 1989 and its Optional Protocol 15 September 2005. See paragraphs 2 and 3 of General Comment No 2 on Implementation of Article 2 by States parties (CAT/C/GC/2), 24 January 2008. See the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), was adopted by the Council of Europe in 1950, and entered into force on 3 September 1953. Article 3, however, does not define elements of torture and other ill-treatment, thus the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) are largely considered when defining an act of torture. The CPT is not an investigative body, but it provides a non-judicial preventive mechanism to protect persons deprived of their liberty against torture and other forms of ill-treatment. It thus complements the judicial work of the ECtHR. 6