Challenges to documentation of torture in Ecuador rectly. Consequently, if the criminal code does not criminalise the act of torture, a criminal court cannot rule on the matter. In November 2005, the UN Committee against Torture announced that the country’s laws on torture do not meet standards set within the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT) and regretted that the definition of the offence of torture in the Ecuadorean criminal code which criminalises “corporal torment” – but not psychological torture – does not correspond to the definition outlined in Article 1 of UNCAT. It is evident that there is still much room for improvement in this area. One action that has the potential to significantly improve the situation of torture in Ecuador would be to explicitly criminalise psychological torture and to provide prisoners with access to adequate independent medical, legal and psychological services. 43