Introduction 1. The universal and absolute prohibition of torture is a non-derogable norm of international human rights law. It is a principle of customary international law and a peremptory norm (jus cogens), meaning that the prohibition cannot be set aside by any other type of domestic or international law. The prohibition has been reaffirmed in numerous international and regional treaties. 2. All 57 participating States of the OSCE have ratified the ICCPR and the UNCAT.8 In the OSCE Human Dimension Commitments, they have explicitly and unequivocally pledged to uphold the absolute prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment and committed to strive for its elimination.9 Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are key to the OSCE’s comprehensive concept of security. 3. In practice, however, many participating States are failing to uphold the international obligation to prohibit and prevent torture and other ill-treatment, and several have been repeatedly criticized for this by UN treaty bodies, regional human rights bodies, CSOs and human rights defenders.10 While the reasons torture remains widespread in so many countries despite its universal prohibition are multiple and 8 In addition, 47 OSCE participating States are parties to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (1950) and have ratified the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1987). OSCE Human Dimension Commitments Vienna 1989, Copenhagen 1990, Paris 1990, Moscow 1991, Budapest, 1994, Istanbul 1999, Ljubljana 2005, Helsinki 2008, Athens 2009. In particular, OSCE participating States have stressed that “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, […] may be invoked as a justification of torture” (Copenhagen 1990) and have committed to “ensure that all individuals in detention or incarceration will be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person; […] and to observe the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners as well as the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials” (Vienna 1989). OSCE participating States have also committed to “take up with priority for consideration and for appropriate action […] any cases of torture and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment made known to them through official channels or coming from any other reliable source of information” (Copenhagen 1990) and to “inquire into all alleged cases of torture and to prosecute offenders” (Budapest 1994). See also OSCE, ‘PREVENTING TORTURE A handbook for OSCE field staff’, (2009). See e.g. “List of Issues and submissions of civil society organisations to the UN Committee against Torture regarding OSCE pS” and “Concluding Observations” ; ”Civil Society Organisations Submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)” ; see also Consolidated summaries of the Annual Human Dimension Implementation Meetings (HDIM); “2017 Recommendations of the Vienna Conference”, p. 34 ; “Recommendations of the CSP to HDIM 2017” . 9 10 9