United Nations Convention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol 74 2.  Travaux Préparatoires 2.1 Chronology of Draft Texts 6  Declaration (9 December 1975)2 Article 3 No state may permit or tolerate torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Exceptional circumstances such as state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency may not be invoked as a justification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 4 Each state party shall, in accordance with the provisions of this declaration, take effective measures to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment from being practised within its jurisdiction. 7  IAPL Draft (15 January 1978)3 Article IV The Contracting Parties undertake to adopt legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures necessary to give effect to this convention to prevent and suppress torture . . . Article V The fact that a person was acting in obedience to superior orders shall not be a defence to a charge of torture. Article VI Torture can in no circumstances be justified or excused by a state or threat of war or armed conflict, a state of siege, emergency or other exceptional circumstances, or by any necessity or any urgency of obtaining information, or by any other reason. 8  Original Swedish Draft (18 January 1978)4 Article 2 1 . Each State Party undertakes to ensure that torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment does not take place within its jurisdiction. Under no circumstances shall any State Party permit or tolerate torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 2 . No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 3 . An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 3 Each State Party shall, in accordance with the provisions of the present convention, take legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures to prevent torture and   GA Res 30/​3452 of 9 December 1975.  Draft Convention for the Prevention and Suppression of Torture Submitted by the International Association of Penal Law (1978) UN Doc E/​CN.4/​NGO/​213. 4   Draft Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Submitted by Sweden (1978) UN Doc E/​CN.4/​1285. 2 3 Zach