Article 1. Definition of Torture
25
the instigation of a public official or for which a public official is responsible under
Article III, in order:
( a) to obtain from that person or another person information or a statement or
confession; or
(b) to intimidate, discredit or humiliate that person or another person; or
( c) to inflict punishment on that person or another person, save where such conduct is in proper execution of a lawful sanction not constituting cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.
6 Original Swedish Draft (18 January 1978)3
Article 1
1 . For the purposes of this Convention, torture means any act by which severe
pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted by or at the
instigation of a public official on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him
or a third person information or confession, punishing him for an act he has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating him or other persons.
It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to,
lawful sanctions to the extent consistent with the Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners.
2 . Torture constitutes an aggravated and deliberate form of cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment.
7 Revised Swedish Draft (19 February 1979)4
Article 1
1 . For the purposes of this Convention, torture means 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. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from,
inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
2 . [Torture is an aggravated and deliberate form of cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.]
3 . This Article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application relating to the
subject matter of this Convention.
2.2 Analysis of Working Group Discussions
8 Regarding the scope of Article 1, the preliminary deliberations in the Human Rights
Commission’s various Working Groups on this point were conducted on the basis of a
draft Convention submitted by Sweden to the thirty-fourth Session of the Human Rights
3
Draft International Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment Submitted by Sweden (1978) UN Doc E/CN.4/1285.
4
Revised Draft Convention submitted by Sweden (1979) UN Doc E/CN.4/WG.1/WP.1.
Zach
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