“The scope of ‘severe’ encompasses prolonged coercive or abusive conduct which in itself is not severe, but becomes so over a period of time.” For the purpose of determining what constitutes “severe” under the Convention, reference may be made to the above definition. The test to be employed for so doing is a subjective one that takes account of the circumstances of each case.29 Different cultures, and indeed individuals within a particular culture, may have different perceptions of what amounts to torture. This can be relevant in two ways: On the one hand, it can mean that behaviour which is thought of as torture by a given culture or individual victim may not normally constitute torture in the eyes of the international bodies. On the other hand, it can mean that treatment which is consistently considered by the international community to amount to torture is not viewed as such by the person who has been subjected to it.31 However, irrespective of cultural or individual perceptions, the international standard for what constitutes torture is not relative to the particular culture of the victim. There are also many “grey areas” which either do not clearly amount to torture or about which there is still disagreement. Examples include: • • • • Judicial corporal punishment; Some forms of capital punishment and the death-row phenomenon; Solitary confinement; Certain aspects of poor prison conditions, particularly if experienced in combination; • Disappearances, including their effect on the close relatives of the disappeared persons; • Treatment inflicted on a child which might not be considered torture if inflicted on an adult.32 Many of these areas may be considered as other forms of ill-treatment, which is distinguished in the Convention from torture by the degree of suffering involved and the need for a purposive element.33 This clear distinction between torture and other forms of ill-treatment is different from the approach adopted II. INDIVIDUAL ANALYSIS OF ARTICLES 1–16 OF THE CONVENTION 2. ANALYSIS OF SUBSTANTIVE PROVISIONS The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, in his 1986 report, provided a detailed, although not exhaustive, catalogue of those acts which involve the infliction of suffering severe enough to constitute the offence of torture, including: beating; extraction of nails, teeth, etc.; burns; electric shocks; suspension; suffocation; exposure to excessive light or noise; sexual aggression; administration of drugs in detention or psychiatric institutions; prolonged denial of rest or sleep; prolonged denial of food; prolonged denial of sufficient hygiene; prolonged denial of medical assistance; total isolation and sensory deprivation; being kept in constant uncertainty in terms of space and time; threats to torture or kill relatives; total abandonment; and simulated executions.30 25