physical pain but also to acts that cause suffering to the victim, such as intimidation and other forms of threats.39 Furthermore, the mere fear of physical torture may itself constitute mental torture.40 A number of decisions by human rights monitoring mechanisms have referred to the notion of mental pain or suffering, including suffering through intimidation and threats, as a violation of the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.41 Similar interpretations of the prohibition of torture have been made with respect to the relevant provisions found in international humanitarian law.42 Article 1 of the Convention does not refer specifically to rape as a form of torture. However, international case law and the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur evince a momentum towards considering, through legal process, the use of rape in the course of detention and interrogation as a means of torture. Rape can be resorted to either by the interrogator or by other persons associated with the interrogation of a detainee, as a means of punishing, intimidating, coercing, or humiliating the victim, or obtaining information, or a confession, from the victim or a third person. In human rights law, rape under these circumstances amounts to torture, as demonstrated by the finding of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Aydin43 and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Meijia.44 “…Rape causes severe pain and suffering, both physical and psychological. The psychological suffering of persons upon whom rape is inflicted may be exacerbated by social and cultural conditions and can be particularly acute and long lasting. Furthermore, it is difficult to envisage circumstances in which rape, by, or at the instigation of a public official, or with the consent or acquiescence of an official, could be considered as occurring for a purpose that does not, in some way, involve punishment, coercion, discrimination or intimidation…Accordingly, whenever rape and other forms of sexual violence meet the aforementioned criteria, then they shall constitute torture, in the same manner as any other acts that meet these criteria.” 45 While it is clear that torture can result from an “act”, it is not similarly clear from Article 1 whether torture can result from an “omission”. There was no reference to this question at any stage in the preparatory work of the Convention.46 However, negative acts may inflict as much physical and mental harm as positive acts and have been found to amount to torture.47 The Purpose of the Act In order to be prohibited, the conduct must be intentionally inflicted “…for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, II. INDIVIDUAL ANALYSIS OF ARTICLES 1–16 OF THE CONVENTION 2. ANALYSIS OF SUBSTANTIVE PROVISIONS The International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia has formulated the issue of rape in the context of torture as follows: 27