E/CN.4/1993/26 page 132 condemned as a serious human rights violation. In this respect, it is relevant to take note of the Committee's observation that no justification or extenuating circumstances may be invoked to excuse a violation of article 7 for any reason. 594. If all Governments would take to heart the views and opinions of the Committee and would scrutinize their national system to see whether it is in conformity with these views and opinions and would start to introduce the necessary reforms, the campaign against torture would gain new momentum. The Human Rights Committee is a highly authoritative body; it is composed of independent experts; it is representative of all regions and all cultures. Its views should therefore be taken with the greatest possible seriousness. Only then can torture, which I called seven years ago in my first report "the plague of the second half of the twentieth century", be prevented from entering the twenty-first century unhampered. -----