Introduction reference to the decision of the Inter-American Commission, reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and the fact that the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) had indicted individuals for torture based on allegations that they had raped detainees.7 In 1998, the ICTY in turn referred to the decision of the European Court, as well as that of the Inter-American Commission, in finding that rape constitutes torture.8 In the same year, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda also concluded that rape is torture9 and, in 2000, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights also specifically found that rape could be qualified as torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.10 This guide to international jurisprudence on the question of torture and other forms of ill-treatment aims to give both experts and those unfamiliar with international law an overview of the expanding definition of torture, the duties incurred by States, the scope of the prohibition, and international criminal law on individual responsibility for the crime of torture. The first four chapters deal with the international and regional law applicable to States in the UN, European, Inter-American and African systems. For ease of comparison, these chapters share a common structure, which also reflects the increasing cross-fertilisation between the systems. The fifth chapter addresses individual criminal responsibility for the international crime of torture, considering the jurisprudence of the ad-hoc International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, and the statute of the International Criminal Court. Finally, it should never be forgotten that, however strong the legal prohibition on torture, reality has yet to conform to the strict letter of the law. Additionally, non-judicial mechanisms are required to ensure that agents of the State do not resort to or tolerate torture, that violations are detected, and that victims receive treatment and compensation. Ibid. §51. Prosecutor v Delali´c and Others (the Čelebi´ci case), Case No. IT-96-21, ICTY Trial Chamber II, judgement of 16 November 1998; Prosecutor v Furundžija, Case No. IT-95-17/1, ICTY Trial Chamber II, judgement of 10 December 1998. 9 Prosecutor v Akayesu, Case No. ICTR-96-4-T, ICTR Trial Chamber I, judgement of 2 September 1998. 10 Malawi African Association and Others v Mauritania, AfrCommHPR Communication Nos. 54/1991, 61/1991, 98/1993, 164/1997 to 196/1997 and 210/1998, 27th session, 27 April–11 May 2000. 7 8 4