Foreword The Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) is an international nongovernmental organisation committed to preventing torture and other illtreatment worldwide. The APT focuses on three integrated objectives: effective legal frameworks, transparency in institutions, and capacity strengthening. This Guide is the culmination of an APT project begun in 2002 with the publication of a guide to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights on torture and ill-treatment, which forms the basis of Chapter 2 of this Guide. The Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) is a regional non-governmental human rights organisation whose mission is to achieve the full implementation of international human rights norms in the Member States of the Organisation of American States, through the use of the Inter-American System for the protection of human rights and other international protection mechanisms. CEJIL’s approach is victim-centred, working in partnership with human rights defenders and organisations to contribute to social justice. In furtherance of its mission CEJIL litigates cases of grave violations of human rights to obtain justice and reparations for victims and to foster human rights protections through changes in countries’ laws, policies and practices. This Guide is a collaborative effort to help ensure that international and regional legal norms for the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment are universally respected and implemented. Governments, lawyers and civil society actors must be aware of what acts qualify as torture or ill-treatment, as well as the full scope of the obligations undertaken by the State to prevent, investigate and punish torture. Standards must be consistently applied at the international, regional and national levels to ensure equal protection for everyone. This Guide aims to answer such questions as what constitutes torture, who should be held responsible when ill-treatment occurs, when a State must investigate allegations of abuse, and how detainees should be treated. The APT and CEJIL would like to thank in particular Emma Reilly, APT Legal Advisor, the author of this publication, who provided an insightful analysis on the jurisprudence of the international and regional human rights systems. The APT and CEJIL would also like to thank Ariela Peralta, Deputy xi