THEMATIC REPORT 2017 TORTURE AND MIGRATION LEGAL OBLIGATIONS Torture is universally and absolutely prohibited and is considered a non-derogable principle of international law. The prohibition applies in all territories and at all times, allowing for no exceptions. This is enshrined in a number of international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and, most notably, the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The right to freedom from torture is further established in a number of regional legal documents relevant to this report, including Article 5 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, Article 5 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article 3 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The Convention against Torture also carries with it an explicit non-refoulement provision in Article 3, which prohibits States from returning a person to another country where “there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture”. It provides a human rights component to the non-refoulement provision in Article 33 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Refugee Convention). All of the countries that are examined in this report – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Mexico, Serbia and Uganda – have ratified the Convention against Torture and are signatories to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Article 14 of the Convention against Torture establishes a right to redress for victims of torture and ill-treatment. This right is composed of effective remedy and reparation, which includes compensation and the right to “as full rehabilitation as possible”. In its General Comment Number 3, the UN Committee against Torture makes clear that the right to redress includes restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition. It further specifies that rehabilitation must be holistic and “include medical and psychological care as well as legal and social services”. The Committee has made it clear that States have an obligation to ensure that all victims of torture have access to rehabilitation, including those who are outside of their own State’s territory, regardless of the “identity or status” of the victim of torture including refugees and asylum seekers. All the countries that are covered in this report Eare parties to the Convention against Torture and the Refugee Convention. page 10