A/72/178 accused; except that torture shall not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions. 29 Torture has not been given a definition within the text of article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or any of the main regional human rights instruments, but has been applied and interpreted extensively by the respective oversight bodies. 30 C. Distinction between torture and “other” cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 25. Although all major universal and regional human rights treaties expressly prohibit cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, none of them offers a definition of the term as a whole or of its components (namely, “cruel”, “inhuman” and “degrading”). 31 The concept has been interpreted and applied in a wide range of cases before judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, albeit with varying precision. Thus, for example, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights indicated that “inhumane treatment includes unjustifiable conduct that causes severe physical, mental or psychological pain or suffering, and that treatment or punishment of an individual may be degrading if he is severely humiliated in front of others or he is compelled to act against his wishes or conscience”, 32 whereas the Human Rights Committee did not “consider it necessary to draw up a list of prohibited acts or to establish sharp distinctions between the different kinds of punishment or treatment; the distinctions depend on the nature, purpose and severity of the treatment applied”. 33 26. While the distinction between torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrad ing treatment or punishment will always depend on the applicable treaty definition, the generic observations set out in the paragraphs below can be made. 27. First, both torture and any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are absolutely prohibited and therefore cannot be justified under any circumstances. The broad scope of this prohibition covers a wide variety of more or less aggravated forms of inflicting pain or suffering, all of which are conclusively unlawful but only some of which qualify as torture. The term “pain or suffering” encompasses both physical and mental pain and suffering, including humiliation and emotional anguish. __________________ 29 30 31 32 33 17-12326 See also International Criminal Court, Elements of Crimes (The Hague, 2011), on the crime against humanity of torture, art. 7 (1) (f); note, however, the elements concerning the war crime of torture in respect of international armed conflict (art. 8 (2) (a) (ii) -1) and of non-international armed conflict (art. 8 (2) (c) (i)-4). For an overview, see, for example, Association for the Prevention of Torture and Centre for Justice and International Law, Torture in International Law. See also Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “Interpretation of torture in the light of the practice and jurisprudence of international bodies”, 2011. See Convention against Torture, art. 16, International Covenant on C ivil and Political Rights, art. 7, European Convention on Human Rights, art. 3 (omits the word “cruel”), American Convention on Human Rights, art. 5 (2), and African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, art. 5. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, report No. 92/05, case 12.418, “Michael Gayle v. Jamaica, Merits, 24 October 2005”, para. 61. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 20 (1992), para. 4. 11/24