A/59/324 Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Summary In the present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 58/164 and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2004/41, the Special Rapporteur refers to his main report to the Commission at its sixtieth session and its three addenda (E/CN.4/2004/56 and Add.1-3) and to the activities he has been carrying out since their submission. He also addresses issues of special concern to him, in particular overall trends and developments with respect to questions falling within his mandate. The Special Rapporteur, as a follow-up to reports submitted to the Assembly at previous sessions on the issue of the prohibition of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in the context of anti-terrorism measures, first draws attention to attempts to circumvent the absolute and non-derogable nature of the prohibition. He then discusses the principle of non-refoulement, recalling the jurisprudence underlying the principle and noting the increase in practices that undermine it. Lastly, the Special Rapporteur draws attention to the most common consequences faced by victims of torture. In addition to the physical and psychological damage caused to the victims, the consequences of torture affect victims’ families and the community at large. A holistic understanding of the impact of torture on its victims is thus necessary to develop adequate assistance. Contents 2 Paragraphs Page I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1–12 3 II. The absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13–24 5 III. The principle of non-refoulement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25–42 8 IV. The impact of torture on victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43–60 12