A/HRC/40/59 3. Torture and ill-treatment 17. As this mandate has previously observed, the generic concept of “torture” denotes the intentional infliction of pain or suffering on a powerless person with the aim of achieving a particular purpose. Thus, while the unlawfulness of corruption is derived primarily from the pursuit of an inherently unlawful purpose (undue advantage), the unlawfulness of torture stems primarily from the employment of an inherently unlawful means (purposeful infliction of pain or suffering). Furthermore, for the purposes of the present report, any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that lacks one or several elements constitutive of torture, such as the required intentionality or purposefulness, the required severity of the inflicted pain or suffering or the required powerlessness of the victim, will be referred to as “ill-treatment” (A/72/178, para. 31; A/73/207, para. 7; and E/CN.4/2006/6, paras. 34–41). 18. Torture and ill-treatment can take virtually unlimited forms, including physical violence or psychological abuse, sensory deprivation, stress positions, humiliation, coercive interrogation, instrumentalization of drug withdrawal symptoms, denial of family contacts or medical treatment, cruel, inhuman or degrading detention conditions or prolonged or otherwise abusive solitary confinement, just to name a few. While not all manifestations of torture and ill-treatment involve the same severity, intentionality and purposefulness, all involve violations of physical or mental integrity that are incompatible with human dignity and, therefore, cannot be justified under any circumstances. 4. Accountability for corruption and torture or ill-treatment 19. Apart from international responsibility of States, as regulated in the applicable treaties and in general international law, 5 acts of torture or ill-treatment, as well as corruption related to such abuse, can give rise to individual criminal responsibility for war crimes or crimes against humanity, including for commanders and other superiors. 6 Moreover, States have obligations with regard to the criminalization in their national law both of corruption and of torture and ill-treatment, including complicity and all other forms of culpable participation in such crimes. Where culpable involvement in corruption foreseeably results in acts of torture or ill-treatment, perpetrators should be held accountable for their participation not only in corruption, but also in torture or ill-treatment. 20. At the same time, in determining criminal culpability for acts of corruption, due account must be taken of mitigating circumstances of coercion, including through the threat, risk or infliction of torture and ill-treatment. In particular, in the view of the Special Rapporteur, persons who are coerced to offer money, sexual acts, forced labour or other undue advantages through the abuse of entrusted or appropriated power should be regarded not as perpetrators but as victims of corruption. Depending on the nature of such coercion, they also might have to be considered victims of acts or threats of torture or ill-treatment, for example where the cessation of – or protection against – torture and ill-treatment is made conditional on the transfer of an undue advantage. 5. Systemic nature of corruption, torture and ill-treatment 21. When examining the correlation between corruption and torture or ill-treatment, it is of utmost importance to understand the predominantly structural and systemic nature of both forms of abuse. Contrary to common misperceptions, both corruption and torture or ill-treatment are rarely isolated in a few “bad apples” but, figuratively speaking, tend to extend to “rotten branches” or even “rotten orchards”. 7 For example, in the context of policing, the practice of corruption and of torture or ill-treatment typically goes beyond individual officers and extends to their units or even entire police departments, often 5 6 7 6 See International Law Commission, articles on responsibility of States for internationally wrongful acts. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, arts. 7, 8 and 28. Maurice Punch, “Rotten orchards: ‘pestilence’, police misconduct and system failure”, Policing and Society, vol. 13, Issue 2 (2003), pp. 171–196; and Maurice Punch, Police Corruption: Deviance, Accountability and Reform in Policing (Willan, 2009).