Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984)

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1984 and entered into force on 26 June 1987, when, in accordance with article 27(1), the twentieth instrument of ratification or accession was delivered to the United Nations Secretary General.

According to article 1 of the Convention, torture means “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions”.

In this section you will find the dates of signature, ratification, accession or succession to the Convention by EU member states, the reservations and declarations made as well as what countries have accepted the competence of the mechanism of control: the Committee against torture.

For a selected bibliography on torture and inhuman and degrading treatment see here.