Where is torture illegal

Despite espousing the values of human rights, even the UK has been implicated in torture in recent years. Although the ISC report was a good start, we still don't know the full extent of abuses and how politicians were involved. If the UK is to live up to the reputation it sets itself as a global leader post-Brexit, it needs to deliver accountability for its past crimes, and make clear that torture will never again be tolerated.

Breadcrumb Home news. Where is torture happening? Sri Lanka Despite being a top holiday destination, over the past 10 years, Sri Lanka has consistently been the country from where we receive the most clients. Iran In Iran, torture and other human rights abuses are used by the government to sow fear among the population, suppress political activity, force confessions and act as punishment. Read more about torture in Iran. Afghanistan Our evidence shows that torture in Afghanistan is used frequently by state actors largely to attain information regarding the Taliban or links to the Taliban.

Sudan There have been a variety of human rights abuses permitted by the former Sudanese government of Omar al-Bashir over his year rule. Ethiopia For years, there has been authoritarian rule in Ethiopia where torture has been a staple of the government.

The majority of clients seen by Freedom from Torture are of Oromo ethnicity. Many are children. Iraq The use of torture has been extensive since the US invasion and subsequent occupation in Our evidence suggests that torture is still practised by both sides.

Turkey Our evidence shows that torture has been happening in Turkey for decades, mainly to repress the Kurdish minority and the political involvement of its people. Syria Since the beginning of the Syrian conflict, warring parties have continuously disregarded human rights and humanitarian law protections. Egypt In Egypt, torture has been used routinely by successive regimes in response to any form of opposition including peaceful protests.

Cameroon The government response to separatism in Cameroon has been heavy-handed. Are people tortured in the UK? We won't stop 'til torture ends. Torture is prohibited under international law. At a time leaders of the democratic world, like President Trump and Jair Bolsonaro endors e torture, and the UK has been found to be complicit in the torture and rendition we are reiterating this message loud and clear.

The prohibition of torture is a fundamental principle of international law and applies to all countries, even those who have not specifically signed and ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

Despite this, it is still happening in many countries and even in those that have signed and ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Other governments refuse to acknowledge their complicity in torture and fail to take responsibility for upholding human rights standards and holding states to account.

This encourages a culture of impunity and allows torture to continue. Torture methods used on victims can be of both physical and psychological nature, such as prolonged solitary confinement or sleep deprivation. Both psychological and physical torture complement each other causing severe pain to people who were affected by it.

Infliction of physical torture is in most cases reflected in psychological consequences. Applying torture methods of these types on someone can directly damage their memory and cause an extreme psychological trauma. For example, if affected by one of these methods, victims may become so mentally broken that they might not even remember simple things such as their home address. Similarly, victims who are deprived of sleep may become confused and disoriented, which can cause them to convince themselves in things interrogators are suggesting them and, in this way, produce false information.

However, infliction of torture methods does not cause psychological trauma only to victims, but also to the torturers. Most often, state authorities and politicians who support torture are not the ones who inflict it personally. They leave to others to enforce their policies and apply torture methods, which affects them on a psychological level by being rooted deeply within their brain circuit.

This means that both victims and perpetrators face a range of devastating psychological consequences. The use of torture physically destroys people. Torture methods, such as sham executions, rape, sexual assaults, humiliation and sleep deprivation often leave physical consequences on affected persons such as chronic pain in certain parts of body and inability to lead a healthy and prolonged lifestyle.

For this reason, people who had been affected by torture should have access to redress such as medical care, reintegration into society, rehabilitation and counseling. When states and governments use torture to achieve their goals, they often see it as necessary to provide some type of justification for its implementation.

Governments and politicians must find ways to excuse and explain the use of torture, while those who publicly advocate for it must find arguments that would justify torture as a practice that is globally and universally regarded as immoral and condemned. The prohibition of torture is enshrined in many conventions and declarations within the international human rights and humanitarian law. Similarly, it was established by the Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols that serious violations of international humanitarian law, including torture and other inhuman treatment, constitute war crimes in both international and non-international armed conflicts.

Since Article 3 is directly enforceable in UK courts under section 6 Human Rights Act, it is likely that the exact distinction is less relevant in UK law. UN Committee Against Torture. Human Rights Watch report on diplomatic assurances. Torture is illegal, right? For several reasons. Selmouni v France 29 EHRR , paragraph Note also that the inhuman or degrading treatment need not be intentional, i.