Difference between revisions of "Torture"
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| − | The term torture refers to | + | The term torture refers to the act of inflicting severe pain or mutilation on prisoners. Governments, armies and tyrants have inflicted torture on opponents throughout recorded history, chiefly against [[slave]]s and [[rebel]]s, but also against political or religious dissidents. |
It is a matter of dispute whether it serves any valid purpose to distinguish between degrees or levels of torture. To some opponents, "torture is torture" and should always be prohibited. | It is a matter of dispute whether it serves any valid purpose to distinguish between degrees or levels of torture. To some opponents, "torture is torture" and should always be prohibited. | ||
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The US maintains that its [[coercive interrogation]] techniques are not "[[torture]]". President [[George W. Bush]] vetoed the [[McCain Amendment]], which was intended to tighten the definition of torture. | The US maintains that its [[coercive interrogation]] techniques are not "[[torture]]". President [[George W. Bush]] vetoed the [[McCain Amendment]], which was intended to tighten the definition of torture. | ||
| − | The signatories to the [[Geneva Convention]] [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/geneva03.htm] in 1949 defined relative classes of persons who may be considered "prisoners". The Bush Administration has classified [[terrorist]]s as [[Unlawful combatant]]s not associated with any signatory power and maintain previous International Conventions have not addressed this classification. | + | The signatories to the [[Geneva Convention]] <ref>[http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/lawofwar/geneva03.htm]</ref> in 1949 defined relative classes of persons who may be considered "prisoners". The Bush Administration has classified [[terrorist]]s as [[Unlawful combatant]]s not associated with any signatory power and maintain previous International Conventions have not addressed this classification. |
== References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 08:04, May 23, 2007
The term torture refers to the act of inflicting severe pain or mutilation on prisoners. Governments, armies and tyrants have inflicted torture on opponents throughout recorded history, chiefly against slaves and rebels, but also against political or religious dissidents.
It is a matter of dispute whether it serves any valid purpose to distinguish between degrees or levels of torture. To some opponents, "torture is torture" and should always be prohibited.
In the West, the best known cases of torture were inflicted by ecclesiastical and political authorities during the Middle Ages. A well-known example from historical fiction occurs in Ivanhoe, and well-known examples from real history can be found in the Malleus Maleficarum[1], a manual for Witch Hunters.
In the 20th century, opposition to torture on human rights grounds began, yet torture persists in countries as diverse as China and Sudan.
The UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment defines torture as:
"...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." [2]
Torture is widely practiced in many countries throughout the world as a means of intimidating the ruling regime's opponents. Since 1997, incidences of torture or ill treatment by the police have been reported in over 140 different countries, according to Amnesty International in Asia & the Pacific. [3] By far most commonly reported method of torture is physical beatings - other commonly reported methods include: [4]
- Rape and sexual abuse in custody
- Mock execution or threat of death
- Prolonged solitary confinement
The US maintains that its coercive interrogation techniques are not "torture". President George W. Bush vetoed the McCain Amendment, which was intended to tighten the definition of torture.
The signatories to the Geneva Convention [5] in 1949 defined relative classes of persons who may be considered "prisoners". The Bush Administration has classified terrorists as Unlawful combatants not associated with any signatory power and maintain previous International Conventions have not addressed this classification.
References
- ↑ The Malleus Maleficarum
- ↑ http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureDefinition
- ↑ http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureContext
- ↑ http://asiapacific.amnesty.org/apro/aproweb.nsf/pages/knowTortureMethods
- ↑ [1]
External links
- Mind the Gap: Purpose, Pain, and the Difference between Torture and Inhuman Treatment by Christian M. De Vos
