Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
This convention was adopted and opened for signature and ratification by the General Assembly on Dec 10, 1984. The government of Pakistan signed the convention on Apr 17, 2008, and ratified it on June 23, 2010.[1] This Convention requires State Parties to end torture within their jurisdiction and criminalize all acts of torture. The Convention goes beyond many other international Conventions in that it offers a comprehensive definition of torture:
“the term “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.”
Article 2 of the Convention states, “1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. 2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. 3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.”
Article 4 of the Convention elaborates on domestic law of signatory states. It reads, “Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture. 2. Each State Party shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature.”
Article 12 pertains to impartial investigation, it states, “Each State Party shall ensure that its competent authorities proceed to a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed in any territory under its jurisdiction.”[2]
The Convention consists of 33 Articles. Articles 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 are substantive in nature whereas Articles 2, 3, 4 and 16 are seen as implementing provisions.
| ARTICLE | CONTENT |
| Article 1 | Definition of torture |
| Article 2 | State Party obligations (effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures) |
| Article 3 | Obligation of non-refoulment |
| Article 4 | Criminalization of all acts of torture |
| Article 5 | Establishing jurisdiction over torture-related offences |
| Article 6 | Taking custody and making preliminary inquiry into facts |
| Article 7 | Submission of case of torture for prosecution |
| Article 8 | Extradition |
| Article 9 | Supply of evidence and mutual judicial assistance |
| Article 10 | Training of law enforcement personnel, civil or military, medical personnel, public officials and other persons involved in custody, interrogation or treatment of anyone subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment. |
| Article 11 | Obligation of State Party to systematically review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices |
| Article 12 | Prompt and impartial investigation in cases where there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed |
| Article 13 | Right to complain and have case heard promptly and impartially examined (protection of complainants and witnesses) |
| Article 14 | Right to obtain redress and receive adequate compensation |
| Article 15 | Evidence gathered through torture to be inadmissible |
| Article 16 | Acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by public officials to be prevented |
| Article 17-24 | Provisions on the Committee against Torture, election to the Committee, State Parties reports, cooperation between State Parties and the Committee, inter-state complaints procedure, individual communications procedure, ad hoc conciliation commissions, annual reports of the Committee |
| Article 25-33 | Provisions on ratification and accession, amendments, inter-state disputes, denunciation and languages in which the text of the Convention is authentic |
| Figure 2.8 – Summary of the CAT
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In order to monitor implementation of the CAT by state parties, the Convention created the Committee against Torture. Like the other treaty bodies, the CAT Committee comprises independent experts responsible for monitoring progress under the CAT through compliance reports submitted by States Parties.
The Committee against Torture may, under certain conditions, receive and consider individual complaints alleging violations of the rights enlisted within the Convention. Pakistan, however, has not recognized the competence of the Committee to do so. The Committee may consider individual communications with regard to those States that have made the requisite declaration under Article 22 of the Convention. While Pakistan has not recognized the competence of the CAT Committee to receive and consider individual communications, the domestic helpline service has been created for complaints regarding human rights violations.
Pakistan has yet to enact specific legislation incorporating the provisions of the Convention. However, the following legislative instruments provide similar protections as afforded under the CAT:
- Article 14 of the Constitution (Inviolability of dignity of man)[3]
- 44 of the Pakistan Penal Code[4]
- The Prisons Act 1894
- Prison Rules 1978
- Punjab Employees Efficiency, Discipline and Accountability Act 2006
- Abolition of the Punishment of Whipping Act 1996
- Police Order 2002:
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- Article 35
- Article 114(1)(c)
- Article 114(2)
- Article 156(d)
In February 2016, Pakistan had launched the historic National Action Plan on Human Rights which consisted of six thematic areas, including strengthening human and technical resources and capacity building of law enforcement agencies, improving the forensic sciences, and upgrading physical facilities and equipment to investigate human rights violations on specific grounds with the view to give impetus to speedy justice.[5]
The Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2020 was passed in February by the Senate but it is still pending at the National Assembly. The bill criminalizes torture in police custody. The Act states that anyone found guilty of torturing someone in custody will be sent to jail for over three years and fined Rs2 million.[6]
The following institutions play an important role in promoting the rights guaranteed under the CAT:
- Women Development Departments in all the provinces;
- Prisons Departments in all the provinces;
- Home Departments in all the provinces;
- Inspector Generals of Prisons in all the provinces;
[1] https://www.dawn.com/news/1341873
[2] https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cat.aspx
[3] “(1) The dignity of man and, subject to law, the privacy of home, shall be inviolable. (2) No person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence.”
[4] “The “injury” denotes any harm whatever illegally caused to any person, in body, mind, reputation or property.”
[5] https://ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21514&LangID=E
[6] http://senate.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1582706236_509.pdf