International Efforts to Combat Torture and Inhuman Treatment: Have the New Mechanisms Improved Protection?

Abstract

During the last decade, the United Nations and the Council of Europe have increased their efforts to combat torture and other forms of inhuman treatment through the introduction of special mechanisms. In 1985, the UN Commission on Human Rights appointed a Special Rapporteur on Torture to take account of and investigate reports of torture. With an eye to efficiency, the conditions of appointment leave the Special Rapporteur unhindered by set procedures. In 1987, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) entered into force and was simultaneously backed up by the establishment of the Committee against Torture (CAT), a task force set up to oversee implementation of the Convention. In 1989, member states of the Council of Europe, acting through the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ECPT), established the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and assigned it the task of visiting states parties and inspecting places of detention.