Les normes et standards de la documentation des allégations de torture et autres mauvais traitements selon le protocole d’Istanbul

Abstract

Torture and ill treatment constitute a serious violation of basic human rights. Health professionals are actors capable of acting, in addition to caring for the victims, for the advent of a world without torture. Thorough investigation and substantiated documentation of allegations of torture can help victims to tell the truth about what has happened to them and support them in their quest for justice and reparation. They help victims to obtain credible evidence that torture has taken place, allowing them to assert their rights. Trained health professionals can document the physical and psychological trauma resulting from torture, and link them to specific torture practices with a very high level of credibility, using the Istanbul protocol, a manual on documentation of torture approved by the United Nations. Victims can use this evidence to formally file a complaint to substantiate allegations in civil or criminal cases, as a basis for their request for rehabilitation assistance, and as an official acknowledgment of the harm they have suffered. This work aims to point out the important role of the doctor in the process of documenting the allegations of torture and other ill treatment and the need for training on the ethical, legal and practical aspects of this intervention in order to participate in prevention, and fight against this crime.