Powerlessness as a Defining Characteristic of Torture

Abstract

During the author’s six-year term as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, he interviewed many hundreds of torture survivors in all world regions. This unique practical experience confirmed his legal analysis that intention and powerlessness, rather than the intensity of pain or suffering, are the decisive criteria that distinguish torture from other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment or punishment. This legal conclusion fully corresponds to the psychological findings of Başoğlu’s analysis of the question of whether the “enhanced interrogation techniques” applied by the Bush administration in the so-called US war on terror meet the definition of torture under US law. Başoğlu shows that “learned helplessness is mental harm that is severe enough to qualify as torture even by US standards.” Our two contributions leading to identical scientific findings underline that this unique book is moving multilateral research on torture to genuine interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research.