What is the Geneva Convention’s definition of torture?

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More than two-thirds of the world’s countries are parties to the 1987 United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Because parties to this treaty are required to appear periodically to assess compliance before the Committee against Torture based in Geneva, Switzerland, this treaty became known as the Geneva Convention on Torture.

The convention’s language draws upon several earlier agreements and declarations, most significantly the four Geneva Conventions of 1949. These conventions dealt with the rights of prisoners of war and civilians, prohibiting mental or physical coercion including rape. If a prisoner of war is subjected to torture, the responsible country is considered to have committed a war crime. These earlier conventions also protected populations under military occupation from “murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture” as well as “humiliating and degrading treatment.” A 1977 Protocol to the Geneva Conventions added protection to detainees from foreign countries.

The U.N. Convention against Torture 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.”

Training in understanding torture and in the parameters of the Geneva Convention is part of the convention’s stipulations. Such training must be offered to law enforcement, medical and military personnel as well as civilians who may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of a person under arrest or detention. Each state party must agree to systematically review its procedures for interrogation and custody of prisoners, with the aim of preventing any form of torture. States must agree to investigate impartially any alleged instances of torture that may have occurred under their jurisdiction. If someone brings a complaint and is determined to have been tortured, the state must provide compensation and rehabilitation.

The convention also stipulates that no state party may expel or extradite a person to a state where there is solid reason to believe that person would be subjected to torture. It sets down procedures for dealing with such people within the countries that uphold the convention.

According to Article 15 of the convention, any statement made as a result of torture may not be used in a court of law, “except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made.”

The Committee against Torture consists of “10 experts of high moral standing and recognized competence in the field of human rights,” ideally with a legal background. These experts are elected by the state parties to the convention, giving consideration to equitable geographic representation. Each state party may nominate one committee member for a term lasting four years; a committee member may be renominated at the end of the term.

Article 20 of the convention deals with the possibility that one of the state parties may itself be accused of systematically practicing torture. If such a well-founded suspicion arises, the committee is authorized to investigate with the cooperation of the suspected state party. Article 24 requires it to submit an annual report to the state parties and to the U.N. General Assembly.

Resource by Kelly

I am a former ESL teacher who loves helping adults learn new skills. I enjoy going to concerts and listening to great music when I'm not teaching. I currently live in Chicago, IL and really enjoy the city life.

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