Anti-Torture Laws
Laws Against Torture
Introduction to Anti-Torture Laws
The war crimes tribunals convened immediately after World War II in Nürnberg, Germany, and Tokyo, Japan, treated torture as a crime against humanity (see War Crimes Trials). In 1948 the United Nations (UN) adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 5 of the declaration stated, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” However, the declaration was nonbinding, which meant that it did not have the force of international law. In 1949 the Geneva Conventions brought civilians under the protection of international laws that prohibit torture. The Geneva Conventions defined torture as a grave breach of the conventions and prohibited its use against prisoners of war (POWs).
The 1966 UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights codified the civil and political rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a binding international treaty. The covenant also provided that no one shall be subject to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. ” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Anti-Torture Laws in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
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