In 1946, the United Nations member states unanimously adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognizing basic human rights, including the right not to be subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment...
On the basis of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, many international legal documents have also been issued, including the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment such as the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights.
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On December 10, 1984, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. (Photo: ilriformista.it) [/caption]In 1966, the United Nations adopted two important international human rights treaties: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment is also reiterated in Article 7 of the ICCPR.
Recognizing the importance of the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, on December 9, 1975, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a separate document on this right called "Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment".
Immediately after adopting the Declaration against Torture, on December 9, 1975, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting the Commission on Human Rights to conduct research on issues relating to “torture” and to take the necessary steps to ensure the effective implementation of the Declaration against Torture.
Two years later, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting the Human Rights Committee to draft a Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT Convention) based on the principles set out in the Declaration against Torture.
In order to implement the above Resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly, two Special Working Groups were established to discuss and develop a draft Convention against Torture. The draft Convention against Torture was first introduced by Sweden and submitted to the Second Working Group for consideration and discussion in 1978.
This draft Convention against Torture was continued to be used by the Working Group for discussion, circulated to the member states of the United Nations and submitted to the United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOC) for comments. On 24 May 1984, the ECOSOC Council approved the submission of the draft Convention against Torture to the United Nations General Assembly for adoption.
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June 26th of each year is designated by the United Nations as the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. (Photo: United Nations)[/caption]On December 10, 1984, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Convention is open for signature by States.
On June 26, 1987, after the Secretary-General of the United Nations received the ratification document of the 20th country, the Convention against Torture officially entered into force according to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 27 of the Convention. To date, the Convention against Torture has 166 member countries. The United Nations has chosen June 26 as the annual International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.
In the process of implementing the Convention, the United Nations General Assembly also adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture on December 18, 2002 (abbreviated as OPCAT) under Resolution No. 57/199. The Optional Protocol, which entered into force on June 22, 2006, establishes an international monitoring system for the prevention of torture through visits by independent international agencies and national organizations to detention facilities.
The OPCAT Protocol also establishes a Subcommittee on the Prevention and Combating of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to conduct visits to and assist States Parties and national institutions in carrying out similar activities within their respective countries.
The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) officially entered into force in Vietnam on March 7, 2015. Since then, Vietnam has always made efforts to implement the convention and achieved many important achievements in ensuring human rights recognized by the international community, including the National Report on the implementation of the CAT Convention.
Tra Khanh
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