A/HRC/13/56
2.
Emphasizes that States must take persistent, determined and effective
measures to prevent and combat all acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, and stresses that all acts of torture must be made offences under
domestic criminal law, and encourages States to prohibit under domestic law acts
constituting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
3.
Urges States to respect and ensure respect for the critical role that judges,
prosecutors and lawyers play in the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment, including with respect to arbitrary detention, due
process safeguards and fair trial standards, and bringing perpetrators to justice;
4.
Also urges States to adopt, implement and fully comply with legal and
procedural safeguards against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, as well as to ensure that the judiciary, and where relevant the prosecution, can
effectively ensure compliance with such safeguards;
5.
Stresses that effective legal and procedural safeguards for the prevention of
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment include, inter alia,
ensuring that any individual arrested or detained is brought promptly before a judge or
other independent judicial officer in person, and permitting prompt and regular medical
care and legal counsel as well as visits by family members;
6.
Calls upon States in the context of criminal proceedings to ensure access to
lawyers from the outset of custody and during all interrogations and judicial proceedings, as
well as access of lawyers to appropriate information in sufficient time to enable them to
provide effective legal assistance to their clients;
7.
Strongly urges States to ensure that no statement that is established to have
been made as a result of torture is invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a
person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made, and calls upon States to
consider extending that prohibition to statements made as a result of other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment, and recognizes that adequate corroboration of
statements, including confessions, used as evidence in any proceedings constitutes one
safeguard for the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment;
8.
Urges States not to expel, return (refouler), extradite or in any other way
transfer a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that the
person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, and stresses the importance of
effective legal and procedural safeguards in this regard;
9.
Condemns any action or attempt by States or public officials to legalize,
authorize or acquiesce in torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment under any circumstances, including on grounds of national security or through
judicial decisions;
10.
Calls upon States to ensure accountability for acts of torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and in this regard stresses that the
competent domestic authority must promptly, effectively, independently and impartially
investigate all allegations of such acts and wherever there is reasonable ground to believe
that such acts have been committed and that those who encourage, order, tolerate or
perpetrate such acts must be held responsible, brought to justice and punished in a manner
commensurate with the severity of the offence;
11.
Urges States to ensure that any person who has been subjected to torture or
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment has access to an effective remedy and
that victims will receive adequate, effective and prompt reparations, where appropriate;
50
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents