International law - Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) Flashcards
What is the name of the treaty (CAT)?
Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CAT)
What is the aim of CAT?
To prevent the use of all forms of torture at all times.
What are the main articles of CAT?
Article 2 - Commits parties to take effective measures to prevent torture within their territory.
Article 3 - States should not expel anyone if ‘substantial grounds’ they will be tortured (non refoulment)
How many states are members to the CAT?
173
Who monitors compliance of the CAT?
Committee against torture
- can investigate suspected breaches but cannot make legally binding decisions for states to enforce findings.
- Can investigate and publicly shame non-complying states
- Damages international standing.
What is an example of a breach of the CAT in Türkiye?
Attempted coup in 2016, torture used to crush political dissent post-coup.
April 2017, 60 medico-legal reports aided in investigation from freedomfromtorture.org which documented torture between 1992 to 2015.
Torture and detention was related to Kurdish men under the age of 40, who were being detained and tortured by the police
There were at least 17 different police detention facilities
Which articles did the situation in Türkiye breach?
By not preventing Kurdish men under the age of 40 from being detained and tortured by the police, article 2 was breached. Article 2 commits parties to take effective measures to prevent torture within their territory. Because 87% of people reported being detained and tortured by police, and 17 different police detention facilities existed where torture was occurring, Türkiye failed to uphold its obligations under the CAT.
How was the treatment of Uighurs in Xinjing province a breach of the CAT?
By subjecting the Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic group in China, to religious and cultural education camps, mass detention and psychological torture, China is violating the CAT. China violates articles 1 and 2 of the CAT, which aims to prevent the use of torture, by not taking effective measures to prevent torture. Furthermore, article 4 is breached, which aims to have torture established as a crime in China, as no actions were taken against cultural re-education on behalf of the law. Article 12 was breached, as no impartial investigations into allegations of torture were undertaken, and Article 14 was breached, as no rehabilitation services were given to Uighurs from cultural re-education.
