Manfred Nowak

Elizabeth McArthur

This volume provides a thorough commentary on the articles of the Convention against Torture, with historical context and analysis of relevant case law from monitoring bodie and international, regional and domestic courts.

A Commentary

The United Nations Convention Against Torture

Henry Charles Lea

Edward Peters

"Torture has ceased to exist," Victor Hugo claimed, with some justification, in 1874. Yet more than a century later, torture is used routinely in one out of every three countries. This book is about torture in Western society from earliest times to the present. A landmark study since its original publication a decade ago, Torture is now available in an expanded and updated paperback edition. Included for the first time is a broad and disturbing selection of documents charting the historical practice of torture from the ancient Romans to the Khmer Rouge.

An Expert's Confrontation with an Everyday Evil

Torture

Allan Rosas

Arie Bloed

Liselotte Leicht

Comparing International Procedures and Mechanisms

Monitoring Human Rights in Europe

Human Rights or Global Capitalism examines the application of neoliberal policies from a human rights perspective and asks whether states, by outsourcing to the private sector many services with a direct impact on human rights, abdicate their responsibilities to uphold human rights and violate international law.

The Limits of Privatization

Human Rights Or Global Capitalism

This fascicle offers a comparison with related human rights provisions, followed by an in-depth exploration of the nature and scope of State obligations deriving from Article 6.

A Commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 6: The Right to Life, Survival and Development

Moritz Birk

Giuliana Monina

The prohibition of torture - the right to physical and mental integrity - is guaranteed in the strongest terms under international law. It is protected as an absolute right, non-derogable even in times of war or public emergency under many human rights treaties and is also generally accepted as a part of customary international law and even ius cogens. The main instrument to combat torture within the framework of the United Nations is the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). This Commentary explores the problematic definition of torture in the Convention, the substantive obligations of States parties, the principle of 'non-refoulement', provisions for international monitoring, and also the concept of preventative visits to all places of detention as contained in the Optional Protocol to the CAT. It also covers issues including the distinction between torture and cruel inhuman or degrading treatment and the principle of non-admissibility of evidence extracted under torture. Full article by article commentary on the Convention also provides historical context and thorough analysis of case-law and practice from international and regional courts and monitoring bodies. Relevant case-law from domestic courts are also discussed. Despite the broad ratification and the universal recognition of the prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment we witness a 'global crisis' affecting the majority of countries worldwide. In recent years the protection of human rights is experiencing a particularly serious crisis - also affecting the phenomenon of torture - in which official narratives and public belief often trivialise and even endorse such practices in the name of security and the fight against terrorism, ignoring the suffering and damages it causes. On the other hand, the positive experiences in some States illustrate that torture can be eradicated if the provisions of CAT and OPCAT are taken seriously and are being fully implemented. This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC 4.0 International licence. It is offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations.

The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Its Optional Protocol

Helen Ahrens

Horst Fischer

Verónica Gómez

The book provides an extensive overview of objectives and current implementation of Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and Europe. Based on discussions at the GIZ-EIUC conference in Venice of May 2017, the book offers new insights into specifically Goal 16.3 from a Latin American and European perspective. Current challenges to access to justice before the European and the Inter-American Courts of Human Rights as well as common and different challenges to the European and Inter-American Human Rights systems are assessed. Based on the foundational work of the GIZ-DIRAJus project in Latin America specific challenges of access to justice in Mexico, Peru, Brazil, El Salvador and Chile are comprehensively examined. The issues identified in the book based on Latin American and European efforts in ensuring access to justice offer guidance in what way additional indicators for Goal 16.3 could be developed.

Equal Access to Justice for All and Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Agenda: Challenges for Latin America and Europe

While providing a substantive legal analysis of the links between human rights and counter-terrorism, this book provides the tools to successfully argue that a human rights approach does not undermine the fight against terrorism. Through practical examples, it shows that a State’s lack of respect for human rights hinders its fight against terrorism and can be counter-productive. The contributing experts represent a wide breadth of experience at the national and international levels, and bring their unique approach to each cross-cutting topic.

Manfred Nowak

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