Torture: vilest act of humans - EDITORIAL

he United Nations has declared today as the International Day Against Torture and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a statement has urged States that have not yet done so to ratify the Convention against Torture, which this year marks 30 years since its adoption. “As we honour the victims on this International Day, let us pledge to strengthen our efforts to eradicate this heinous practice,” he adds.

The UN has said, torture seeks to annihilate the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being. The UN has condemned torture from the outset as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on their fellow human beings.

Torture is a crime under international law. According to all relevant instruments, it is absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances. This prohibition forms part of customary international law, which means that it is binding on every member of the international community, regardless of whether a State has ratified international treaties in which torture is expressly prohibited. The systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity.

On December 12, 1997, by resolution 52/149, the UN General Assembly proclaimed June 26 the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a view to the total eradication of torture and the effective functioning of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which entered into force on June 26, 1987.

Maintaining close links with torture victims is the starting point for any serious work on torture. The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says that in Sri Lanka it works with six groups in different parts of the country. These groups receive victims, record complaints, assist in lodging complaints, help with physical and psychological treatment, provide solidarity and community-based witness protection and humanitarian assistance, and assist these persons in numerous other ways.

The AHRC says that through long years of work on torture in Sri Lanka it has found that Police torture is endemic and routine. Torture is often not done to extract information but for other reasons, such as to find substitutes for unresolved crimes, show results to superiors, or for statistical purposes. It also occurs with frequency due to habits that encourage the use of force on anyone arrested, due to feelings of the arresting officer that he is not being paid proper respect, or for reasons of extracting money and favours. In most cases, the AHRC says the victims are poor, with very few influential social connections. Officers in charge of police stations condone torture and often engage in it themselves. Often they try to cover up incidents of torture when complaints emerge. The departmental orders for police have extensive rules to prevent torture but these are largely ignored.

Currently, the burden of prevention rests heavily on civil society. The AHRC says its support for victims is the only means available to keep interest alive and obtain some redress through prolonged actions in courts, under severe harassment. The only form of witness protection is that offered through the community. Still, many individuals and groups have willingly faced difficulties involved in providing support for torture victims and maintained public discussion on the prevention of torture.

The people are interested to participate in discussion on torture and related problems. However, both state and private media are actively discouraged by the government authorities from giving serious attention to this problem. Human rights groups and others working with victims have had to work out how to communicate efficiently and keep the debate alive. The AHRC says its experience shows that this is possible despite limitations.

So it is clear that torture is the most degrading and disgraceful form of human behaviour. Worse still, it is perpetrated mainly against the poor, as we saw in Sunday night’s alleged Police attack on a poor family at Obeysekarapura in Rajagiriya, the destruction of their house and the arrest of the young man who was attacked by the Police themselves. Sri Lanka is facing a major international crisis over human rights issues and the Government needs to act fast and firmly to clear up the torture record.