Chapter 8 • International Legal Standards for the Protection of Persons Deprived of Their Liberty
treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment
must receive appropriate instruction and training.”66
As indicated above, and as explained in Chapters 4 and 7, confessions may not
be obtained by illegal means such as torture or other forms of ill-treatment or human
rights violations. Guideline 16 of the Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors provides
that prosecutors “shall refuse to use such evidence against anyone other than those
who used such methods, or inform the Court accordingly, and shall take all necessary
steps to ensure that those responsible for using such methods are brought to justice”
(for a similar rule, see also art. 15 of the Convention against Torture).
States have a legal duty under international law to take effective
legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures to prevent acts
of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
States also have a legal duty to investigate promptly and
effectively alleged instances of torture and other forms of ill-treatment
and to provide effective remedies to alleged victims of such
treatment.
To grant immunity to perpetrators of torture or other forms of
ill-treatment is incompatible with States’ legal duty to prevent,
investigate and remedy human rights violations.
Every person has the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and this right must be
guaranteed at all times, and cannot be derogated from even in public
emergencies threatening the life of the nation.
In general, it can be said that torture is a particularly severe form of
ill-treatment aimed either at obtaining confessions or information from a
person or punishing or intimidating him or her. It is committed by a
public official, or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence
of such official or other person acting in an official capacity.
Sexual abuse in the form of rape, committed by public officials, has
been considered to constitute a form of torture.
The right to freedom from ill-treatment comprises the prohibition on
corporal punishment and, as a minimum, medical and scientific
experimentation that has not been freely consented to.
All persons deprived of their liberty must also be treated with respect for
the inherent dignity of the human person.
Law enforcement officials and medical personnel are strictly forbidden to
resort to torture and other forms of ill-treatment at any time. Confessions
obtained by such treatment must be disregarded by prosecutors and
judges.
66 United Nations Compilation of General Comments, p. 140, para. 10; emphasis added.
Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers
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