Chapter 8 • International Legal Standards for the Protection of Persons Deprived of Their Liberty life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons”, and, in particular, murder, torture, corporal punishment and mutilation. The peremptory nature both of the right to life and of the right to freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is moreover underlined by the fact that these rights cannot be derogated from under international human rights law even in the gravest of crisis situations. This is made clear by article 4(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 27(2) of the American Convention on Human Rights and article 15(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights. Article 2(2) of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment also provides that “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture”. Moreover, article 5 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture adds that “neither the dangerous character of the detainee or prisoner, nor the lack of security of the prison establishment or penitentiary shall justify torture”. The fundamental nature of the prohibition of torture is further underlined by the fact that, according to article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, torture constitutes a crime against humanity “when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack”. “Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments” also constitute war crimes and grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions for the purpose of the same Statute (art. 8(2)(a)(ii)). In addition to this multitude of international legal rules, recourse to torture is often prohibited at the domestic level. The existence of torture is thus not a legal problem per se, but rather one of implementation of the law, that poses a true challenge to the world community. 2.2 Legal responsibilities of States Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”, and, in particular, that “no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation”. In its General Comment No. 20, the Human Rights Committee explained that the aim of this article “is to protect both the dignity and the physical and mental integrity of the individual”.1 It emphasized, furthermore, that “it is the duty of the State party to afford everyone protection through legislative and other measures as may be necessary against the acts prohibited by article 7, whether inflicted by people acting in their official capacity, outside their official capacity or in a private capacity”.2 The prohibition in article 7 “is complemented by the positive requirements of article 10, paragraph 1, of the Covenant, which 1 United Nations Compilation of General Comments, p. 139, para. 2. 2 Ibid., loc. cit. Human Rights in the Administration of Justice: A Manual on Human Rights for Judges, Prosecutors and Lawyers 319