Torture

Overview

Torture is the systematic and purposeful act of imposing severe pain and/or psychological distress on another individual over a prolonged time. International law further recognizes torture’s role in efforts to coerce, intimidate, and extract information or confessions to a crime from targeted individuals, typically as part of a law enforcement, espionage-related, or extrajudicial investigation. Perpetrators can also torture victims for discriminatory reasons or other political purposes. Freedom from Torture, a non-profit advocacy group based in the United Kingdom (UK), additionally acknowledges that governments and their representatives can implicitly sanction torture by failing to intervene in known cases of torture or deliberately putting people at risk of being tortured. Acts of torture can also be carried out in criminal contexts by non-state actors and private citizens.

Historians trace the origins of torture as an instrument of state power to the age of classical civilization, noting that artifacts from ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt portray scenes involving torture and other forms of corporal punishment. The Sumerian Code of Ur-Nammu, which dates to the twenty-first century BCE and ranks as the oldest surviving code of laws known to humankind, sanctions torture as a means of determining the innocence or guilt of individuals accused of certain criminal acts. The well-known Code of Hammurabi, which dates to Babylon circa the eighteenth century BCE, recognized the legal validity of a technique known as the water ordeal, which would be considered a form of torture by contemporary standards. These early legal codes both permitted torture on grounds known to scholars as divine authority, a concept that positions torture as a means of determining the will of the gods and positing that the gods will intervene to protect a person innocent of the crime of which they are accused. Torture was also used in both ancient Greece and Rome, though both civilizations reserved it primarily for use on enslaved individuals and other non-citizens.

The concept of the ordeal, established in ancient societies and recognized in the Code of Hammurabi and other early legal documents, was revived in medieval Europe and used to determine the guilt or innocence of a person accused of a serious crime. In these contexts, authorities used the accused individual’s reaction to exposure to severe pain as the primary basis for such judgments. During the European periods of the High (ca. 1000–ca 1300) and Late Middle Ages (ca. 1300–ca. 1500), the use of torture expanded dramatically. The High and Late Middle Ages witnessed the beginning of a series of investigations collectively known as the Inquisitions, which were carried out by the Roman Catholic Church. The nominal purpose of the Inquisitions was to identify and censure individuals and institutions engaging in what the Catholic Church considered heresy but also functioned to intimidate political opposition to Catholic authority. Inquisitors acting on behalf of the Catholic Church routinely subjected individuals under their scrutiny to brutal methods of torture, which had the effect of normalizing torture as a means of extracting a confession to a religious transgression or crime. By the post-medieval era of European history, torture had become institutionalized in justice proceedings in both religious and secular settings. Elaborate torture methods and devices were derived and deployed with casual regularity, often resulting in the death of the torture victim without ever determining their guilt or innocence according to the legal standards in place at the time.

Leading figures of European culture began to question and problematize torture on ethical and humanistic grounds during the Age of Enlightenment (ca. 1685–ca. 1815). The Enlightenment was defined by a complete reconfiguration of social and political values, with the gradual reforms it inspired eventually having the effect of prompting states to impose their own bans on torture as a justice strategy. For example, Scotland prohibited torture in 1708 and France did the same in the late stages of the French Revolution (1789–1799). By the early nineteenth century, most nations of Europe had withdrawn their official support for torture, and its use by state authorities largely ceased. Historical reviews of international scope note similar trends in most other parts of the world, with torture largely disappearing from civilized global society over the course of the nineteenth century.

Torture reemerged as a topic of international political concern in the twentieth century, especially during World War II (1939–1945) and its aftermath. The mass scope of the shocking atrocities committed by Axis powers including Germany and Japan made establishing a binding international code of human rights one of the primary orders of UN business following the organization’s 1945 establishment. Signatories to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976) reject torture and other forms of cruel or unusual punishment. In 1984, the UN adopted the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), which has come to serve as the primary international human rights standard regarding torture. As of 2022, a large majority of the UN’s membership has officially endorsed UNCAT, making the open, official, and state-sanctioned use of torture an extreme rarity in the twenty-first century.

Despite widespread prohibitions on torture and its emphatic rejection by the international community, torture continues to be used in many settings around the world. Contemporary methods still include exposing an individual to intense forms of physical agony but have also evolved to include psychological and sexual forms of torture. Documented psychological techniques include mock executions, extreme periods of sleep deprivation, relentless exposure to loud noises and/or bright lights, threats against the victim’s family members, and solitary confinement in uncomfortable positions in tight or confined spaces. Rape and other forms of sexualized humiliation also continue to be used as torture methods on victims of both sexes. Amnesty International, Freedom from Torture, and other advocacy groups note that many modern state-aligned perpetrators of torture carry out such acts at secret locations, with officials often denying the veracity of victim reports or otherwise discrediting victims, downplaying the severity of the torturous act or invoking national security as grounds for blocking public disclosures and transparent investigations.

Applications

In 2022, Freedom from Torture identified Sri Lanka, Iran, Afghanistan, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, and Cameroon as countries where disproportionate numbers of torture cases occur. By investigating cases involving torture survivors who reach the UK as refugees and asylum-seekers, Freedom from Torture has documented an ongoing trend of state-sanctioned torture as a tool of political oppression. In Sri Lanka, torture has secretly been used since the 2009 conclusion of the country’s civil war to target members of the Tamil ethnic minority on national security grounds. Since Iran’s Cultural Revolution (1980–1983), the Iranian government has used torture and other human rights violations to intimidate opponents of its theocratic government, suppress and silence dissent, and maintain tight control over the country’s conservative social and religious order. In Afghanistan, torture has been used by both opponents and supporters of the country’s Taliban regime of Islamist extremists, with such activity taking place during and following the US-led War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). Numerous African regimes use torture to enforce the will of their authoritarian governments, curtail anti-government activism, and deter rival political movements. Members of Turkey’s Kurdish minority have reported ongoing torture victimization since at least 1992, while ongoing violent conflicts in Iraq and Syria have contributed to acts of torture perpetrated by insurgent groups and governments alike. Freedom from Torture characterizes Egypt’s repression of political dissent under antiterrorism legislation as meeting the accepted international definition of torture, and the organization has also aided Egyptian clients who have been victimized by acts of torture based on their sexual orientation.

Reports of torture have also circulated in the media from the front lines of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which erupted into war following Russia’s 2022 invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The international nongovernment organization (NGO) Human Rights Watch published an account detailing the alleged war crimes carried out by Russian soldiers on Ukrainian civilians in occupied areas in May 2022. The account detailed thirty-one unlawful and summary executions of civilians and seven cases that the Human Rights Watch characterized as torture. Further reports claim that the Russian military has been carrying out acts of torture on Ukrainian prisoners of war. In October 2024, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine confirmed that Russia committing acts of torture in occupied territiories constituted a crime against humanity. Russia has denied all accusations of war crimes and human rights abuses while also leveling similar allegations at the Ukrainian military and government.

The governments of multiple leading Western nations including the United Kingdom and the United States have also been implicated in acts of torture since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. These reports mainly follow from antiterrorism investigations, with the UK using advanced torture techniques known in intelligence circles as the “English system” and the United States infamously adopting the use of what it refers to as “enhanced interrogation techniques.” These methods, primarily carried out on terrorism suspects at secret and international locations commonly known as “black sites,” were devised to leave few if any physical injuries or scars and instead exploit the victim’s fear and psychological distress to extract information. Observers note that Western governments have used a variety of techniques and technicalities to contravene international law, condone or deny acts of torture, or cast incidents as legitimate interrogations conducted in the interests of security.

Issues

The UN maintains the authority to investigate credible reports of state-sanctioned torture and enforce penalties through its affiliated human rights tribunals, which include the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the European Court of Human Rights. Investigatory jurisdiction rests primarily with the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, whose authority is recognized by all UN member states. The office of the Special Rapporteur can respond to emergency appeals for assistance by conducting country visits and reporting on findings. Another UN agency, the Committee against Torture (CAT), functions as the institutional body responsible for ensuring that signatory states honor their obligations under UNCAT. While the CAT and Special Rapporteur have been credited with successful anti-torture interventions, observers have also criticized the UN for its failure to take substantial or effective action in other cases. Such criticism notes that while torture is unequivocally considered both immoral and illegal by the overwhelming majority of UN member states, the legal mechanisms used to enforce related international laws lack an effective level of deterrence.

In a 2015 report celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of its founding, the US-based Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) responded to the actions taken by multiple Western militaries and intelligence agencies during the early phases of the so-called “War on Terror” that began following the September 11, 2001, attacks. Analyzing the many credible and confirmed reports of torture techniques used by Western governments during antiterrorism investigations, CVT noted that many high-ranking and influential political figures in Western democracies continue to believe that torture techniques are effective in recovering information of value from terrorism suspects. However, researchers widely believe that the intelligence acquired via torture-based interrogation is highly unreliable, with scientific studies conducted by recognized experts such as Trinity College Dublin neuroscientist Shane O’Mara presenting empirical evidence of torture’s ineffectiveness. Dissenting citizens of countries that have engaged in acts of torture in antiterrorism contexts also report an accompanying breakdown of faith in their governments, with a 2019 survey by Pew Research Center finding that 75 percent of US respondents believe their fellow citizens have experienced an overall decline in their trust of government institutions over the course of the post-9/11 era. A 2024 Pew survey reported that only 22 percent of US adults said they trusted the federal government to do the right thing always or most of the time.

In May 2022, the CAT concluded its seventy-third session by adopting reports submitted by delegates representing Cuba, Iceland, Iraq, Kenya, Montenegro, and Uruguay. Representatives of these countries were responding to their obligations as signatories to further develop their implementation of UNCAT in response to concerns based on the treatment of individuals in contact with their criminal justice systems, and in regard to human rights abuses occurring in the context of political demonstrations and anti-government activism. The proceedings highlighted the potential of countries from across the economic development spectrum to engage in actions that contravene the terms of UNCAT.

Bibliography

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Innes, Brian. The History of Torture. Amber Books, 2012.

O’Mara, S. Why Torture Doesn’t Work: The Neuroscience of Interrogation. Harvard University Press, 2015.

Rainie, L., and A. Perrin. “Key Findings About Americans’ Declining Trust in Government and Each Other.” Pew Research Center, 22 July 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/22/key-findings-about-americans-declining-trust-in-government-and-each-other/. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.

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“Torture.” International Justice Resource Center, ijrcenter.org/thematic-research-guides/torture/. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.

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“What Is Torture?” Freedom from Torture, 12 July 2023, www.freedomfromtorture.org/news-and-stories/what-is-torture. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.

“Where Does Torture Happen Around the World?” Freedom from Torture, 12 July 2023, www.freedomfromtorture.org/news/where-does-torture-happen-around-the-world. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.