Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

Condemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through intimidation, which are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and calls upon all States to implement fully the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; condemns any action or attempt by States or public officials to legalize, authorize or acquiesce in torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under any circumstances, including on grounds of national security or through judicial decisions; strongly urges States to ensure that no statement that is established to have been made as a result of torture is invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made; urges States not to expel, return ("refouler"), extradite or in any other way transfer a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture; urges all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the Convention as a matter of priority, and calls upon States parties to give early consideration to signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention; urges all States parties to the Convention that have not yet done so to make the declarations provided for in articles 21 and 22 concerning inter-State and individual communications, to consider the possibility of withdrawing their reservations to article 20, and to notify the Secretary-General of their acceptance of the amendments to articles 17 and 18 with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of the Committee against Torture as soon as possible; urges States parties to comply strictly with their obligations under the Convention; requests the Special Rapporteur to continue to consider including in his report information on the follow-up by States to his recommendations, visits and communications, including progress made and problems encountered, and on other official contacts; requests the Secretary-General to continue to transmit to all States the appeals of the General Assembly for contributions to the Funds; further requests the Secretary-General to ensure the provision of adequate staff and facilities for the bodies and mechanisms involved in preventing and combating torture and assisting victims of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Adopted without vote, 65th plenary meeting

6 p.

Issued in GAOR, 64th sess., Suppl. no. 49.