What is Torture?

“For the purposes of this Convention, the term 'torture' means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.” 

Paragraph 1, Article 1, The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

There are many international treaties and documents that address torture, and of them this is the best definition of torture that I have found. Allow me to break this definition for you:

"For the purposes of this Convention, the term 'torture' means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental..."

It's not difficult to understand the physical side of torture. You can easily find descriptions of medieval and modern of torture. Note the prevalence of electricity in the modern methods. The use of electricity has probably changed our world more than any single other invention, and we see that is being used to inflict some of the worst horror in our world. Also note that we have photographic evidence that the technique of binding a person's arms behind their back and elevating their arms was used at Abu Ghraib. Traditionally, victims have been hung by their arms in such a position, often resulting in the dislocation of the shoulders. I suppose I am "glad" that these images do not show that, but what they do show is not much better.

What about mental suffering? Mock executions, the use of dogs to create fear, the exploitation of phobias, and other techniques designed to induce mental stress can have as long-lasting effects as physical methods of torture.


"...is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person..."

In 2004, Michael Hirsh reported in Newsweek that an Iraqi General's son was wet down and forced to shiver in the cold in order to get his father to reveal information to American forces. This information was later verified in a sworn statement by personnel from the 302nd Military Intelligence Battalion, in documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) under the Freedom of Information Act. This portion of the definition of torture acknowledges that when a person is forced to witness the physical suffering of their children, parents, siblings, friends, and other loved ones, it can be even more effective than torture inflicted on the victim.


"...information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind..."

The definition lists six motivations for torture:

• To obtain information
• To obtain a confession for acts already committed
• Punishment for an act already committed
• Intimidation
• Coercion
• Any reason based on discrimination of any kind

I will return to some of these motivations for torture in later posts, particularly its use as an interrogation tool. The latter reasons for torture emphasize that the torture of individuals in a community is an extremely useful tool for intimidating that community at large, and in these cases its use is typically a political tool.

In her book Truth, Torture, and the American Way Jennifer Harbury describes the torture of the indigenous Guatemalan and El Salvadoran populations and the peasant Honduran population at the hands of their own governments. Jack Donnelley describes other brutalization in Chile, Uruguay, and Argentina in the fourth chapter of his book International Human Rights. Donnelley describes the use of torture against a large population for political purposes:

“The metaphor of disease was also common. ‘Subversives’ were an infection, the armed forces the nation’s antibodies. An infected member of the body politic had to be isolated (detained) to stop the spread of the disease. If treatment was possible, so much the better—although even a cure might be painful (torture). If the member was beyond repair, though, permanent surgical removal (death) was demanded. What mattered was the long-run health of the body politic.”

"...when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity..."

Torture inflicted by a private citizen for personal purposes is still torture, but it is not a human rights issue so long as the behavior is criminal under the laws of the country and prosecuted to the greatest extent possible. The U.N. Convention against Torture requires that “Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offenses under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture” (Paragraph 1, Article 4).

Torture becomes a human rights issue when it is carried out by a public official or a person acting in an official capacity for the state. Because our current international political system is that of sovereignty, we have few tools to enforce a ban against torture committed against private citizens by their government. The U.N. Convention against Torture, other international treaties, and Non-Governmental Organizations are the tools that we have to fight torture, and I will discuss them in later posts.


"...It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions."

This is an important caveat because there are many lawful sanctions that result in both mental and physical pain and suffering. For example, while the prison systems of many countries need significant change to ensure the safety and rehabilitation of inmates, we do not object to imprisonment per se on the grounds that it causes mental suffering. Another example of pain and suffering arising from lawful sanctions would be pain caused during the detainment of an individual. While law enforcement officials should strive to detain individuals in the least violent manner possible, a suspect's actions sometimes require that they use force that causes pain. This is not torture because it is incidental to the lawful requirement to detain individuals suspected of crimes.


This has been a rather long post, but I hope it helps you better understand the definition of torture and its characteristics as a human rights issue.


Resources:
Warning: Some links contains explicit and disturbing images.
The United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The Abu Ghraib Prison Photos
Abu Ghraib: 'Breaking' a General
ACLU FOIA Files Released 10 March 2005 - Search for "DOD 863-864"
When I Die...They'll Send Me Home