Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

A/RES/58/164No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 117aImplementation of human rights instruments, published in 2004.

What other versions does this mandate have?

30 versions · 1977–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/198

2025A/RES/80/198Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/209Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/143Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/163Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentCompare with previous version
2016A/RES/70/146Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What does this mandate say?

32 operative paragraphs

Condemns all forms of torture, including through intimidation, as described in article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

Urges all Governments to promote the full implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993,5 and stresses in particular that all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment should be promptly and impartially examined by the competent national authority, that those who encourage, order, tolerate or perpetrate acts of torture must be held responsible and severely punished, including the officials in charge of the place of detention where the prohibited act is found to have been committed, and that national legal systems should ensure that the victims of such acts obtain redress, are awarded fair and adequate compensation and receive appropriate social and medical rehabilitation, and encourages the development of rehabilitation centres for victims of torture;

Takes note of the Principles on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment annexed to its resolution 55/89 of 4 December 2000 as a useful tool in efforts to combat torture;

Urges Governments to take effective measures to provide redress and to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including their gender-based manifestations;

Stresses that, under article 4 of the Convention, torture must be made an offence under domestic criminal law, and emphasizes that acts of torture are serious violations of international humanitarian law and that the perpetrators are liable to prosecution and punishment;

Notes with appreciation that one hundred and thirty-four States have become parties to the Convention, and urges all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the Convention as a matter of priority;

Invites all States ratifying or acceding to the Convention and those States that are parties to the Convention and have not yet done so to consider joining the States parties that have already made the declarations provided for in articles 21 and 22 of the Convention and to consider the possibility of withdrawing their reservations to article 20;

Urges all States parties to the Convention to notify the Secretary-General of their acceptance of the amendments to articles 17 and 18 of the Convention as soon as possible;

Urges States parties to comply strictly with their obligations under the Convention, including, in view of the high number of reports not submitted, their obligation to submit reports in accordance with article 19 of the Convention, and invites States parties to incorporate a gender perspective and information concerning children and juveniles when submitting reports to the Committee against Torture;

Emphasizes the obligation of States parties under article 10 of the Convention to ensure education and training for personnel who may be involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment;

Stresses, in this context, that States must not punish personnel referred to in paragraph 10 above for not obeying orders to commit or conceal acts amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;

Calls upon States parties to consider signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 57/199 of 18 December 2002, which provides further measures for use in the fight against and the prevention of torture, and notes in this context that ratifications by twenty States parties are required for the Optional Protocol to enter into force, and that twenty-one States have already signed the Protocol and two States have ratified it;

Calls upon all Governments to take appropriate effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent and prohibit the production, trade, export and use of equipment that is specifically designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;

Welcomes the work of the Committee against Torture and the report of the Committee, submitted in accordance with article 24 of the Convention;

Calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in conformity with his mandate established in General Assembly resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993, to continue to provide, at the request of Governments, advisory services for the preparation of national reports to the Committee and for the prevention of torture, as well as technical assistance in the development, production and distribution of teaching material for this purpose;

Urges States parties to take fully into account the conclusions and recommendations made by the Committee after its consideration of their reports;

Notes with appreciation the interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of torture, describing the overall trends and developments with regard to his mandate, and encourages the Special Rapporteur to continue to include in his recommendations proposals on the prevention and investigation of torture;

Invites the Special Rapporteur to continue to examine questions of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment directed against women, and conditions conducive to such torture, and to make appropriate recommendations for the prevention and redress of gender-specific forms of torture, including rape or any other form of sexual violence, and to exchange views with the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on violence against women, its causes and consequences, with the aim of enhancing further their effectiveness and mutual cooperation;

Also invites the Special Rapporteur to continue to consider questions relating to the torture of children and conditions conducive to such torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and to make appropriate recommendations for the prevention of such torture;

Calls upon all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his task, to supply all necessary information requested by the Special Rapporteur, to respond appropriately and expeditiously to his urgent appeals and to give serious consideration to requests by the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries, and urges them to enter into a constructive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur in following up his recommendations;

Reiterates the need for the Special Rapporteur to be able to respond effectively, in particular to urgent appeals, to credible and reliable information that comes before him, and invites the Special Rapporteur to continue to seek the views and comments of all concerned, in particular Member States;

Requests the Special Rapporteur to continue to consider including in his report information on the follow-up by Governments to his recommendations, visits and communications, including progress made and problems encountered;

Stresses the need for the continued regular exchange of views among the Committee against Torture, the Special Rapporteur and other relevant United Nations mechanisms and bodies, as well as for the pursuance of cooperation with relevant United Nations programmes, notably the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme, with a view to enhancing further their effectiveness and cooperation on issues relating to torture, inter alia, by improving their coordination;

Expresses its gratitude and appreciation to the Governments, organizations and individuals that have already contributed to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture;

Stresses the importance of the work of the Board of Trustees of the Fund, and appeals to all Governments and organizations to contribute annually to the Fund, preferably by 1 March before the annual meeting of the Board, if possible with a substantial increase in the level of contributions, so that consideration may be given to the ever-increasing demand for assistance;

Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to all Governments the appeals of the General Assembly for contributions to the Fund and to continue to include the Fund on an annual basis among the programmes for which funds are pledged at the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities;

Also requests the Secretary-General to assist the Board of Trustees of the Fund in its appeal for contributions and in its efforts to make better known the existence of the Fund and the financial means currently available to it, as well as in its assessment of the global need for international funding of rehabilitation services for victims of torture and, in this effort, to make use of all existing possibilities, including the preparation, production and dissemination of information materials;

Further requests the Secretary-General to ensure, within the overall budgetary framework of the United Nations, the provision of adequate staff and facilities for the bodies and mechanisms involved in combating torture and assisting victims of torture, commensurate with the strong support expressed by Member States for combating torture and assisting victims of torture;

Invites donor countries and recipient countries to consider including in their bilateral programmes and projects relating to the training of armed forces, security forces, prison and police personnel and health-care personnel matters relating to the protection of human rights and the prevention of torture, while bearing in mind a gender perspective;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission on Human Rights at its sixtieth session and to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session a report on the status of the Convention and a report on the operations of the Fund;

Calls upon all Governments, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other United Nations bodies and agencies, as well as relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to commemorate, on 26 June, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture;

Decides to consider at its fifty-ninth session the reports of the Secretary-General, including the report on the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, the report of the Committee against Torture and the interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of torture.

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Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

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