Page 29 - ประมวลสรุปความรู้เกี่ยวกับพิธีสารอิสตันบูลและพิธีสารมินนิโซตา

FOREWORD

In 2001, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
(OHCHR) published the first edition of the Istanbul Protocol, which was subsequently
updated in 2004. It has since been used in medico-legal and other contexts worldwide
as a valuable practical tool to effectively guide the investigation and documentation
of torture and ill-treatment, protection of victims and advocacy work of civil society
on behalf of victims. Building on years of experience of using the Istanbul Protocol in
practice, practitioners and academics worldwide have now collected their experiences,
identified good practices and highlighted the lessons learned from its use, limitations,
misinterpretation or even deliberate misuse. This rich collective effort has helped to
further reflect advances in the understanding of the practices and effects of torture and
ill-treatment, resulting in a comprehensive update of the Istanbul Protocol.

I am therefore pleased to present the 2022 edition of the Istanbul Protocol, which
builds upon the previous 2004 edition. This multi-stakeholder and multidisciplinary
road map is based on a large-scale international consultation that was carried out
by more than 180 experts, including health, legal and human rights professionals
from all regions of the world. Based on relevant provisions of international law, it
provides even more concrete, clearly defined and well-understood guidelines to assist
Member States, national human rights institutions, national preventive mechanisms,
civil society, legal and health professionals and other relevant experts in implementing
the Istanbul Protocol standards.

This new edition is the result of the cooperation among civil society, practitioners,
academics and members of all United Nations anti-torture mechanisms, namely the
Committee against Torture, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Special Rapporteur
on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the
United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. The concerns of victims and a
gender-based approach are placed at the centre of the revised version.

Despite good examples of legal, policy and institutional progress in law and practice,
the work to combat and prevent torture is far from finished. A continuous commitment
from every State is required to ensure that the legal safeguards preventing torture
and ill-treatment are fully and properly implemented, that accountability for such
violations is guaranteed and that the victims are provided with full and adequate
reparations. The new edition of the Istanbul Protocol is a valuable tool to combat and
prevent torture and an essential reference to elaborate and implement policies, as well
as to train and guide a wide spectrum of actors working with victims of torture.

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