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I. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL LEGAL NORMS AND STANDARDS ISTANBUL PROTOCOL

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the prevention of torture. These bodies include the States parties under the Convention. As stated in
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, its rules of procedure, the Commission’s principal
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the function is to promote the observance and defence
European Court of Human Rights, the European of human rights and to serve as an advisory body
Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman to the Organization of American States in this
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or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the African area. In fulfilling this function, the Commission
Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and has looked to the Inter-American Convention to
the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Prevent and Punish Torture to guide its interpretation
of what is meant by torture under article 5 of
(a) Inter-American system the American Convention on Human Rights.

59. Article I of the American Declaration of the Rights 62. Article 2 of the Inter-American Convention to
and Duties of Man states that: “Every human being Prevent and Punish Torture defines torture as:
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has the right to life, liberty and the security of his
person.” Article XXV of the Declaration provides any act intentionally performed whereby
that: “Every individual who has been deprived of his physical or mental pain or suffering is
liberty … has the right to humane treatment during inflicted on a person for purposes of criminal
the time he is in custody.” This is supplemented by investigation, as a means of intimidation, as
the prohibition in article XXVI of “cruel, infamous personal punishment, as a preventive measure,
or unusual punishment”. In 1959, the Organization as a penalty, or for any other purpose. Torture
of American States created the Inter-American shall also be understood to be the use of
Commission on Human Rights, which was vested methods upon a person intended to obliterate
with the mandate to examine individual cases the personality of the victim or to diminish his
against the organization’s member States in 1965. physical or mental capacities, even if they do
not cause physical pain or mental anguish.
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60. Article 5 of the American Convention
on Human Rights states that: 63. Under article 1 of the Inter-American Convention to
Prevent and Punish Torture, States parties undertake
1. Every person has the right to have his to prevent and punish torture in accordance with
physical, mental, and moral integrity respected. the terms of the Convention. Article 6 provides that
States must also take effective measures to prevent
2. No one shall be subjected to torture or to and punish ill-treatment within their jurisdiction. The
cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish
or treatment. All persons deprived of their Torture does not, however, provide a definition of
liberty shall be treated with respect for the such conduct or indicate the circumstances that
inherent dignity of the human person. distinguish ill-treatment from torture. The Inter-
American Court of Human Rights has indicated that
… the distinction rests in part on the severity of the
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treatment, but has maintained that the distinction
61. Article 33 of the American Convention on is not rigid and could evolve in light of growing
Human Rights provides competence to the Inter- demands for the protection of fundamental rights
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American Commission on Human Rights and and freedoms. Article 6 also establishes that States
the Inter-American Court of Human Rights with must ensure that torture is an offence under criminal
respect to the fulfilment of the obligations made by

92 American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (Bogotá, 2 May 1948).
93 The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is a judicial organ with a more limited mandate than that of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, as the former may
only decide cases brought against the Member States of the Organization of American States that have specifically accepted the contentious jurisdiction of the Court and
such cases must first be processed by the Commission. In addition, only States parties to the Convention and the Commission may refer cases to the Court.
94 Rules of procedure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, art. 1 (1).
95 The definition of torture provided in the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture differs from the definition provided in the Convention against Torture in three
aspects: (a) it does not make reference to “severity” as a qualification for torture; (b) it makes reference to “any other purpose” without qualifying such purpose as being based
on discrimination; and (c) it includes methods intended to obliterate the personality of victims or diminish their capacities, independently of whether such methods cause pain
or suffering. States that are parties to both treaties are obliged to apply the standards that most or better protect the right to be free from torture.
96 Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Loayza-Tamayo v. Peru, Judgment, 17 September 1997, para. 57.
97 Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Cantoral-Benavides v. Peru, Judgment, 18 August 2000, paras. 99–104.

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