who should determine what is torture acceptable treatment

When is torture acceptable?

Dec 22, 2007 · Under the second, torture is wrong because torturing a person for information is to use them as a means only. (Turner, 2005: 15) Thus Kant’s logic leads to the conclusion that torture cannot be justified under any circumstances. The individual who chooses not to torture makes the correct moral decision regarding their actions despite the ...

Does torture work to get information?

The proscription of torture places great pressure on us to define what is torture, and what are merely relatively acceptable forms of cruel and degrading treatment. Victims and perpetrators are both likely to misdescribe what has happened between them, emphasizing the need for clarity if we are to proscribe torture but allow other forms of significant interrogation.

Can a person be charged with torture under Article 1?

Torture is the act of deliberately hurting someone, physically or psychologically, as a punishment or as means of obtaining some information. Although in decline after the Second World War, torture continues to be used not only in dictatorships but also in some democracies. Some claim that torture may be a necessary evil to guarantee peace and ...

What constitutes torture under the Torture Convention?

Torture violates the concept of humanitarian treatment and under no circumstance should it be permissible. Let us, as Americans, also think about what kind of people torture makes us. Most people cannot watch interrogation because it conflicts with our feelings of humanity. The offence to torture begins with the fact that victims can and ...

Who defines torture?

'Torture' means the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, upon a person in the custody or under the control of the accused; except that torture shall not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

Who signed the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or punishment?

The text of the Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1984 and, following ratification by the 20th state party, it came into force on 26 June 1987....United Nations Convention against Torture.Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentParties173DepositaryUN Secretary-General11 more rows

Under what circumstances is torture acceptable?

Torture is a crime under international law. According to all relevant instruments, it is absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances.

Do utilitarians support torture?

Rule utilitarians conclude that torture must be banned unconditionally for two reasons. First, the benefits of allowing some torture are marginal and uncertain, while the costs are substantial, given the distinct likelihood of unnecessary torture.

Which act of Parliament states no one shall be subjected to torture inhuman or degrading treatment?

Article 3 of the Human Rights Convention protects people against torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment. It states simply: No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.Apr 25, 2017

Is torture morally acceptable?

Naturally, someone might hold that killing is an absolute moral wrong, i.e., killing anyone – no matter how guilty – is never morally justified. This view is consistent with holding that torture is an absolute moral wrong, i.e. torturing anyone – no matter how guilty – is never morally justified.Feb 7, 2006

What does no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment mean?

Your right not to be tortured or treated in an inhuman or degrading way is absolute. This means it must never be limited or restricted in any way. For example, a public authority can never use lack of resources as a defence against an accusation that it has treated someone in an inhuman or degrading way.Jun 3, 2021

How do you believe a utilitarian would view the use of torture?

A utilitarian thinker may believe, when the overall outcome of lives saved due to torture are positive, torture can be justified; the intended outcome of an action is held as the primary factor in determining its merit or morality.

Which is the best utilitarian defense of torture?

Which is the best utilitarian defense of torture? It might prevent much greater death or destruction. What is the paradox of hedonism? The harder you look for pleasure, the more it is likely to elude you.

Would Kant approve of torture?

Under Kant's practical imperative, using any individual as a means to an end is immoral. Therefore, torture is immoral under Kant's practical imperative on the grounds that it treats the suspect as a means in order to satisfy the goal of the interrogators.

Is torture ever acceptable?

Torture is the act of deliberately hurting someone, physically or psychologically, as a punishment or as means of obtaining some information. Although in decline after the Second World War, torture continues to be used not only in dictatorships but also in some democracies.

Torture pros and cons

We summarize some of the most commonly cited advantages and disadvantages of the utilization of torture techniques such as waterboarding to extract information:

What are the reasons for torture?

Convention identifies four reasons for torture, namely: (1) to obtain a confession; (2) to obtain information; (3) to punish; (4) to coerce the sufferer or others to act in certain ways.

Is torture considered inhumane?

In various national and international laws, e.g., Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (United Nations 1984 – see Other Internet Resources), a distinction is made between torture and inhumane treatment, albeit torture is a species of inhumane treatment.

Is torture a form of coercion?

No doubt the threat of torture, and torture in its preliminary stages, simply functions as a form of coercion in this sense. However, torture proper has as its starting point the failure of coercion, or that coercion is not even going to be attempted.

Is torture morally wrong?

In terms of the above definition of torture there are at least two things that are inherently morally wrong with torture. Firstly, torture consists in part in the intentional infliction of severe physical suffering – typically, severe pain; that is, torture hurts very badly.

Is torture worse than murder?

Certainly, tortur ing an innocent person to death is worse than murder, for it involves torture in addition to murder. On the other hand, torture does not necessarily involve killing, let alone murder, and indeed torturers do not necessarily have the power of life and death over their victims.

Is torture morally justified?

Accordingly, the assumption is that the routine use of torture is not morally justified; so if it turned out that the routine use of torture was necessary to, say, win the war on terrorism, then some of what is said here would not be to the point. However, liberal democratic governments and security agencies have not even begun to exhaust the political strategies, and the military/police tactics short of the routine use of torture, available to them to combat terrorism.

Can torture be justified?

debates. living. can the use of torture be justified? Officially a thing of the dark ages, torture is still used today. Many prisoners of war are tortured for information, as are suspects in malicious crimes. Yet, according to the Geneva Conventions, “torture, cruel or inhuman treatment and outrages upon personal dignity” is legally prohibited.

What does "all's fair in love and war" mean?

All’s fair in love and war. In times of war, armies may do whatever necessary in order to save their country. By the very act of enlisting in military combat, a soldier has agreed to put his life on the line and die for his people if that’s what’s required of him — and suffering from torture can be a facet of that.

Is torture acceptable?

Torture is acceptable if it can save the lives of fellow citizens in “ ticking-bomb ” scenarios. Whether it’s an issue of national security or the potential death of a kidnapped toddler, torture might be the only means of eliciting crucial information fast enough to rescue the people at risk.

What is the challenge of interrogation?

The challenge of interrogation is not ‘to make people talk’; instead, it is to obtain precise and credible information. ”. [1] Neurological science also shows that torture and abuse are ineffective ways to interrogate prisoners.

Does interrogation involve torture?

As noted above, effective interrogation does not involve torture or abuse. Getting accurate information from detainees is the most certain way to disrupt plots and stop attacks. The often-cited “ticking time bomb” situation is no exception, and resorting to torture in these cases causes “the abuse [to] spread like wildfire, and every captured prisoner [becomes] the key to defusing a potential ticking time bomb … the rare exception fast becoming the rule,” according to former U.S. Marine Corps Commandant General Charles C. Krulak and former U.S. CENTCOM Commander General Joseph P. Hoar. [6]

What is the hypothetical of a ticking bomb?

The “ticking bomb” hypothetical is often cited in discussions on torture. Many people believe that in such a situation, agents should do anything they can to find the bomb, including torturing the terrorist. Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard law professor, believes that in real life, torture would be used.

When was the torture convention passed?

The Torture Convention, adopted by the United Nations in 1984, extended the ban on torture to all persons. This international agreement obliges the signing nations to prevent any act of torture against anyone within its jurisdiction and to prosecute violators in its courts.

Who was the attorney general of the United States in 2004?

In November 2004, President Bush nominated Alberto Gonzales to be the attorney general. (A couple of months later, the Senate confirmed him.) At his confirmation hearing, he stated that the Torture Convention’s ban on cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment did not apply to non-U.S. citizens held overseas.

Is torture wrong?

Some believe that torture is absolutely wrong and the end (saving lives) cannot justify the means (torture). Georgetown law professor David Cole questions whether the “ticking bomb” scenario could ever exist in real life: “There’s an inevitable uncertainty.

What are the two most important international agreements?

Two of the most important agreements were (1) the Geneva Conventions and (2) the Torture Convention (the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment). In 1949, the United Nations adopted the Geneva Conventions, a series of international agreements.

Was the Taliban a government?

Gonzales wrote that the Taliban was “in fact, not a government but a militant, terrorist-like group.”. He added that the “war on terrorism” required “the ability to quickly obtain information from captured terrorists.”. This new reality “renders obsolete Geneva’s strict limitations on questioning enemy prisoners.”.

What is torture in the United States?

Article 1 defines torture as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person . . . .”. The Torture Convention excludes “lawful acts” such as imprisonment and capital punishment resulting from a nation’s criminal justice procedures.

What did Bush say about torture?

During his State of the Union address, President Bush spoke about the horrifying torture techniques Saddam Hussein has inflicted on prisoners in Iraq. He described the use of electric shock, burning with hot irons, acid, and rape.

When was torture banned?

In 1948 , following the horrific abuses of World War II, the General Assembly of the United Nations inserted the prohibition against torture in the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 5 states: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.".

Is torture a federal crime?

Although there is no single federal law specifically criminalizing torture, the United States has insisted that existing federal and state laws render illegal any act falling with the Convention against Torture's definition of torture. In the United States, most criminal laws are state rather than federal.

What is the right to be free from torture?

of the absolute, unequivocal prohibition against torture or other cruel, inhuman. or degrading treatment of any person, including terrorist suspects. The right. to be free from such mistreatment is one of the most fundamental and unequivocal. human rights.

Is it possible to remain silent during interrogation?

The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution also affirms the right against self-incrimination. This right has been interpreted to include the right to remain silent during custodial interrogations, regardless of whether the information sought would be incriminating. There are only extremely limited exceptions to the right to remain silent. For example, the threat of imprisonment can be used to lawfully compel a witness to speak in grand jury proceedings provided the witness has been granted some form of immunity, i.e. protection against having the testimony used against him in subsequent criminal proceedings. But these exceptions to the right against self-incrimination do not in any sense permit violations of the separate right to be free of torture. Torture is never permitted to overcome a witness's desire to remain silent.

What is Human Rights Watch?

In this paper, Human Rights Watch provides an overview of the international and national prohibitions against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, with a focus on the prohibition as it applies to the interrogation of detainees.

Is torture a human rights violation?

Under customary international law as well as underinternational human rights treaties, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is prohibited at all times and in all circumstances. It is a non-derogable right, one of those core rights that may never be suspended, even during times of war, when national security is threatened, or during other public emergencies.

What is a prohibition in law?

You will need to consider the prohibition if you are working on legislation, a policy or a program that: creates new powers or modifies existing powers for public officials such as police, intelligence or security agency officials, military personnel or immigration or customs officials.

Is torture an absolute right?

The prohibition on torture is an absolute right. This means it cannot be limited or qualified under any circumstance. For further information see the additional information sheet on Absolute Rights.

What is the law that applies to armed conflict?

However, during armed conflict, international humanitarian law , as the body of law that applies specially to the circumstances of armed conflict, is the relevant standard under which compliance with these international human rights standards is assessed.

What is the purpose requirement?

The 'purpose' requirement is interpreted broadly, and in almost all circumstances the infliction of severe pain or suffering by a public official or other person acting in an official capacity would always be prohibited.

Is punishment degrading?

Punishment may be regarded as degrading if, for instance , it entails a degree of humiliation beyond the level usually involved in pun ishment. Government use of privately run detention facilities does not absolve it of the responsibility to ensure that acts of torture or other ill treatment do not occur in the facilities.

What are some examples of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment?

Examples of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment include acts carried out by police officers using excessive force, such as using restraints where they are not required, using a weapon to punish an offender for not cooperating or unduly prolonged detention that causes mental harm.

Can you be subjected to torture?

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.

Definition of Torture

• Torture includes such practices as searing with hot irons, burning atthe stake, electric shock treatment to the genitals, cutting out partsof the body, e.g., tongue, entrails or genitals, severe beatings,suspending by the legs with arms tied behind back, applyingthumbscrews, inserting a needle under the fingernails, drillingthrough an unanesthetize...

See more on plato.stanford.edu

What Is Inherently Wrong with Torture?

The Moral Justification For One-Off Acts of Torture in Emergencies

The Moral Justification For Legalised and Institutionalised Torture