Ensuring Justice for Torture Victims Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights enshrined the prohibition of torture in any and all circumstances as a cornerstone of the international human rights regime, and today the absolute prohibition against torture is considered a peremptory norm of both international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
The UN Convention Against Torture broadly defines torture as 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 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.
The international effort to address the evils of torture essentially consists of two pillars: The provision of support to the victims of torture; and a commitment to ensure that there can be no impunity for their torturers.