http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=126210
As long as the police remain enemies of democracy and the rule of law, and friends of those who abuse power and are corrupt, torture will remain a very important ingredient of policing in Asian countries.
FIGHTING TORTURE has been a long standing campaign of many human rights organisations the world over. Supreme Court directives, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) guidelines and official sanctions, have not deterred officials from inflicting torture on individuals in their custody.
Torture has become endemic in the police stations and prisons of
Though Indian government signed the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT) in October 1997, the violation continues and its perpetrators still for the most part enjoy impunity.
So far as many as 144 countries have ratified the CAT and only eight countries, including
Though torture is not specifically prohibited under the constitution, legal safeguards against torture are substantial in
Excluding areas of armed conflict, those who are particularly vulnerable to torture by police include those arrested in criminal investigations and those who have been arrested in order to force the surrender of relatives. The police use torture routinely as part of the investigative process, in order to extract confessions or information, or even to falsely incriminate other individuals.
It has been alleged that the pressure to meet high conviction rates causes police to use torture to extract confessions, which are more likely to produce a conviction in the case. But various studies establish that torture helps us to bring pressure on a person to agree to what we believe as true. In the process the causality is Truth.
Within the country there is public acknowledgment of the problem of torture and strong calls from many areas of society for an end to the practice. Recommendations to combat torture have been made at the highest level by members of the Law Commission, the National Police Commission, the Supreme Court, the NHRC and other bodies.
A broad range of non-governmental organisations campaigning for civil liberties, have been actively monitoring and publishing incidents of torture, and providing support for the victims seeking redress.
Amnesty International India (AII), along with other human rights organisations in the country, has launched a nation-wide movement called "Stamp Out Torture". Observing Anti-Torture day on June 26, it has demanded that the Government of India ratify the CAT, permit UN Special Reporter on Torture to visit
Amnesty International also urged to repeal security/anti-terror legislations that enable culture of torture and culture of impunity in situations of armed conflict.
Impunity is an important factor in the continuing use of torture. The authorities fail to take action against those who torture people, there is a lack of will in the judicial system and among officials to prosecute those responsible for torture; special laws and other measures are in place which give officials and security forces increased powers and protect them from the due process of law.
Amnesty International feels that the threat of terrorism is not new but it does indeed require law enforcement agencies to develop special skills and techniques in policing, investigation and intelligence, including international cooperation. This is needed to avert acts of terrorism, to protect the populations and to bring to justice those who commit or plan to commit such atrocities.
Such techniques need to address the new characteristics of international terrorism as it has developed in the 21st century, such as its use of computers and other new technology. That may require the use of new forensic methods and other law enforcement techniques, but it cannot justify the use of old methods such as torture and ill abuse.
Governments have a duty to protect the public and to take all reasonable steps to prevent acts of terrorism. But they also have a duty to do this within the framework of protecting the human rights of all. Human Rights groups should certainly stand with the victims of torture and terrorism and demands that they receive justice and reparation.
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) felt that to eliminate torture, police reform must be given a central place. Ratification of the UN human rights treaties makes no difference to the actual business of using the police as an instrument of brutality. The gap between the ideals proclaimed in constitutions and UN conventions and the day-to-day reality of the routine use of torture coexist. The legislature and even the judiciary of these countries have been unable to take a firm stand to reform and to modernise their police.
AHRC has observed that elimination of torture and the modernisation of police are two sides of the same coin. "As long as the police remain enemies of democracy and the rule of law, and friends of those who abuse power and are corrupt, torture will remain a very important ingredient of policing in Asian countries", it added.
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) deplored that the use of torture is widespread and is wrongly claimed by the police and other authorities as a necessary means to obtain information from suspects. In particular, the international climate of anti-terrorism has witnessed a disturbing trend towards justifying the use of torture in the name of `security', it said.
Amnesty International India director Mukul Sharma has stressed the need to formulate a comprehensive domestic law against torture. "Right to Life should mean and secure Right to Life with Dignity", he asserted.
Various studied found that the use of torture can never be justified, either legally or morally. Its effectiveness in preventing attacks by armed groups has never been proved.
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