Tackling Torture: Prevention in Practice

Human Rights › International Law

Tackling Torture: Prevention in Practice

By Malcolm Evans
Bristol University Press September 2023

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781529225693
Publisher
Bristol University Press
Publication
September 2023
Format
Paperback
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

How big a problem is torture? Are the right things being done to prevent it? What does the UN do, and why does is appear at times to be so impotent in the face of torture?

In this vitally important work, Malcolm Evans tells the story of torture prevention under international law, setting out what is really taking place in places of detention around the world. Challenging assumptions about torture’s root causes, he calls for what is needed to enable us to be in a better position to bring about change.

The author draws on over ten years’ experience as the Chair of the United Nations Sub-Committee for Prevention of Torture to give a frank account of the remarkable capacities of this system, what it has achieved in practice, what it has not been able to achieve – and most importantly, why.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Part I: The Solution
Chapter 1: What is Torture?
Introduction
The Definition of Torture in International Law
Avoiding the Stigma of Torture
Chapter 2: Why Prevention?
Introduction
The Thresholds
The Danger of Thresholds
The Never-ending Question
The Obligation to Prevent Torture
Chapter 3: Establishing the OPCAT
Introduction
The Background
The Road to a Result
The Accidental OPCAT
Chapter 4: What the OPCAT Requires
Introduction
The Basic Principles of the OPCAT System
Deprivation of Liberty
The SPT
From Theory to Practice
Chapter 5: The Visiting Mandate of the SPT
Introduction
A System of Regular Visits?
Visits to Where?
Practical Constraints
Announcing Visits
The Aftermath of a Visit
Chapter 6: The SPT and National Preventive Mechanisms
Introduction
The Protean Forms of an NPM
Working with NPMs
‘Egregiously Overdue’
Accentuating the Positive

Part II: The Problem
Chapter 7: Visits: An Insider’s Story
Introduction
From Theory to Practice
Bananas
Dealing with the Expected and the Unexpected
The Power of the Protocol
Chapter 8: Accepting the Unacceptable
Introduction
Calm and Normal
Lies, not Excuses
It’s All Fine
Remand Detention
High-end Security
Conclusion
Chapter 9: Excusing the Inexcusable
Introduction
Buckets
Padlocks
Overcrowding
Watching and Waiting
Water
Conclusions
Chapter 10: Prescribing the Inappropriate
Introduction
Write on
Taken to Court
Unusual Answers to Unusual Problems
Conclusion
Chapter 11: Working with Fictions
Introduction
What’s Really Going On?
Who’s Really in Charge?
The Professionalism of the Professionals
The Relevance of the Law
Conclusion
Chapter 12: Thinking Positively about Prevention
Introduction
Revisiting ‘What is Torture’
Working Towards Prevention with the UN: The Art of the Possible
What Might be Done Next?

Conclusion
References
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