Preventing Torture An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions 1.3.10. Right of victims to complain and obtain redress The Convention provides that victims of torture have the right to complain and to have their case investigated promptly and impartially (article 13), as well as to receive redress and adequate compensation (article 14). This also includes the right to rehabilitation that is as full as possible.22 1.3.11. Inadmissible evidence According to article 15 of the Convention, any evidence gathered as a result of torture must be deemed inadmissible in legal proceedings. This provision is extremely important because, by making such statements inadmissible in court proceedings, one of the primary aims of torture becomes redundant. 1.3.12. Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture The Convention against Torture is complemented by an Optional Protocol, which was adopted in 2002 and entered into force in 2006. The Optional Protocol does not establish new normative standards. Instead, it reinforces the specific obligations for prevention of torture in articles 2 and 16 of the Convention by establishing a system of regular visits to places of detention by international and national bodies. Watch Go to the Preventing Torture CD-Rom to watch Victor Rodriguez Rescia, Chair of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, discussing the definition of torture set out in the Convention against Torture. Click on ‘Feature materials’ and then select ‘Item 2 – Defining torture’. 1.4. Other treaties A number of other international human rights treaties contain similar prohibitions of torture and other ill-treatment. The Convention on the Rights of the Child contains a specific provision in relation to torture and illtreatment of children (article 37), as does the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (article 10) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (article 15). Although there is no specific provision on torture included in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the relevant United Nations treaty body has adopted a general recommendation on violence against women that deals with torture (General Recommendation 19, 1992). International refugee law also provides an important source of international human rights law that is highly relevant to the issue of torture. The right to seek asylum in another country is one of the fundamental protections for anyone who faces the danger of persecution. There is a total prohibition on any Government returning a person to a country where they would be in danger of serious human rights violations, and torture in particular. This is the principle of non-refoulement, which is specifically mentioned in the Convention against Torture. 22 See jurisprudence on articles 13 and 14 (Hajrizi Dzemajl et al. v. Yugoslavia, Committee against Torture, Communication 161/2000, views adopted on 21 November 2002; Jovica Dimitrov v. Serbia and Montenegro, Human Rights Committee, Communication 171/2000, views adopted on 3 May 2005; Danilo Dimitrijevic v. Serbia and Montenegro, Human Rights Committee, Communication 172/2000, views adopted on 16 November 2005; Dragan Dimitrijevic v. Serbia and Montenegro, Human Rights Committee, Communication 207/2002, views adopted on 24 November 2004; Slobodan & Ljiljana Nikolić v. Serbia and Montenegro, Human Rights Committee, Communication 174/2000, views adopted on 24 November 2005. 20 | Chapter 2: International and regional instruments on torture and other forms of ill-treatment