Article 12 of the Draft Terrorism Convention is worded identically but further stipulates that the person taken into custody also enjoys the rights and guarantees contained in the Standard Minimum Rules. (a) Right to be free from torture All persons have the right to be free from torture or from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.48 The prohibition on torture is well accepted as a customary norm of international law. Accordingly no derogation is permissible under any circumstances. The CAT contains a definition of torture in Article 1. It states as follows: For the purposes of this Convention, the term ‘torture’ means 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, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, 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. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions. The ICCPR reinforces the non-derogable nature of the right to be free from torture49 and the Human Rights Committee has reaffirmed that, even in situations of public emergency such as those referred to in Article 4 of the Covenant, no derogation from Article 7 is allowed and no justification or extenuating circumstances may be invoked to excuse a violation of Article 7 for any reasons, including those based on an order from a superior officer or public authority.50 In December 2002 the UN General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OP-CAT) which is open for signature by any State which has signed the CAT. The aim of the OP-CAT is to prevent torture and other forms of ill-treatment by establishing a system of regular visits to places of detention carried out by independent international and national bodies. Such visits are considered to be one of the most effective means of preventing torture and improving conditions of detention. 48 Article 7, ICCPR. 49 Article 4(2), ICCPR. 50 Human Rights Committee General Comment 20, Article 7 (1994) para 3. 47