Preventing Torture An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions
It also adopted Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Fair Trial and Legal Assistance in Africa, which
include provisions on the prevention of torture.
Key points: Chapter 2
• Torture is prohibited in a number of international human rights treaties.
• The Convention against Torture contains a series of provisions on
prevention measures.
• Regional instruments in Africa, the Americas, Arab countries and Europe
also prohibit torture.
• ‘Soft law’ standards, both international and regional, complement the
prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.
Further reading
The United Nations Convention against Torture: A Commentary; Manfred
Nowak and Elizabeth McArthur; Oxford University Press; 2008
The UN Committee against Torture: An Assessment; Chris Inglese, Kluwer
Law International; 2001
In the CD-Rom
Committee against Torture, general comment No. 2, Implementation of article 2
by States Parties
The Torture Reporting Handbook; Camille Giffard, Human Rights Centre,
University of Essex; 2000
Bringing the International Prohibition of Torture Home: National
Implementation Guide for the UN Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; The Redress Trust;
2006
Torture in International Law: A Guide to Jurisprudence; Association for the
Prevention of Torture and the Center for Justice and International Law; 2008
Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights: A Practitioner’s Handbook;
Ugur Erdal and Hasan Bakirci, World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) Handbook Series
Vol. 1; 2006
The Prohibition of Torture and Ill-Treatment in the Inter-American Human Rights System:
A Handbook for Victims and Their Advocates; Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón and Claudia Martin,
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) Handbook Series Vol. 2; 2006
The Prohibition of Torture and Ill-Treatment in the African Human Rights System: A Handbook
for Victims and Their Advocates; Frans Viljoen and Chidi Odinkalu, World Organisation Against
Torture (OMCT) Handbook Series Vol. 3; 2006
24 | Chapter 2: International and regional instruments on torture and other forms of ill-treatment