Defining Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading Treatment

DEFINING TORTUREStates to fulfill its international obligations, including the federal Torture Statute, noting the connection between federal law and the international treaties the United States has agreed to obey.The Article then analyzes the primary elements international bodies have considered in making the determination that interrogation methods or conditions of confinement violate the prohibition against torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.The Article concludes with a summary of the relevance of international jurisprudence in assessing whether detainees held by the United States in Guantdnamo, Afghanistan, or Iraq have been subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. I. Sources of International Law Related to the Prohibition and Prevention of Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentInternational sources of law pertaining to torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment have been accepted by most of the nations of the world.Worldwide agreements reflecting the international prohibition of torture and ill-treatment include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;' the Geneva Conventions;o the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;" and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.1 2 In addition to these worldwide agreements, there are regional agreements, adopted by countries in the Americas, Europe, and Africa, which prohibit torture and other forms of ill-treatment. 3 International criminal law,