40th anniversary of the UK signing UN Convention against Torture

Forty years ago today, the UK signed the UN Convention against Torture. The Convention is a landmark document that is a critical tool in the global fight against torture and the struggle for justice and reparation for survivors.

The Convention supports States including the UK in preventing torture and includes critical provisions for the rights of survivors.

The Convention is one of the building blocks of a future free from torture. Forty years since it was signed, it is more important than ever that the UK makes its commitment to the absolute prohibition crystal clear and shows principled global leadership by standing up to threats to the torture ban, wherever they emerge.

The UK played a key role in the creation of the Convention against Torture. But in recent years we have seen the UK backsliding on its obligations.

At Freedom from Torture, in centres across the UK, we continue to support survivors from across the globe in their rehabilitation and efforts to rebuild their lives in the UK. We know how important access to justice is for survivors’ ability to heal.

It is a sad reality that 40 years since the UK signed the Convention against Torture, the world is facing multiple armed conflicts and crises, the use of torture is increasing and impunity is rife.

Torture is absolutely prohibited. It is always wrong and never justified in any circumstances. Not in war, not in retaliation. There are no exceptions. Now more than ever, the UK must uphold the absolute ban.

The UK played a key role in the creation of the Convention against Torture. But in recent years we have seen the UK backsliding on its obligations through complicity in torture carried out in the name of the US “War on Terror” and laws introduced at home which reduce access to justice for survivors and provide perpetrators with impunity.

Read more: As a torture survivor, I’m calling on the UK government to honour the ban
Banner image credit:  United States Mission Geneva