Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, published in 1997.

What other versions does this mandate have?

30 versions · 1977–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/198

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/198	Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment	5,204	90%Compare
2023	A/RES/77/209	Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment	4,963	87%Compare
2020	A/RES/74/143	Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment	4,499	88%Compare
2018	A/RES/72/163	Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment	4,244	85%Compare
2016	A/RES/70/146	Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment	3,870	41%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

35 reports · 2003–2026

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2026	A/HRC/61/27	United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/209
2026	A/HRC/61/28	Special Fund Established by the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/209
2025	A/80/269	United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/209
2024	A/HRC/58/32	Special Fund Established by the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/209
2024	A/HRC/58/31	United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/74/143

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Detained Persons Human Rights Information Exchange Periodic Reports Prisoner Treatment Torture and Other Cruel Treatment Treaties

What’s in this document?

22 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the report of the Committee against Torture,⁶ submitted in accordance with the provision of article 24 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;

⁶Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-first Session, Supplement No. 44 (A/51/44).

Notes with appreciation that during the present reporting period, eight States have become parties to the Convention, increasing the number of States parties to one hundred;

Urges all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the Convention as a matter of priority;

Invites all States ratifying or acceding to the Convention and those States which are parties to the Convention and which have not yet done so to consider joining the States parties that have already made the declarations provided for in articles 21 and 22 of the Convention and to consider the possibility of withdrawing their reservations to article 20;

Urges States parties to comply strictly with their obligations under the Convention, including their obligation to submit reports in accordance with article 19 of the Convention, in view of the high number of reports not submitted;

Calls upon all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur on questions relating to torture in the performance of his task and to supply all necessary information requested by him and to react appropriately to his urgent appeals;

Approves the methods of work employed by the Special Rapporteur, in particular as regards urgent appeals, reiterates his need to be able to respond effectively to credible and reliable information that comes before him, invites him to continue to seek the views and comments of all concerned, including Member States, in the elaboration of his report, and expresses its appreciation of the continuing discrete and independent way in which he carries out his work;

Stresses the need for regular exchanges of views between the Committee against Torture, the Special Rapporteur and other relevant United Nations mechanisms and bodies, with a view to enhancing further their effectiveness and cooperation on issues relating to torture, inter alia, by improving their coordination;

Commends the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights/Centre for Human Rights of the Secretariat for the support given to States in the preparation of national reports to the Committee;

Urges States parties to take fully into account the conclusions and recommendations made by the Committee after its consideration of their reports;

Urges all States parties to the Convention to notify the Secretary-General of their acceptance of the amendments to articles 17 and 18 of the Convention as soon as possible;

Encourages the open-ended working group of the Commission on Human Rights on the elaboration of a draft optional protocol to the Convention to intensify its deliberations with a view to an early conclusion of its work;

Expresses its gratitude and appreciation to the Governments, organizations and individuals that have already contributed to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture;

Appeals to all Governments, organizations and individuals in a position to do so to respond favourably to requests for contributions to the Fund, if possible on a regular basis and annually before the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Fund and if possible also with a substantial increase in the level of contributions, so that consideration may be given to the ever-increasing demand for assistance;

Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to all Governments the appeals of the General Assembly for contributions to the Fund;

Also requests the Secretary-General to continue to include the Fund on an annual basis among the programmes for which funds are pledged at the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities;

Expresses its appreciation to the Board of Trustees of the Fund for the work it has accomplished;

Requests the Secretary-General to assist the Board of Trustees of the Fund in its appeal for contributions and its efforts to make better known the existence of the Fund and the financial means currently available to it, as well as in its assessment of the global need for international funding of rehabilitation services for torture victims and, in this effort, to make use of all existing possibilities, including the preparation, production and dissemination of information materials;

Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure the provision of adequate staff and facilities for the bodies and mechanisms that combat torture, corresponding to the strong support expressed by Member States for combating torture;

Invites donor countries and recipient countries that so agree to consider including in their bilateral programmes and projects relating to the training of armed forces and police personnel, as well as health-care personnel, matters relating to the protection of human rights and the prevention of torture;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-third session and to the General Assembly at its fifty-third session a report on the status of the Convention as well as a report on the operations of the Fund;

Decides to consider the reports of the Secretary-General and the Committee against Torture at its fifty-third session under the sub-item entitled "Implementation of human rights instruments".

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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