The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), which was adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 1984 and entered into force on 26 June 1987, is the most important international human rights instrument in the combat against torture. As of 20 April 2009, 146 States had ratified the Convention, thus accepting far-reaching binding legal obligations to prevent torture and ill-treatment, to bring perpetrators of torture to justice and to assist victims of torture.
The most innovative aspect of the Convention is the obligation of States to combat impunity of perpetrators of torture by criminalizing torture in domestic criminal legislation with appropriate penalties and establishing universal jurisdiction for perpetrators of torture crimes worldwide. States Parties shall grant the right to an effective remedy to torture victims and their allegations shall be promptly investigated and examined by competent and impartial domestic authorities which shall grant them adequate reparation, including compensation and rehabilitation. Furthermore, States are under an obligation to take effective measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment by all means, including ex officio investigations wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed. They shall provide human rights training to law enforcement officials and refrain from expelling, returning or extraditing a person to another State where he or she might face a substantial risk of being subjected to torture (principle of non-refoulement).
