The prohibition against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is one of the most fundamental rights protected by international law[2][3][6]. This right is absolute, meaning it must never be limited or restricted in any way[1][5]. The prohibition applies to everyone, regardless of their status or situation[2].
Torture is defined as any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on someone for the purposes of obtaining information, for punishment, or intimidation[1][6]. Inhuman treatment or punishment is treatment that causes intense physical or mental suffering[1][5]. Degrading treatment or punishment is treatment that humiliates and debases a person[5].
Public authorities must not inflict torture or inhuman or degrading treatment on anyone, and they must protect individuals from such treatment if someone else is treating them in this way[1]. If authorities know that this right is being breached, they must intervene to stop it, and the state must investigate credible allegations of such treatment[1].
The prohibition against torture and inhuman or degrading treatment is also protected under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities[4]. States parties are required to take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial, or other measures to prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being subjected to such treatment or punishment[4].
Citations:
[1] https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/human-rights-act/article-3-freedom-torture-and-inhuman-or-degrading-treatment
[2] https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FactSheet4rev.1en.pdf
[3] https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-against-torture-and-other-cruel-inhuman-or-degrading
[4] https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/article-15-freedom-from-torture-or-cruel-inhuman-or-degrading-treatment-or-punishment.html
[5] https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/right/no-torture-inhuman-or-degrading-treatment/
[6] https://www.hrw.org/news/2003/03/11/legal-prohibition-against-torture