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a) General Comment No. 20: Prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (article 7) (1992)


(Adopted by the Human Rights Committee at the Forty-fourth Session, A/44/40, 10 March 1992)

1. This general comment replaces general comment No. 7 (the sixteenth session, 1982) reflecting and further developing it.

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8. The Committee notes that it is not sufficient for the implementation of article 7 to prohibit such treatment or punishment or to make it a crime. States parties should inform the Committee of the legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures they take to prevent and punish acts of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in any territory under their jurisdiction.

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10. The Committee should be informed how States parties disseminate, to the population at large, relevant information concerning the ban on torture and the treatment prohibited by article 7. Enforcement personnel, medical personnel, police officers and any other persons involved in the custody or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment must receive appropriate instruction and training. States parties should inform the Committee of the instruction and training given and the way in which the prohibition of article 7 forms an integral part of the operational rules and ethical standards to be followed by such persons.

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