“This 40 years have seen quite remarkable progress” – An interview with Juan E. Méndez

28 Aug 2024

This interview is part of the United Against Torture Consortium’s Voices for Human Dignity multimedia initiative. This initiative celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Convention against Torture (1984-2024) by giving a voice to torture victims, experts, and activists. 

English below. Also available in Spanish.

Former UN Special Rapporteur on torture Juan Méndez discusses the development of anti-torture tools and standards in the 40 years since the United Nation’s adoption of the Convention against Torture.

“I think it’s important not to feel discouraged by the fact that torture exists in so many different forms and so many different countries around the world with various degrees of institutional development. Unfortunately, torture is very difficult to eradicate. Nevertheless, these 40 years have seen quite remarkable progress in normative development, not only to exemplify and clarify what the provisions of the Convention Against Torture actually mean, but also to prevent torture and to assist governments to have the political will to prevent torture and to not let it happen.

I would say that the most important measure of prevention continues to be the obligation to investigate, prosecute and punish every aspect of torture, every case of torture. Unfortunately, this is an obligation that is breached very significantly and very frequently around the world. But it’s important to note that that is a primary obligation, and in particular, that it has preventive effect, because it stands to reason that if the agent who is inclined to torture a detainee, for example, will think twice, if in fact he knows that those cases are investigated, are prosecuted, and the culprits are duly punished.

Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. That is that agents who know that their cases are going to be covered up, that they’re not going to be investigated, will be more inclined to break the law and to inflict pain and suffering amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment on the person they have before them.

Another example is the Istanbul Protocol to document and detect whether torture has happened or not, mostly through medical and psychological forensic investigations. But that also sets a standard for how to investigate torture. And in that sense, that also creates a preventive tool to make sure that torture doesn’t happen.

And I would also mention a document in which I have been involved called The Principles on Effective Interviewing and Investigations and Other Fact Finding. This document that we published in May of 2021 is precisely a way of offering a constructive way to investigators to obtain the cooperation of people who are suspected of having committed crimes, but also of witnesses and victims without resorting to any kind of coercion or pressure, including, of course, torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. This document presents investigators with a methodology that has been proven over and over again. To me, not only more humane and compliant with the prohibition on torture, but also more effective in fighting crime. And it does contribute to obtaining the cooperation of anybody who is being questioned without resorting to any kind of pressure or coercion.”