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Press
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UNESCAP News Services
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16 June 2003
Press Release No: L/17/2003
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL'S MESSAGE ON THE INTERNATIONAL DAY
IN SUPPORT OF VICTIMS OF TORTURE, 26 JUNE 2003
The torturer seeks to break the will and spirit
of his victim. Each year on this day, we reaffirm our unbroken
will and spirit to stamp out this vile practice, bring the torturer
to justice, and care for his innocent victims. Torture is a
barbaric violation of human dignity and human rights. No political,
military, religious or other cause can justify it.
The sad truth is that we have a long way to go
in stamping out torture. We sometimes get to hear the testimony
of those who have been tortured by brutal regimes, and to see
the chambers in which the deeds were done. But we should remember
that most victims never get to tell the world their stories,
and that torture is not confined to one particular region or
political system, or to only a few countries.
As surely as it stands for peace and development,
the United Nations stands equally for freedom from torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and
for bringing the perpetrators of such grave crimes to justice.
There are a range of legal and other mechanisms which the United
Nations uses in the fight against torture. We must continue
to develop new strategies and follow through on those already
in place.
That is why I welcome the adoption by the General
Assembly in December 2002 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, which establishes a framework that will allow
visits by independent international and national bodies to places
where persons are deprived of liberty. By reducing the isolation
of persons kept in detention, who are often the most vulnerable
to abuse, we hope to protect them from torture. Let us at the
same time remember that human rights should first and foremost
be respected and protected by Governments and that international
and national mechanisms of protection are complementary. The
Protocol will create new possibilities for dialogue with and
among national authorities to ensure that the right to be protected
from torture is translated into reality. I call upon all States
that have not yet done so to ratify the Convention and its Optional
Protocol as a concrete step in the struggle to prevent torture
in our world.
If they do not die from their wounds, the victims
of torture often carry the physical and mental scars with them
throughout their lives. This past year, contributions from Governments,
NGOs and individuals to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for
Victims of Torture have supported some 200 NGO projects worldwide
which provide crucial psychological, medical, social, legal,
economic and other assistance to about 100,000 victims of torture.
I express my gratitude to these contributors for their solidarity
with torture victims. I call on all others to follow this example
by giving generously to the Fund, so that an even greater number
of projects can be funded in the coming year.
On this International Day in support of the Victims
of Torture, let us harness our moral outrage at this practice
and commit ourselves to concrete steps to end it once and for
all. We owe this to the victims of torture. And we owe it to
our common humanity.
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