Article 5: Ban on torture

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Definitions of the ban on torture

The ban on torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is enshrined in 
Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The ban is enshrined in Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.

In its General Comment No 7 of 1982, the Human Rights Committee comments on the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/comments.htm.

The entire Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is dedicated to protecting this human right.

In its General Comments, the Committee against Torture refines the meaning of the provisions of this convention: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/comments.htm.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits torture in Article 37.a):

No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

In its General Comment No 8 of 2006, the Committee on the Rights of the Child comments on the protection from corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/comments.htm.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities prohibits torture in Article 15:

1. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his or her free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.
2. States Parties shall take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.