NEW YORK - Marking the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture today, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the world body’s Member States to step up efforts to assist all those who have suffered from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

In his message for the Day, the UN chief also noted that 2013 is the 25th anniversary of the Geneva-based Committee against Torture (CAT), a body of 10 independent experts that monitors the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State parties. Afghanistan is one of the 153 parties to the international treaty.

“This body – along with other UN human rights mechanisms such as the Sub-committee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) and the Special Rapporteur on Torture – is vital to strengthening a victim-oriented approach that also includes a gender perspective,” Mr. Ban said in his message.

“This effort was further strengthened by the adoption this year of a UN Human Rights Council resolution focusing on the rehabilitation of torture victims,” he added.

The SPT is composed of 25 impartial experts coming from different backgrounds and from various regions of the world, and has a purely preventive mandate focused on an innovative, sustained and proactive approach to the prevention of torture and ill treatment. Special rapporteurs, or independent experts, are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme.

Torture is a crime under international law, and the United Nations has condemned it as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on their fellow human beings.

According to all relevant instruments, such as international treaties, it is absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances. This prohibition forms part of customary international law, which means that it is binding on every member of the international community, regardless of whether a State has ratified international treaties in which torture is expressly prohibited.

In 1997, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 26 June the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a view to the total eradication of torture and the effective functioning of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which entered into force on 26 June 1987.

“I urge all Member States to accede to and fully implement the Convention against Torture and support the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture,” Mr. Ban stated in his message. “Let us work together to end torture throughout the world and ensure that countries provide reparation for victims.”

Established by the General Assembly in 1981, the Fund distributes voluntary contributions through established channels of assistance, including non-governmental organizations, associations of victims and family members of victims, amongst others, that in turn would provide humanitarian, legal and financial aid to individuals whose human rights have been severely violated as a result of torture, and their relatives who have been directly affected by the victim’s suffering.

Afghanistan signed the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1985 and ratified it in 1987.

All States parties to the Convention are obliged to submit regular reports to the CAT on how the rights are being implemented. States must report initially one year after acceding to the Convention and then every four years. The Committee examines each report, addresses its concerns and makes recommendations to the State party.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) has spoken out on the issue of torture in the South Asian nation. In a report released in January this year, UNAMA found that despite significant efforts by the Government of Afghanistan and international partners to address ill-treatment of conflict-related detainees, torture persists and remains a serious concern in numerous detention facilities across Afghanistan.

The 139-page report, ‘Treatment of Conflict-Related Detainees in Afghan Custody: One Year On,’ was based on interviews with 635 conflict-related detainees held by the Afghan National Police, National Directorate of Security, Afghan National Army or Afghan Local Police, visits to 89 detention facilities in 30 provinces from October 2011 to October 2012, extensive interviews with multiple relevant interlocutors and on rigorous analysis, corroboration and examination of documentary and other material.

UNAMA’s detention observation programme is carried out further to its mandate from the UN Security Council to assist the Government of Afghanistan and all Afghan people to improve respect for human rights and the rule of law including in the prison sector, and in cooperation with Afghan authorities.