Torture is More Than a Word: Why It’s Time the UK Takes Torture Seriously
For most people in the UK, torture is just a word. A synonym for agony, or an exaggerated response to a minor grievance. Sitting through a boring lecture is torture. Traffic is torture.
When the word torture is used literally, it is often thought of as happening somewhere else or something that occurred in the past. It is associated more with the Tower of London than it is with the lived experience of real people in the UK.
But for those that have experienced and survived torture, it is a daily reality. Sepideh Sahar, a member of REDRESS’ Survivor Advisory Group, UK-based survivors of torture who use their expertise to advocate for torture prevention and accountability, says that to understand its meaning, you need to understand a lifetime of devastating psychological and physical impacts that leave scars across body and soul. Survivors must learn how to cope with feelings of guilt, shame and stigma that are felt not just by themselves but also by their community and families.
On the 15th October, parliamentarians and civil society joined survivors of torture in Parliament to celebrate the 40th anniversary of UN Convention Against Torture.
The event, organised by the Survivor Advisory Group, and hosted by Baroness D’Souza, discussed how the UK can become once more a global leader on torture prevention and accountability.
While the UK was among the first countries to ratify the Convention Against Torture in 1988, it has progressively chipped away at the frameworks designed to prevent torture by discontinuing its anti-torture strategy in 2015 and introducing domestic legislation that doesn’t comply with the torture ban, such as the Overseas Operation Act, the National Security Act, Illegal Migration Act, and the Safety of Rwanda Act.
The UK’s recent policy shifts have, in the words of Baroness D’Souza, “ridden roughshod” over its compliance with the Convention.
“The 40th anniversary of the Convention is a crucial moment to reprioritise the absolute prohibition of torture in both national and international policies,” said Baroness D’Souza. “This can only be achieved if survivors’ voices are at the centre of these policies.”
As Sepideh pointed out in their speech, torture does not discriminate:
“One thing must be understood, torture can happen to anyone…We, the members of Survivor Advisory Group, are torture survivors from Chad, Iran, Bahrain, DRC, Zimbabwe and Britons who were tortured in UAE and Colombia. Among us there are journalists, politicians, students, civilians and so on…”
Many MPs will have survivors of torture in their constituencies. As Rupert Skilbeck, Director of REDRESS, highlighted in his speech:
“It is estimated that 27% to 44% of refuges and asylum seekers in Britain have experienced torture. Last year, the FCDO recorded 188 new allegations of British nationals facing torture or ill-treatment overseas, an increase of over 40% on the previous year.”
One such case of a British national detained and tortured abroad is Jagtar Singh Johal, who faces the death penalty in India on political charges based on a confession obtained through torture. Despite the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determining in 2021 that his detention is arbitrary, and therefore unlawful, he remains in prison.
Torture should also matter to the UK because unless it complies with its own international obligations, it cannot legitimately champion equality and human rights in other parts of the world. Lord Hermer KC, the Attorney General, outlined the new government’s commitment to international law and upholding human rights:
“We have come in with a determination to have a reset on international law. On our compliance with both domestic and international human rights obligations. We look forward to working closely with REDRESS, both in ensuring our domestic compliance with the Convention and in trying to promote its application internationally, and we recognise that we need to be consistent in how we do that.”
The Survivors Advisory Group has developed a call to action, the Survivors Manifesto, which provides key recommendations to the UK government to improve access to justice, accountability, and reparation for survivors of torture. Among these recommendations are:
- Protect the torture ban by repealing or amending legislation that violates the UK’s international obligations.
- Put survivors’ voices at the centre of UK policy on justice and reparations and set up an advisory panel that includes survivors.
- Work with survivors to introduce a cross-government anti-torture strategy.
Confronting torture and challenging the legislative and political environment which has allowed it to flourish requires a holistic response developed in consultation with survivors of torture.
As Lord Hermer said:
“All of us who have worked and work in human rights know that Conventions are exceptionally important. They raise standards and give us a mechanism for calibrating the actions of those who breach them. But we all know – like all laws – they are regularly flouted and breached and that words on paper themselves are never enough.”
As we mark the 40th Anniversary of the Convention against Torture, and ahead of the upcoming review of the UK by the UN Committee against Torture in 2025, the UK has the opportunity reaffirm its commitment to human rights and prioritise the voices of survivors. But torture is more than just a word and confronting it will take more than just rhetoric.
Photos by Joss Gillespie, REDRESS