Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Declaration defines torture as follows:
“. . torture means any act by which
- severe pain or suffering,
- whether physical or mental,
is intentionally inflicted by or at the instigation of a public official
on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or third person information or confession, punishing him for an act he has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating him or other persons.
It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions to the extent consistent with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.”
