Méndez discusses regulations for treatment of prisoners, calls for abolishment of death penalty
Myrial HolbrookTorture does not provide safety and actually exacerbates societal problems, Juan Méndez, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishmentand prominent human rights advocate, said in a lecture on Thursday. The lecture coincided with Méndez receiving the 2015 Adlai Stevenson Award for a “career of service to the global community,” according to the award’s website. Méndezexplained that even if one could say that torture provides intelligence and information, it also leads to a decrease in the citizens' trust and faith in their country. He added that citizens have fallen into a relativism about the moral condemnation of torture fueled by some state practice but also by our culture. “The culture in which we live is one that makes us feel that torture is ugly but it has to happen, that it’s inevitable, that somebody has to do it, that it keeps us safe — and if it keeps us safe, then we might as well look the other way and live with it,” he said. Mendez stressed the importance of understanding and upholding the international normative framework for human rights as essential to human rights advocacy and global accountability. He noted that the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which establishes such a framework of obligations, is ratified by many nations and includes obligations of the state to prevent torture, obligations which Méndez sees as the foremost concern. Mechanisms for prevention of torture include periodic review of police practices, allowance for civilian oversight of law enforcement bodies and re-training of law enforcement officials, Méndez said.