Vicious cycle of torture

HERE is no doubt about it: torture breeds torture. As was pointed out in a seminar in Lahore by the secretary general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, torture committed by the state infiltrates society and is manifested in the actions of individuals. It is time that the grave implications of torture are understood as it is not simply a human rights issue — which no doubt it is. It is one which invariably translates itself into a sociological and mental health phenomenon. Many of those who are traumatised by the torture inflicted on them by a more powerful institution — such as the police — are very likely to become torturers themselves if they acquire positions of power. Many victims of child abuse grow up to become abusers themselves. Since the state has a very visible role in perpetrating torture, a beginning will have to be made from there to break the vicious cycle that allows this evil to go on.

The international community recognised the gravity of this scourge in 1985 when the Convention against Torture was adopted. It came into force in June 1987 while the related optional protocol that sets up a subcommittee for the prevention of torture came into force only recently in 2006 when the required number of ratifications was received. Pakistan kept away until April 2008 when the PPP government signed the convention for which it must be given credit. But it is a pity that the convention has not been ratified and not a single measure has been taken to bring our laws in line with the obligations that follow from the treaty. Torture continues to be the norm in prisons and police stations in Pakistan. Ratification would be the first step. But thereafter a campaign should be launched to change the mindset of the people and police.