The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: How it is Still Better to Light a Candle than to Curse the Darkness?

Otago Law Review, Vol. 9, pp. 399-433, 1998

18 Pages Posted: 24 Mar 2010

See all articles by Peter T. Burns

Peter T. Burns

University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Law

Obiora C. Okafor

York University - Osgoode Hall Law School

Date Written: 1998

Abstract

At the World Conference on Human Rights in June 1993 the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action was adopted by the representatives of 171 states.! During the ten days of the Conference intense debate and negotiation resulted in a number of profound gains for human rights advocates in the United Nations. Of these, two will have far-reaching consequences for the world community: (1) Paragraph 5 of the Vienna Declaration and Programme for Action recognised that "all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated'? thus rejecting the idea of derogability upon the basis of cultural conditions, and (2) in paragraph 18 the creation of the office of High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations was recommended.3 Such an officer now exists with policy and administrative authority over the Human Rights Centre of the United Nations in Geneva.

Suggested Citation

Burns, Peter T. and Okafor, Obiora Chinedu, The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: How it is Still Better to Light a Candle than to Curse the Darkness? (1998). Otago Law Review, Vol. 9, pp. 399-433, 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1572523

Peter T. Burns

University of British Columbia (UBC), Faculty of Law ( email )

1822 East Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1
Canada

Obiora Chinedu Okafor (Contact Author)

York University - Osgoode Hall Law School ( email )

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3
Canada

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
187
Abstract Views
888
Rank
248,599
PlumX Metrics