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International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
The Southern African Human Rights NGO Network (SAHRINGON)
June 25, 2003

26 June 2003 is the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The Southern African Human Rights NGO Network (SAHRINGON), a project of the Inter African Network for Human Rights and Development (Afronet) joins various civil society organisations to commemorate the significance of this day. State parties to the African Charter on Human and peoples’ Rights and various other international human rights protection instruments are reminded that every individual shall have the right to the respect of their inherent dignity.

Every citizen has the inherent right not to be subjected to any forms of slavery, slave trade, and torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, as these forms are a fundamental attrition of humanity.

Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture (CAT) defines torture as any act by which severe pain and suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.

Torture threatens such rights as life, dignity, and discrimination. SAHRINGON, a network of human rights organisations in the sub-region undertook to fight the scourge of police brutality as a manifestation of torture and therefore a serious violation of human rights.

We applaud all States in the region that have ratified the various International Conventions relevant to torture and urge them to domesticate CAT and make torture a criminal offence.  

Issued By: Information Unit
Authorised by: Ngande Mwanajiti, Executive Director
Website: http://afronet.org.za/sahringon/sahringon.html

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