CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL,INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT …(Contd)

Continued from 1, January, 2011

Earlier, I said that omissions too must come in the description given by the United Nations. Here, it is of interest to know the purpose of the act /omission. One of the purposes is to cause severe pain or suffering and the Convention specifies the pain or suffering to be physical or mental. It is an obvious fact there is no (in the custodial facility) or suffering which is physical alone or psychological alone. In most of the time or better, always, it is psych-physical. Still, admitting that the pain or suffering can be physical alone or psychological alone, I may prefer to write it to read "physical, psychological or both" so that the idea is better communicated. My experience (and to some extent, the history too) shows that the pain or suffering could be caused in spiritual or moral ways too. Why did the Convention omit the? The 'uneasiness or unsettling or restlessness of the human mind can be caused by spiritual or moral infliction of pain or suffering. The homeostasis is disturbed by causing mental conflicts or frustrations.

The following are real illustrations. Taking a crucifix and compelling a strong Christian believer to confess to the crucified Christ.Certainly,it causes severe spiritual pain/conflict. In another case, taking a sacred Scripture (like Gita for Hindus, Koran for Muslims and Bible for Christians and so on) and forcing people to make confessions holding the sacred Scriptures. Yet another case, asking the detainee to eat the meat of certain animals (prohibited by their religion),or forcing him to do certain acts which are prohibited by the religion etc. All with the sole intention to get a confession or to provide some information. Violations of religious rituals, rubrics, rules and values may cause or result in psychoneurotic behaviours/obsessive-compulsive reactions/phobic reactions etc. Their homeostasis is disturbed. If a detinue is not religious minded/theist, then the pain or suffering caused may be very severe. If the detainee is not religious minded or theist, then there is nothing to worry about the spiritual pain or suffering. Any unwanted expression of words-i.e., religiously filthy words-unaccepted by the religion,caste,sector,section or denomination by an officer belonging to a different caste, faith or religion may cause severe pain not only in the detinue but also in others emotionally and religiously related to him and sometimes resulting in communal riots and religious begotary.Hence,my suggestion is to add "spiritual" too to " "physical,mental or both.(to be continued…)