The Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, commonly known as the Istanbul Protocol, is the first set of international guidelines for documentation of torture and its consequences.
Non-binding document
The Istanbul Protocol is a non-binding document. However, international law obliges governments to investigate and document incidents of torture and other forms of ill-treatment and to punish those responsible in a comprehensive, effective, prompt and impartial manner, under the United Nations Convention Against Torture. The Istanbul Protocol is a tool for doing this.
The Istanbul Protocol was drafted by more than 75 experts in law, health and human rights during three years of collective effort. While the extensive work was initiated and coordinated by the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (HRFT) and the Physicians for Human Rights USA (PHR USA), it involved more than 40 different organisations, such as the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.
The initial steps to work on a manual for the investigation and documentation of torture and other forms of ill treatment were taken at an international meeting in 1996 organised by the Turkish Medical Association and were inspired by the daily needs and practices experienced by the HRFT and the Society of Forensic Medicine Specialists in Turkey. In particular, the efforts to investigate the death of Baki Erdogan during custody became a decisive factor.
Baki Erdogan died during his 11th day in custody after having been transferred to the state hospital in Turkey. The autopsy and official forensic report stated that as a result of a 10-day hunger strike, he died of acute pulmonary oedema.
The Turkish Medical Association carried out an independent investigation and submitted an alternative medical report which disclosed numerous flaws in the autopsy and medical assessment made by the official medical experts.
The point of reference for the development of the alternative medical report was the Minnesota Protocol, the United Nations, Model Protocol for a Legal Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, Doc. ST/CSDHA/12, created in response to the conclusion of the Special Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary Executions, appointed by the Economic and Social Council in 1982.
The alternative report stressed that the official forensic investigation was deficient and false and not in accordance with the standards set out in the Minnesota Protocol. Furthermore, in light of the collected evidence and other findings, the cause of death was determined to be Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a result of the use of torture.
Upon finalisation of the Istanbul Protocol in 1999, an article on the Protocol was published in the international medical journal The Lancet.
See also
- Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (2006)
- Physicians for Human Rights
- International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
- Center for Victims of Torture
- Freedom from Torture
- Minnesota Protocol
Further reading
- Istanbul Protocol – Web page
- Istanbul Protocol – PDF file (English)
- Istanbul Protocol – PDF file (Arabic)
- Istanbul Protocol – PDF file (Chinese)
- Istanbul Protocol – PDF file (French)
- Istanbul Protocol – PDF file (Spanish)
- Istanbul Protocol – PDF file (Catalan)
External links
- Physicians for Human Rights
- Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
- International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
- Turkish Medical Association (Turkish)
- Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
- UN Human Rights Council
- The Center for Victims of Torture