OSCE Chairperson-in-Office speaks out against torture

VIENNA, 26 June 2000 - "Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment constitute an attempt to destroy a fellow human being physically and mentally. Such actions can never be justified under any circumstances, by any ideology or by any overriding interests," said the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Austrian Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner in commemoration of the United Nations Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

At the 1999 OSCE Summit in Istanbul, OSCE participating States recommitted themselves to eradicating torture and cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment as well as to assist victims of torture and ill treatment.

As a follow-up measure, the OSCE's Austrian Chairmanship and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights organised a meeting on "Human Rights and Inhuman Treatment or Punishment" in Vienna on 27 March. The meeting identified improved training and stronger transparency as key areas to focus OSCE efforts.

The Chairperson-in-Office calls on OSCE States to implement the recommendations of that meeting in time for the upcoming October Implementation Meeting in Warsaw.