UNCAT Ratification Tool
UNCAT Signature and Ratification –
Template for executive action
This template has been drafted to include information needed for executive actors and
departments to present a paper to government recommending UNCAT ratification.1
Several pull‐out annexes accompany this tool that are intended to support this briefing, and offer
answers to several of the most common questions raised by States as they move toward
ratification.
1. What is the UN Convention against Torture?1
All Member States of the United Nations have pledged to achieve the promise of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment” (article 5).
The 1984 UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT) provides States with detailed provisions which
establish the essential aspects of effective torture prohibition and prevention, to fulfil this shared
promise. The full Convention text is included as a separate resource.
2. What are the main obligations of the UNCAT?
There are 16 substantive articles of the UNCAT which describe the obligations to respect, protect and
fulfil the absolute prohibition against torture and other forms of ill‐treatment, and various additional
procedural provisions. As with other human rights treaties, the UNCAT is not prescriptive in how the
articles should be achieved. This is deliberate, and encourages States to develop laws, policies,
practices and mechanisms that conform to their own unique context and character while complying
with the obligations of the UNCAT.
On ratification, all the obligations in the UNCAT become binding legal commitments. However, it is
important to note that States do not have to achieve UNCAT obligations prior to ratification.
Ratification is the beginning of an incremental process to implement the Convention which takes
many years to achieve. See ‘When to ratify the UNCAT and OPCAT’ for more information.
Principal Convention obligations may be grouped together under the headings of prohibition,
prevention, punishment, redress and reporting.
Prohibition: The status of the absolute prohibition against torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment is a non‐derogable principle of international law.
1
The term ratification is used here for simplicity, but is equally intended to refer to accession.
2