Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Adopted on 18 December 2002 at the fifty-seventh session of the
General Assembly of the United Nations by resolution
A/RES/57/199.
Protocol is available for signature, ratification and accession as from
4 February 2003 (i.e. the date upon which the original of the Protocol
was established) at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
PREAMBLE
The States Parties to the present Protocol,
Reaffirming that torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are
prohibited and constitute serious violations of human rights,
Convinced that further measures are necessary to achieve the purposes of the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (hereinafter
referred to as the Convention) and to strengthen the protection of persons deprived of their
liberty against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
Recalling that articles 2 and 16 of the Convention oblige each State Party to take effective
measures to prevent acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment in any territory under its jurisdiction,
Recognizing that States have the primary responsibility for implementing those articles, that
strengthening the protection of people deprived of their liberty and the full respect for their
human rights is a common responsibility shared by all and that international implementing
bodies complement and strengthen national measures,
Recalling that the effective prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment requires education and a combination of various legislative,
administrative, judicial and other measures,
Recalling also that the World Conference on Human Rights firmly declared that efforts to
eradicate torture should first and foremost be concentrated on prevention and called for the
adoption of an optional protocol to the Convention, intended to establish a preventive system
of regular visits to places of detention,
Convinced that the protection of persons deprived of their liberty against torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment can be strengthened by non-judicial
means of a preventive nature, based on regular visits to places of detention, Have agreed as
follows:
PART I
General principles
Article 1
The objective of the present Protocol is to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by
independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their
liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.