The Government has approved the ratification of the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, according to a statement from the Minister for Justice and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue.
The convention was adopted by the General Assembly in December, 1984, and entered into force in June 1987. The convention provides a framework for international protection against torture.
The State signed the convention on 28 September 1992 and passed legislation making torture an offence. The Criminal Justice (United Nations Convention against Torture) Act, 2000, creates a specific statutory offence of torture with a penalty of up to life imprisonment and allows a person to be tried here in relation to the commission of the offence anywhere in the world.
It also prohibits the extradition or expulsion of a person from this State where there are substantial grounds for believing that if the extradition or expulsion were to take place, the person may be subjected to torture.