Secretary-General Kofi Annan calls for All-out Effort to Stamp Out Torture by UN News Centre 1:43pm 27th Jun, 2003   Annan calls for all-out effort to stamp out torture    26 June – Declaring that “the sad truth is that we have a long way to go in stamping out torture,” United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all states to ratify the international agreements against the evil, to devise new strategies to combat it and to contribute generously to the UN fund to aid victims.    “As surely as it stands for peace and development, the United Nations stands equally for freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and for bringing the perpetrators of such grave crimes to justice,” Mr. Annan said in a message marking International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.    “We must continue to develop new strategies and follow through on those already in place,” he added.    He noted that the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly last December, establishes a framework that will allow visits by independent international and national bodies to places where persons are deprived of liberty.    “I call upon all States that have not yet done so to ratify the Convention and its Optional Protocol as a concrete step in the struggle to prevent torture in our world,” he said.    Mr. Annan thanked all those who had contributed to the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture who “often carry the physical and mental scars with them throughout their lives.” He added: “I call on all others to follow this example by giving generously to the Fund, so that an even greater number of projects can be funded in the coming year.    “On this International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture, let us harness our moral outrage at this practice and commit ourselves to concrete steps to end it once and for all,” he concluded. “We owe this to the victims of torture. And we owe it to our common humanity.”    To commemorate June 26, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Amnesty International is highlighting five appeal cases against torture from around the world.    ELECTRIC SHOCK TORTURE BY EGYPTIAN POLICE    In Egypt, anyone taken into custody is at risk of torture. The police have tortured people from all walks of life, including women, children and the elderly. They have tortured political suspects, criminal suspects, and people not accused of anything who have found themselves in the hands of the police.    Wa'el Tawfiq was arrested during the Cairo International Book Fair on 22 January 2002. An active member of the Egyptian People's Committee for Solidarity with the Palestinian Intifada, Wa'el Tawfiq was taken to the State Security Investigations headquarters at Lazoghly Square, Cairo.    For two days he was subjected to electric shocks and other forms of torture. He was blindfolded, stripped to his underwear and surrounded by four officers who punched and kicked him. Then electric shocks were applied to his right wrist. A dirty sock was placed in his mouth and bottles of freezing water were poured over him.    Wa'el Tawfiq can identify at least one of the officers who tortured him and he filed a detailed complaint. Yet the authorities have taken no steps towards prosecuting those responsible for his torture.    Take action! Click on the link below to sign the online petition. Visit the related web page
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