Noting that Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
Aware that torture is practised in many countries of the world,
Cognisant that various reports of such violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms have been brought before various United Nations organs dealing with human rights, the International Humanist and Ethical Union:
Rejects the use of any form of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
Requests that its member organisations urge their individual governments to ratify, if they have not already done so, existing international conventions and covenants which contain provisions relating to the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and, further, request their respective governments to determine whether any form of torture or inhuman treatment or punishment is used in areas under their jurisdiction and, if it is, to take all necessary steps to eliminate and forbid such measures.
IHEU Congress 1974
'The use of torture', Humanists International, World Humanist Congress, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1974