A Northumbria University Forensic Psychologist
has contributed to an expert report, due to go before the United Nations later
this year, setting out how torture is used during interrogations around the
world and recommending the adoption of alternative, humane techniques.
Despite being prohibited by international law,
torture is still used in many countries, often during inquiries or
investigations, in the belief it will help extract information in criminal
cases.
However, research has shown that not only is
this practice illegal and immoral, it is also often ineffective, with false
confessions leading to wrongful convictions, and gross miscarriages of justice.
Over the last four years Gavin Oxburgh, Professor of Police Science at Northumbria University, has been part of an international steering group which has been
exploring the immorality and ineffectiveness of torture.
Led by former United Nations Special Rapporteur
on Torture, Professor Juan Mendez, the group includes experts in the fields of
interviewing, law enforcement, criminal investigations, national security,
military, intelligence, psychology, criminology, and human rights.
The 15 members have now produced a set of
Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering.
The Principles, which documents international good practices as well as
established international law and professional ethics, will go before the UN
later this year.
Speaking about the work of the steering group, Professor
Oxburgh said: “It has been an absolute honour and privilege to be invited to
contribute and be fully involved in such a prestigious and worthwhile process.
“There are countries around the world that
continue to use coercive techniques and torture individuals in order to gain
confessions and elicit information.
“This is a clear breach of a person’s human
rights and it should never be allowed to happen, under any circumstances.
“It is so important that we establish a
universal protocol that is based on the fundamental principles of international
human rights law, and ethically sound and empirical scientific research.
“The discussions we have had during our many
meetings and the final product have achieved just that – a set of principles
that encapsulate scientifically-proven good practice and grounded in
international law.”
The protocol produced by the steering group will
now seek endorsement by the United Nations.
This type of collaborative working between
experts from different backgrounds has recently been supported by the UN Human
Rights Council, as well as UN member states during the Congress on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice in Kyoto.
Both welcomed the collaboration between police and law
enforcement practitioners, lawyers, human rights experts and other relevant
stakeholders on the development of a set of international guidelines for
non-coercive interviewing methods and procedural safeguards.
Over the coming months and years the guidance
will be shared around the world, especially in those countries where torture is
more prevalent, hopefully leading to a change in how interrogation is carried
out in future.
Alexis Comninos, Legal Adviser at the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) part of the group coordinating this
initiative, said: “These Principles are unique, in that they integrate the
implementation of legal and procedural safeguards throughout the interview
process, with guidance on how to gather accurate and reliable information. Such
an integration strengthens investigations, and better prevents torture and
other ill-treatment in the first hours of custody. This was made possible by
the collaboration of a diverse and multidisciplinary group of international
experts.”
Professor Oxburgh
added: “Torture is immoral, ineffective and illegal, but we also know that when
you use those techniques you get false information, whereas when using humane,
rapport building techniques, you get better and more accurate information.
“We hope that the
work we have carried out over the last four years will show law enforcement and
military intelligence organisations around the globe that there are different
and better ways of carrying out interrogation.”
Find out more about the work of the steering group and read the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering.
Professor Gavin
Oxburgh is a member of Northumbria University’s Department of Social Sciences and Centre for Crime and Policing.
At 5pm on Wednesday
19 May Professor Oxburgh will deliver a live, online lecture entitled The
Immorality and Ineffectiveness of Torture: Towards a Universal Protocol for
Non-coercive Interviewing. The lecture is the latest in Northumbria
University’s Centre for Crime and Policing Seminar Series. Find out more and register here.
