Torture and the Istanbul Protocol

Torture is one of the most serious violations of human rights that can be committed by a public servant or agent of the State against a citizen; moreover, from the human point of view, it is one of the greatest acts of violence and "perversion" of one person over another; it transcends the individual sphere, since it reaches all the vital spheres of those involved; it encompasses the bio-psycho-socio-cultural spheres, even reaching the transgenerational sphere.Since 2001, the United Nations published the "Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 'Istanbul Protocol'", which was first updated in 2004 and most recently in 2022, becoming the international instrument par excellence for documenting torture and its consequences, as it sets out the general principles to be followed, the obligations of States to prevent, investigate, punish and redress it, as well as the minimum elements that must be presented in expert opinions.