CONADEP
In 1976, life changed dramatically in Argentina. On March 24, 1976, a military coup took place. In an attempt to wipe out all dissenting opinion, they began a campaign of terror where thousands of people literally disappeared. The testimonies of the survivors of torture and kidnapping are brutal to read. The methods used to torture them; including electrical prods and live burials left lasting scars, both physical and mental on these survivors. The patterns in these testimonies are all the same. The torturers were sadistic and brutal, and would stop at nothing to get the information they wanted. They tortured loved ones in front of their family members, they took whole families from their homes, and they killed thousands with no remorse.
The patterns are patterns of extreme violence, and the violence seems to stem from fear. They feared the recriminations of the left-wing dissidents, they feared their reaction to their dictatorship, and so, they tried to remove all those who disagreed with their administration and its methods. They used violence to gain their hold on the administration, so it makes sense they would use violence and fear to hold on to their power. They were trying to find out information about other dissidents and those who might oppose the government. The torturers themselves were often drunk, laughing and joking with each other, and they used the most inhumane methods. One survivor wrote, "These practices were carried out in a diabolical setting; the torturers, some drinking, others laughing, hitting and insulting, tried to extract from...
Torture has been a tool of coercion for nearly all of human history, whether to instill fear in a population or force people to convert, but almost all contemporary attempts to justify the use of torture revolve around torture as a means of extracting information from a victim. Used in this context, torture has a number of prominent advocates, despite the fact that ample historical and experimental evidence suggests that
Torture Debate Torture Is Unacceptable Under No Circumstances Argument: torture is unacceptable because it is counterproductive Argument: torture is unacceptable because it is illegal Argument: torture is unacceptable because it is immoral Is Torture Ever Acceptable in Any Way? Although torture has existed as long as human history, liberal democracies in the last two centuries began to argue against the use of torture in all occasions because they began to see torture as a barbaric practice
Torture The use of non-lethal torture in interrogating possible criminals has always been an area of debate. It wasn't hot topic when the terrorist activities were kept at a down low in the nineties. However, following nine eleven and the surge of terrorists, it became necessary to be aware of the activities they were up to. The major debate lies in the fact that whether a known terrorist should be subjected
Torture and the Ticking Time-Bomb The Definition of Torture In 1984, the United Nations General Assembly produced an advisory measure known as the United Nations Convention Against Torture. This document specifically addressed torture from the perspective of governments and states, while it also focuses on the use of torture by any individual acting in an official capacity for said state or government. The document also addressed other forms of 'cruel and inhumane
However, in truth, such incidences are rare and hence based on this pretext there is every danger that torture might become an administrative practice. There is every possibility that torture might become a systemic abuse tool. Thus only if morally permissible conditions prevail can torture be pursued. Another popular perspective is that bringing torture under a legal prism would make it a more effective tool as officials would only
These logistical problems are only one source of error in Levin's argument, however. The idea of establishing guilt with certainty before using torture fits the utilitarian ethic; it ensures that any reduction in happiness or good to the terrorist is more than compensated for by the increased happiness in the terrorist's would-be victims. The other part of Levin's argument, that torture should only be used as a preventative and not
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