Justice starts at home: A call for stepped-up nationally-led investigations into torture

Abstract

In my role as the UN's lead expert on tackling torture I see the scale and extent of torture crimes being perpetrated by – and being ignored by – States every day, and everywhere. It is my opinion that only through national prosecutions can the cycle of impunity – the antithesis of accountable government – be broken. For too long, the burden of achieving justice has been pushed onto overloaded and inherently limited international courts and tribunals, even as they play an important role (and sometimes are the only acceptable actor). In this column I make the case why national prosecutions are so important and how they can be achieved.