A video presentation produced by the Asian Human Rights Commission
At the recently held 2nd Meeting of Parliamentarians and Human Rights Activists, Mr. Basil Fernando, in giving the introductory speech on the theme of the meeting, explains why there is no genuine interest on the part of many governments to stop the use of torture by the police and law enforcement agencies. While the governments express sentiments of sympathy they do not take any serious interest in the issue as they are not willing to face the consequences of the elimination of torture. Without creating an alternative method of investigation into crime the law enforcement officers cannot be convinced to abandon the use of torture. However, the governments are unwilling to have a better criminal justice system because that will conflict with the prevalence of corruption and other forms of the abuse of power. Thus, the problem of the elimination of torture is deeply linked to the improvement of the political systems which can co-exist with the improved criminal justice systems.
The full speech may be viewed here
