Written by Violet Magoba and Carey Mulindi 2012-06-26 12:23:00 Read 1273 Times

The United Nations (UN) International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is being celebrated Tuesady internationally in honor of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (United Nations Convention against Torture).

The day is to remind people that human torture is unacceptable and very unethical, and Kenya as a country is no exception.

This Convention is an internationally recognized human rights instrument, under the review of the UN, which aims to prevent torture around the world.

The Convention requires member states to take effective measures to prevent torture within their borders, and forbids the states to transport people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.

It came into being on June 26th, 1987 as a result of globalizing human rights and acknowledging that torture and inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment are universally prohibited.

The United Nations General Assembly decided to mark this historic date and designated June 26th as an appropriate time.

In Kenya, the media has been called upon to highlight the plight of torture victims and also help the associated organizations in  creating awareness to the public that torture to human is a crime and unaccepted.

The Judiciary has also been called upon to effectively clear all cases that pertain to human torture which have created a backlog of cases in the Kenyan court system, as well as to take full responsibility in ensuring that torture against humans is fought tooth and nail in Kenya, with all the available resources.

There have been various forms of torture in the world, and specifically in Kenya. Some of these ways are known publicly while others are secretly mentioned, and yet the public has to be thoroughly informed of this menace in society.

Statistics from a survey done last year in Kenya shows that 25% of Kenyans who undergo torture of any kind report it to relevant authorities, or are bold enough to speak about their torture experience.

The rest 75%, which clearly forms the majority of Kenyan citizens are suffering silently under torture for fear of reporting the cases.

So many people in this country faced torture of all kinds, including the ghastly rape amongst girls and women; this was during the post poll chaos.

Today, as this day is being commemorated, the Kenyan society is being urged to come forward and together fight this menace of torture against fellow men and women.

Switch to Our Mobile Site