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Part V Key Rights in Times of Armed Conflict, Ch.16 Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Manfred Nowak

From: The Oxford Handbook of International Law in Armed Conflict

Edited By: Andrew Clapham, Paola Gaeta, Tom Haeck (Assistant Editor), Alice Priddy (Assistant Editor)

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.date: 02 December 2023

Subject(s):
Armed conflict — Geneva Conventions 1949 — Freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment
Since its beginnings in the nineteenth century, international humanitarian law (IHL) has drawn its major inspiration from respect for the dignity and integrity of the human being.1 IHL was developed to reduce human suffering during armed conflicts by requiring combatants to act as humanely as possible and to avoid cruelty. The Lieber Code of 1863 clearly stated that military necessity does not admit cruelty, including torture.2 Similar minimum standards of humane treatment were developed shortly thereafter in the context of international treaties under the...
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