To mark the International Day In Support of Victims of Torture, Secretary General Ban Ki Moon called on all UN member states to accede to the Convention against Torture and the Optional Protocol, which allows international visits to places of detention. From the UN News Center:
“[t]he foundation of international human rights law strictly prohibits torture “under any and all circumstances. And yet, 60 years since the adoption of the Declaration, torture persists, devastating millions of victims and their families,” he said, adding that the Day was “a call to speak out and take action on their behalf and against all those who commit torture and all forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.”
Over at his new digs at FireDogLake, Spencer Ackerman marks the day with a video of Amnesty International’s protest on the National Mall.