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This article explains that the United Nations Committee against Torture (hereinafter “the Committee”) has played a significant role in addressing the serious problem of torture in health care settings. In particular, the Committee’s Concluding Observations and Recommendations under Article 19 of the Convention against Torture have been an important tool in this area. The Committee has used these means to remind States parties of their obligation to provide adequate health care for persons held in detention centers and prisons, to address abuses and poor conditions in mental health institutions and psychiatric facilities, and to denounce the practice of punishing or …

International criminal law attempts to sanction crimes that have a global nature and impact. After World War II, the international community came together to begin addressing important international issues, including preventing future war and non-war related atrocities and crimes. From the International Military Tribunals established in the wake of World War II to the world's first permanent International Criminal Court (ICC), a number of international bodies, treaties, and statutes have been formed in an effort to effectively administer criminal justice on an international level. Yet the administration and application of international criminal justice has faced significant hurdles and there are …

 Closed environments pose a major challenge to the full and effective implementation of human rights norms and conventions. However, many conventions contain mechanisms that can be used to further advance implementation of human rights in those closed environments. The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention) has several mechanisms in place that play an important role in enforcing and implementing human rights obligations. Along with the creation of a supervisory organ, the Committee against Torture (the Committee), the Convention provides a framework for: State Party reporting and concluding observations (COBs) under …