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Thesis advisor: Stephen J. Pfohl / Existing studies of governmental responses to human rights allegations emphasize the rhetorical forms that official claims take at the expense of demonstrating how contextual factors influence discourse. Analytically, this dissertation accounts for these factors by theorizing and analyzing how knowledge and culture operate in American political discourse of torture. Drawing on a qualitative content and discourse analysis of 40 congressional hearings, held between 2003 and 2008, this dissertation documents a transition in American politics from a discourse of denial, which downplayed allegations of abuse and torture, to a discourse of acknowledgment, which criticized the Bush administration's interrogation policies on the grounds that the policies permitted torture and undermined U.S. interests. By situating this transition within its institutional and political context, this study examines the influence of documentary evidence of torture, interpretive frames in which American officials situated that evidence, and political power as expressed in control over congressional committees on political discourse. Between 2003 and 2008, a significant volume of documentary evidence of violence against detainees in U.S. custody entered public discourse. Typically, shifts in congressional discourse followed the release of official, documentary evidence produced by government sources, such as military police or FBI agents, that provided first-hand or localized portrayals of abuse and torture at U.S. detention facilities. Such documents, including the photographs taken at Abu Ghraib prison and FBI emails documenting torture at Guantánamo, secured a "reality" of violence that members of Congress found difficult to rationalize as legitimate state violence. This difficulty stems, in part, from the fact that localized portrayals of interpersonal violence frequently capture the excesses of that violence--the irrationality, sadism, and innovations in cruelty of torturers and the vulnerabilities of sufferers of torture. Significantly, though, the political meaning of documentary evidence derives from the interpretive frames in which it is situated. Between 2003 and 2008, "human rights" and the "rule of law" became increasingly available as interpretive frames for the political debate over detention and interrogation. This development resulted from several changes in the political environment, including the Bush administration's mobilization of human rights to legitimize the Iraq war and the Supreme Court's rulings on cases involving detainees. The Democrat's mid-term victory in 2006, which won Democrats control over both the House of Representatives and Senate, also profoundly influenced political discourse. Democrats used congressional committees to pursue broad, reflective hearings on the Bush administration's detention and interrogation policies. By inviting legal scholars and representatives of human rights organizations to speak about the policies, the Committees further elevated human rights and the rule of law in the debate about torture. Given these developments, a critical discourse of torture gradually emerged and solidified. This discourse labeled American interrogation practices--known to their supporters as "enhanced interrogation"--as torture and linked their use to significant and negative global consequences for the U.S. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Thesis advisor: Marc Landy / This thesis serves to clarify and concretize the controversy surrounding the debate on torture as it pertains to the War on Terror during the Bush Administration years. It argues that policy and rhetoric decisions made at the top of the political food chain contributed to the instances of abuse and torture that occurred in the various arenas of the war (i.e. Afghanistan, Iraq, Guantanamo, and CIA “black sites”). Such an argument is made through an analysis of what defines interrogation and torture, what techniques were in fact authorized, what factors went into determining which techniques to use, and what influence these techniques had on abuses that occurred. This thesis concludes with policy updates based on lessons learned and briefly addresses the efforts made by the Obama Administration in regards to torture, interrogation, and terrorism. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science Honors Program. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Political Science Honors.

Prohibition of torture in the international law The prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment is universally recognized and is enshrined in all of the major international and regional human rights instruments. It is also a firmly rooted principle of customary international law, and as such, it is binding on all states at all times. All international instruments that contain the prohibiton of torture and ill- treatment recognize its absolute, non-derogable character. The purpose of my thesis is to analyse how views regarding torture have changed. I have focused on torture cases in last twenty years. Are people tortured more than in the past? In which countries is the situation worst? I specialised on european continent and on judgements of The European Court of Human Rights. I was trying to find out how many cases The European Court was dealing with and what treatment can be classified as torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. I have also asked the question if the understanding of what is torture has changed from the year 1991 until 2010. The thesis is composed of six chapters, first part is introduction, the second one mentions international and regional documents, in which prohibition of torture was recognized. The Third Chapter defines basic terminology used in the thesis....

This work examines the literary English traditions of four Virgin Martyrs: Agatha of Catania, Agnes of Rome, Juliana of Nicomedia, and Katherine of Alexandria. The primary focus surrounds the narratological developments and alterations of these women’s sex-specific or -emphasized tortures. In addition to torments, other details, which may not initially appear sex-specific in nature, are also considered. As recent scholarship has shown, Virgin Martyrs’ lives tend to conform to a relatively standardized core narrative by the later Middle Ages. This study considers to what extent the lives of these four saints actually conform and to what extent they retain individualism despite this homogenizing trend. An analysis of each narrative’s progression from early Latin sources, when available, through fifteenth-century English texts, which supplements the current scholarly trend of examining Virgin Martyrs as a collective group, is also provided. The tracing of these legends’ sex-specific characteristics allows for clear identification of similarities and deviations within various sources. Five appendices, each including an analytical table, are included to aid in the visualization of this progression. The tables, which allow for quick and easy identification of variations through chronologically listed sources, demonstrate this process in a concise and user-friendly manner and should be utilized alongside examinations of these legends as presented in each of the central chapters. The first chapter, on Agatha, addresses her breast amputation and its symbolic implications for femininity and motherhood, as well as the argument that Virgin Martyrs ‘Become Male’ during their passiones. The second chapter, on Agnes, explores her traditionally eroticized relationship with Christ, the motif of concealment, and Virgin Martyrs’ conventional brothel experience. The third chapter, on Juliana, focuses upon the Warrior Virgin Martyr tradition, her physical and spiritual struggle with the devil, and the tradition of familial rejection. The final chapter, on Katherine, considers her position as supreme Bride, her limited physical trials, and her relationship with the Blessed Virgin. The final appendix contains a comparative chart of Virgin Martyr legends within the Legenda aurea, which indicates the frequency of motifs and plot devices in these lives.

This work examines the literary English traditions of four Virgin Martyrs: Agatha of Catania, Agnes of Rome, Juliana of Nicomedia, and Katherine of Alexandria. The primary focus surrounds the narratological developments and alterations of these women’s sex-specific or -emphasized tortures. In addition to torments, other details, which may not initially appear sex-specific in nature, are also considered. As recent scholarship has shown, Virgin Martyrs’ lives tend to conform to a relatively standardized core narrative by the later Middle Ages. This study considers to what extent the lives of these four saints actually conform and to what extent they retain individualism despite this homogenizing trend. An analysis of each narrative’s progression from early Latin sources, when available, through fifteenth-century English texts, which supplements the current scholarly trend of examining Virgin Martyrs as a collective group, is also provided. The tracing of these legends’ sex-specific characteristics allows for clear identification of similarities and deviations within various sources. Five appendices, each including an analytical table, are included to aid in the visualization of this progression. The tables, which allow for quick and easy identification of variations through chronologically listed sources, demonstrate this process in a concise and user-friendly manner and should be utilized alongside examinations of these legends as presented in each of the central chapters. The first chapter, on Agatha, addresses her breast amputation and its symbolic implications for femininity and motherhood, as well as the argument that Virgin Martyrs ‘Become Male’ during their passiones. The second chapter, on Agnes, explores her traditionally eroticized relationship with Christ, the motif of concealment, and Virgin Martyrs’ conventional brothel experience. The third chapter, on Juliana, focuses upon the Warrior Virgin Martyr tradition, her physical and spiritual struggle with the devil, and the tradition of familial rejection. The final chapter, on Katherine, considers her position as supreme Bride, her limited physical trials, and her relationship with the Blessed Virgin. The final appendix contains a comparative chart of Virgin Martyr legends within the Legenda aurea, which indicates the frequency of motifs and plot devices in these lives.

This report explores the role medical professionals played in state-sponsored torture during the Brazilian military rule. Between 1964 and 1985, counterinsurgency agencies imprisoned an estimated 50,000 people, many of them without a trial, and tortured at least 20,000 suspected of ‘subversive conduct’. Scholars often describe the implementation of torture as the exclusive work of ‘infamous interrogators’ belonging to repressive agencies of the security forces. They were not, however, the sole perpetrators of human rights violations. A large body of medical experts played a significant role in administering and justifying the regime’s mechanism of oppression. While the evidence pointing to these collaborations exists in diverse sources, scholarship dealing with this aspect of regime’s repression is scarce. The report unveils the particular roles of doctors in the torture mechanism, and places their history within two larger historiographical frameworks. Engaging with literature on Latin America’s Cold War, the study traces the history of the National Security Doctrine and examines the final form it took in Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s. It then utilizes the scholarship on torture to contextualize and illuminate the regime’s practice of inflicting pain. Finally, the report turns to studies from other disciplines to offer theoretical and conceptual frameworks elucidating professionals’ complicity in torture. / text

Torture is prohibited in a great number of international treaties. Some of the documents prohibit torture in general terms; some of them propose the definition of torture. The purpose of this research is to analyse how the legal scope of torture definition enshrined in the CAT has changed throughout the years and to what extent the definition of torture is applicable in contemporary legal practice. In the first part the international legal regulation will be discussed explaining which international documents prohibit torture, which of them define torture, what monitoring and judicial mechanisms are created. The definition of torture is differently interpreted in the jurisprudence of international tribunals. The actions which were not defined as torture 50 years ago are understandable as torture in recent jurisprudence. The second part is aimed to analyse how definition of torture evolved in international law during the years and how it was narrowed in the USA practice. Different interpretations of the definition of torture are compared in order to analyse which elements of torture definition enshrined in the CAT used in contemporary international judicial practice and to what extent they are applicable. This explains to what extent definition of torture is applicable by international judicial bodies in contemporary practice and what requirements it should fulfil to ensure the needs of contemporary human values. In the third part the definition of torture applicable in... [to full text] / Tarptautinės sutartys draudžia kankinimus. Vienos jų tiesiog draudžia kankinimus, kitos – pateikia kankinimų apibrėžimą. Šio darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti, kaip keitėsi teisinė kankinimo apibrėžimo apimtis ir kokia apimtimi jis yra taikomas šiuolaikinėje tarptautinės teisės praktikoje. Pirmoje darbo dalyje aptariama tarptautinė teisinė bazė, aiškinant kurie dokumentai draudžia kankinimus, kurie nustato kankinimų apibrėžimą, aiškinama kokie yra sukurti monitoringo ir kiti teisines priežiūros mechanizmai. Kankinimų apibrėžimas yra skirtingai interpretuojamas tarptautinių tribunolų jurisprudencijoje. Veiksmai, kurie prieš 50 metų nebuvo klasifikuojami kaip kankinimai, šiandien jau patenka į šią sąvoką. Antroje dalyje analizuojama kaip kankinimų apibrėžimas, pateiktas JT Konvencijoje prieš kankinimą, laikui bėgant, kito ir kaip jo taikymas buvo apribotas JAV praktikoje. Lyginamos įvairios kankinimų apibrėžimo interpretacijos, siekiant išanalizuoti JT Konvencijos prieš kankinimą apibrėžimo elementus, naudojamus šiuolaikinėje tarptautinėje teisėje ir išsiaiškinti kokia apimtimi jie yra taikomi. Taip paaiškinama, kokia apimtimi šiuolaikinėje praktikoje šį apibrėžimą taiko tarptautinės teisminės institucijos ir kokius reikalavimus jis turi atitikti, tam kad užtikrintų šiolaikinių žmogiškųjų vertybių poreikius. Trečioje dalyje analizuojamas kankinimo apibrėžimas, kuris yra taikomas Lietuvoje. Reikia pripažinti, kad Lietuvoje nėra aiškaus kankinimų apibrėžimo ir normos... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

This thesis explores media reporting on wartime sexual violence against men, set against commonly-held notions of gender and masculinity, to uncover how male sexual victimization is constructed and discussed. A discourse analysis of several daily newspapers was conducted. Findings show that there was little sustained discussion to analyse; martial sexual violence against men was referred to more often than expected, but descriptions were fleeting and limited in terms of the information provided. An examination of media reporting on female rape during conflicts emerged from this analysis, and we see a clear difference in the way the media reports about sexual victimization of male and female victims. It was concluded that the way in which male and female sexual victimization is reported is influenced and shaped by gender stereotypes, contains gendered language, and contributes to the perpetuation of both male and female rape myths.

The practice of torture is an affront to human dignity. Freedom from torture is an absolute human right. Laws that violated human rights and entrenched racial divisions characterized the apartheid era in South Africa. However, the transition from a repressive state to a democratic one, gave “birth” to a Constitution characterized by fundamental human rights, social justice and open democratic societal values. In order to have any real meaning, the human rights enshrined in the Constitution and various National and International instruments, needs to be realized in everyday life. These rights are valuable in that they provide the tools to empower victims, or rather, survivors of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. A Criminal Justice System that focuses on victims’ rights and empowerment has the ability to transform the current maze that one must navigate to access justice. In keeping with its obligations as a signatory in 1984 to the UN Convention against Torture, South Africa has 29 years later, in 2013, passed in its parliament the first Legislative Act creating the specific offence of torture. This paper critically appraises the current state of legislative and other provisions in the light of South Africa’s position against torture and analyses its fresh new law with the objective of establishing how effective these measures will be and what future recommendations are required for reinforcing its prevention. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2014.