7 - The Prohibition of Torture and Ill-Treatment in Armed Forces and Armed Groups

Summary

This chapter discusses how torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (‘other ill-treatment’) applies to the treatment of members of any armed force. Life in the military can be brutal even without a recruit ever facing the enemy in combat. Many armed forces or non-State armed groups have initiation rites that often involve degrading, and sometimes inhuman treatment. Once incorporated into any armed force (whether State or non-State), recruits may suffer intermittent or regular beatings at the hands of other soldiers or their commanders. This may be a form of sanction for poor performance but it may also be part and parcel of their existence in the military. Positions of authority in any armed force offer an opportunity to engage in gratuitous, unlawful violence – typically without the fear of ever being held accountable. Recruits—male as well as female—may be subjected to sexual violence or even raped. Children, who continue to be recruited into some armed forces and many non-State armed groups (often by force), are especially vulnerable to abuse and harm.