Take a Step to Stamp Out Torture

Three quarters of the world`s governments have used torture in the past
three years. In police stations and prison cells, on city streets and
in remote villages, torturers continue to devastate the lives of
countless victims. For some the result is an agonizing death. For
survivors life can never be the same again. Some scars heal. Others
continue to disfigure the mind and the body long after the torture has
ended. This report draws on recent reports of torture and ill-treatment
from more than 150 countries. The victims are criminal suspects as well
as political prisoners, the disadvantaged as well as the dissident,
people targeted because of their identity as well as beliefs. They are
women as well as men, children as well as adults. Action to eradicate
torture is needed urgently, and this report launches a worldwide
Amnesty International campaign against torture. Drawing on decades of
experience in researching and working against torture, Take a step to
stamp out torture focuses on three major areas - preventing torture,
confronting discrimination and overcoming impunity. It aims to
galvanize people around the world in a collective effort to eradicate
torture from the face of the earth.