Torture on state authority is categorically forbidden by the major international human rights conventions and the Convention against Torture; there are no exceptions, not even for preventing the deaths of others. Inhuman and degrading treatment is also forbidden. Indeed, both the ECHR (in a decision on interrogation techniques used by the British in Northern Ireland) and the Israeli supreme court (in a 1999 decision on interrogation techniques used by Israeli security forces) found that inhuman or degrading treatment that did not rise to the level of torture was still prohibited under, respectively, European and Israeli law. Until recently, torture was an absolute taboo: while we all know it’s practiced, even the worst governments are unlikely to openly admit using torture as policy. The idea of inflicting pain on a human being, particularly to achieve specific ends—punishment, confession, and even prevention—seems to violate the most basic tenets of civilized society, in particular respect for human dignity. http://worldpolicy.org/wordpress/2008/07/08/belinda-cooper-the-complexity-of-the-torture-question/