Is torture ever acceptable? According to the UN Convention Against Torture, any infliction of torture1 i.e. waterboarding is banned under international law and the domestic laws of most countries in the 21st century. The point of contention is whether torture under any circumstances should be entirely prohibited. This opinion piece will be centered towards the debate regarding interrogation using torture methods and argue that torture is never acceptable from the moral and utilitarian perspectives.
Strong advocates of anti-torture laws will give you a straightforward answer, that torture should be banned because it’s immoral and impractical. It is unpleasant, insufferable and a clear violation of human rights. From the moral
Once torture is used, the question is to what extent of torture should be implemented before you stop? Not only is this difficult to tell, but once the implementation of it is allowed, it is seldom interrogators will discontinue such methods.
International laws have been put in place to ban acts of torture to ensure that human rights and humane treatment of detainees are followed. Unfortunately in reality, cases of torture are still widespread. Quoting an article from the UN News Center, ‘torture is still a standard practice in many countries’ i.e. Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. My bottom line is that though the implementation gap is still wide, countries should strive toward research in technology to derive other methods i.e. truth drugs, psychological pressure methods instead of relying on medieval torture methods for interrogation.

Definition of torture

Torture and the Ticking Time Bomb (Read: Nuclear) Scenario. http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.smu.edu.sg/ehost/detail?hid=10&sid=dab7505a-d553-4e99-90bf-4dda5e6f8a44%40sessionmgr12&vid=3&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=poh&AN=56578525 Banned Techniques Yielded ‘High Value Information,’ Memo Says http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/us/politics/22blair.html?_r=1 Torture persists as standard practice in many countries,