Why Torture Doesn’t Work (Shane O’Mara, Project-Syndicate)

Interrogation is far too important to be left to amateurs. Obtaining actionable and reliable intelligence can be crucial to activities ranging from everyday law enforcement to preventing acts of terror. That’s why interrogation techniques should be based on brain and behavioral sciences, not on the fevered imaginings of Hollywood producers that are believed by politicians, supported by lawyers, and carried out by amateur torturers

https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/neuroscience-effective-interrogation-by-shane-o-mara-2016-05

UN Special Rapporteur Breaks New Ground with Report on Gendered Aspects of Torture (Catherine Powell, CFR)

Last week I hosted a CFR roundtable with Juan E. Mendez, the United Nations special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment, to discuss his new report on gendered aspects of torture. The groundbreaking report, released earlier this year, addresses gendered aspects of torture and other ill-treatment of persons in detention. It stresses the need to apply gender analysis to torture and cruel treatment to reveal abuses that would otherwise be invisible or normalized

http://blogs.cfr.org/women-around-the-world/2016/05/18/un-special-rapporteur-breaks-new-ground-with-report-on-gendered-aspects-of-torture/