ABSTRACT
Article 15 protects the right of persons with disabilities, like all other persons, to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment. The charge to the Ad Hoc Committee in drafting what became Article 15 of the CRPD was to apply these well known prohibitions against torture and other forms of ill-treatment to people with disabilities. This chapter discusses the history of the development of the right to be free from torture and other forms of ill-treatment under international law, how this history relates to the drafting process that lead to the final version of Article 15, and what the final version of Article 15 includes and omits. The chapter explores the reports of the Special Rapporteurs and the statements of the CRPD Committee. The risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment are ever-present, especially for people with mental disabilities who are confined in State-run institutions.
