Fighting torture is and always has been a first and foremost priority for Italian NGO Antigone. The association — dedicated to the defense of rights and guarantees within the criminal and penitentiary system — has always been especially active in campaigning for the (much-awaited) introduction of the crime of torture in the Italian criminal code. It is also committed to taking action to prevent torture from happening and to denounce it when it does.

It is therefore hardly a surprise that this year's Antigone vocational training seminar — held during the first weekend of October in Saluzzo — was all about fighting torture through observation and prevention.

Antigone's members spent three days talking about torture and what can be done to fight this abhorrent phenomenon. To share the important things learned during the meeting, Antigone asked on the speakers to get in front of the camera and answer a few questions.

Torture prevention expert

Marco Mona is a Swiss lawyer who has been the president of the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) for many years. With his NGO, Marco has played a fundamental role in the decennial process that led to the adoption firstly of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture (ECPT) and then of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT). He witnessed in first person the inception of the European and the universal systems of torture prevention and was part of the Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture (SPT).

In other words, he really knows what he is talking about when he talks about torture. If you want to learn more about torture prevention — what it is, where it comes from, how it works, and why it matters — watch this video with this very special lecturer!