IV. Legal Framework 62 a non-exhaustive list of methods of torture including “threats of death, harm to family, further torture, imprisonment.”326 In addition to right to freedom from torture, freedom from ill-treatment includes a prohibition against “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”327 As the Istanbul Protocol, notes: While the term “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” is not defined in the Convention against Torture or other international (or regional) instruments, under international standards it “should be interpreted so as to extend the widest possible protection against abuses”.328 Article 35(5) of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh also prohibits torture stating, “No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment or treatment.”329 Following the accession to the CAT, Bangladesh also enacted the Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Act in 2013, which lays down the procedure for investigating torture complaints, punishment, witness protection, and compensation.330 This report documents several instances of torture of Rohingya refugees at the hands of armed militant groups, including by severing body parts and through beatings, shootings, stabbings, and issuing death threats.331 Right to Effective Remedies Article 8 of the UDHR and Article 2 of the ICCPR guarantee the right to an effective remedy for violations of fundamental rights.332 As expressed by Article 2 of the ICCPR, State Parties are legally obligated to “guarantee to all individuals within their territories and subject to their jurisdiction the rights recognized in the Covenant without discrimination.”333 General Comment 15 further elaborated that the enjoyment of rights under the ICCPR is not limited to citizens of State Parties but must also be available to all individuals, regardless of nationality or statelessness, such as asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers and other persons, who may find themselves in the territory or subject to the jurisdiction of the State Party.334 The ICCPR further obligates State Parties to secure human rights through legislative, judicial, administrative, educational, and other appropriate measures to fulfill their obligations.335 In considering the right to an effective remedy, the U.N. General Assembly stated that it includes the right to file complaints, attend public hearings, and access international bodies to communicate 326 OHCHR, Istanbul Protocol, Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 2004, para. 145. 327 ICCPR, Art. 7. 328 OHCHR, Istanbul Protocol, para. 7 (quoting the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, principle 6, footnote). The footnote in the Body of Principles of all Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, as passed by the U.N. General Assembly, reads in full: “The term ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’ should be interpreted so as to extend the widest possible protection against abuses, whether physical or mental, including the holding of a detained or imprisoned person in conditions which deprive him, temporarily or permanently, of the use of any of his natural senses, such as sight or hearing, or of his awareness of place and the passing of time.” 329 Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Art. 35(5). 330 Torture and Custodial Death (Prohibition) Act, 2013. 331 See for example, Fortify Rights interview with C.D., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, March 22, 2023; Fortify Rights interview with F.B., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, August 29, 2023; and Fortify Rights interview with G.F., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, October 18, 2023. 332 UDHR, Art. 8; ICCPR, Art. 2. 333 ICCPR, Art. 2. 334 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31 [80], The Nature of the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant, U.N. Doc CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13, May 26, 2004, para. 10. 335 Id. at fn. 27, para. 7.