In week 11 we had one of the most interesting lectures. There were some topics such as divorce, torture, corruption and humanitarian intervention. The most interesting topics for me were torture and corruption and I think they are somehow linked in my country.
The definition given by our lecture was that is the practice or act of deliberately inflicting severe physical pain and possibly injury on a person or in other words, it is an act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty. There are in fact many definitions for torture, but the most widely accepted definition of torture internationally is that set out by Article 1 of the United Nations Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT):
“… ‘torture’ means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”
The fact is that although many countries have accepted this law, definitely there are many cases of torture happen in those countries under the observation of government. I think the most common reason for torturing people is to get information. Sometimes prisoners facing very terrible and intolerant torture which force them even to acknowledge something that they have not done. So in my opinion torturing people in any reasons is not ethical, because there are always other ways to get information from criminals.
The other topic I would like to reflect is Corruption. In philosophical, theological or moral discussion, corruption is spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an idea. Corruption is often happen within the governments and it has plenty of reasons. Reasons and amount or level of corruption in a poor country differ from a rich country.
In my country Afghanistan, corruption has become the main problem. I can very confidently say that the dangers of corruption threaten my country more than security issues. Many people are suffering because of corruption in my country. There are many educated and expert people who are jobless or have very low incomes which make their living conditions terrible. On the other hand, there are people who are not educated at all but because they are wealthy so they buy the positions in the government and practice unethical ways of possessing wealth by bribery and other illegal activities.
In conclusion, corruption is a extremely dangerous phenomena that causes many other problems, such as security problems, economic problems and so on. Corruption is not ethical in anyway and cannot be justified, because it corrupts people from within and become a habit which later on is not easy to quit.
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