The World : Torture Called Widespread

Torture is a “more or less normal element of daily life” in many countries, a U.N. Human Rights Commission report said. The report, made public after the opening of the 43-nation commission’s annual six-week session in Geneva, listed six countries--Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, El Salvador, Chile, South Africa and Iran--as nations where torture is a common practice in political cases. “Torture is still a widespread phenomenon in today’s world,” the report said, pointing out that it is most often used by governments to stifle opposition or to extract information.