Article 5. No-one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)


The Article 5 Project seeks to provide a grounded basis for research into the use of music in connection with torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment (CID punishment). As well as instances of music being used as an instrument of torture, the project will also look at how music may otherwise be used in connection with torture and CID punishment. In order to understand these dynamics, the Project will also consider other ways in which music is used in the context of humiliation and mockery and to inflict physical and psychological violence.

The Project is still in its initial stages. Currently, we are establishing a database of relevant material, and in April 2011, with generous support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, we will host an international workshop at which experts on this issue will discuss the current state of research, research priorities and strategies for the future.