The essential phenomenon of torture, however is that it is not an ordinary crime, but a crime of obedience: a crime that takes place, not in opposition to the authorities, but under explicit instructions from the authorities to engage in acts of torture, or in an environment in which such acts are implicitly sponsored, expected, or at least tolerated by the authorities. Lee Hamilton and I have defined a crime of obedience as "an act performed in response to orders from authority that is considered illegal or immoral by the larger community." Torture is clearly considered illegal and immoral by the international community; it is prohibited by international declarations and conventions that have been unanimously adopted by member states of the United Nations. Yet it is the authorities of these very states that order, encourage, or tolerated systematic policies or sporadic acts of torture.