COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE OPENS THIRTY-SECOND SESSION

Hears Address by Acting High Commissioner

For Human Rights; Elects Chairperson and Officers

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 3 May (UN Information Service) –- The Committee against Torture today opened its thirty-second session by hearing an address by the United Nations acting High Commissioner for Human Rights and electing its Chairperson and officers for a two-year term. 

Bertrand Ramcharan, the acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the Committee that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had continued its efforts to implement the Secretary-General’s agenda for reform, outlined in his 2002 report, “Strengthening the United Nations:  an agenda for further change”.  In December 2003, the inter-agency Plan of Action was sent out to all United Nations country teams, nearly 150 worldwide, and a detailed three-year implementation strategy affecting the Office and other parts of the United Nations was expected to be finalized within the next weeks, he said.

Mr. Ramcharan also said that efforts to enhance the efficiency and impact of the human rights treaty monitoring system, the subject of Action 2 of the Secretary-General’s report, had continued.  Upon the recommendations of the second inter-committee meeting, the Office was currently preparing draft guidelines for an expanded core document and proposals for harmonized reporting guidelines and methods of work, which would be presented to the third inter-committee meeting in June, he added.

The Committee elected Fernando Marino Menendez (Spain) as its Chairperson by acclamation.  Yu Mengjia (China), Claudio Grossman (Chile), and Felice Gaer (United States) were elected Vice-Chairpersons.  Sayed Kassem El Masry (Egypt) was re-elected as Rapporteur. 

A newly elected member of the Committee, Julio Prado Vallejo (Ecuador), made a solemn declaration to perform his duties and exercise his powers as a member of the Committee honourably, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously.

The Committee also adopted its agenda and programme of work and discussed organizational and other matters, particularly on the preparation of lists of issues in advance and sending them to the State parties whose reports were scheduled to be considered.

A member of the Secretariat informed the Committee that in addition to the reports that were scheduled for consideration this session, 13 reports had been received, among them five reports which were scheduled for review in November.  Forty initial reports were overdue.

During its three-week session, the Committee will review measures undertaken by the Czech Republic, Monaco, Croatia, Germany, Chile, New Zealand, and Bulgaria to prevent and punish acts of torture.  These countries are among the 136 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Also, the Committee’s 10 Independent Experts will review, in closed session, information appearing to contain well-founded indications that torture is systematically being practised in some States parties; and complaints from individuals claiming to be victims of a violation by a State party of the provisions of the Convention.

The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 4 May, to take up the third periodic report of the CzechRepublic (document CAT/C/60/Add.1).

Statement by Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights

BERTRAND RAMCHARAN, Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had continued its efforts to implement the Secretary-General’s agenda for reform, outlined in his 2002 report, “Strengthening the United Nations:  an agenda for further change” (A/57/387).  Pursuant to Action Point 2 of the report directed at strengthening human rights-related United Nations actions at the country level, the Office, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Group and Executive Committee on Humanitarian Affairs, had developed a Plan of Action to improve the integration of human rights into the activities of United Nations agencies at the country level.  In December 2003, the inter-agency Plan of Action was sent out to all United Nations country teams, nearly 150 worldwide, and a detailed three-year implementation strategy affecting the Office and other parts of the United Nations was expected to be finalized within the next weeks.

Efforts to enhance the efficiency and impact of the human rights treaty monitoring system, the subject of Action 2 of the Secretary-General’s report, had continued, Mr. Ramcharan said.  Upon the recommendations of the second inter-committee meeting, the Office was currently preparing draft guidelines for an expanded core document and proposals for harmonized reporting guidelines and methods of work, which would be presented to the third inter-committee meeting in June.  It was hoped that the meeting would move forward the process of streamlining the reporting system, thereby strengthening the system from the point of view of treaty bodies, States parties and individuals at the national level.

Mr. Ramcharan recalled that before concluding its sixtieth session, the Commission on Human Rights, among other things, concerning “Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of punishment”, had decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for three years.  Under resolution 2004/72 regarding impunity, the Commission decided to appoint an Independent Expert to update the principles for the protection and promotion of human rights through action to combat impunity, prepared by the Sub-Commission in 1997.  It also decided to appoint an Independent Expert to prepare a study concerning the extent

to which the human rights special procedures and treaty bodies were able to address the compatibility of national counter-terrorism measures with international human rights obligations in their work.  The purpose of the study was to guide States in strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, with regard to the international human rights institutional mechanisms.

Mr. Ramcharan said that, with respect to the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Torture, the Commission, in its resolution 2003/32, had requested an independent evaluation of the Fund.  That evaluation, which included an assessment of best practices and lessons learned from the Fund’s activities, with a view to enhancing its effectiveness, was currently in progress.  It was expected that the final report of the evaluators would be available in October, so that it could be submitted to the sixty-first session of the Commission. 

In conclusion, Mr. Ramcharan drew attention to a study on violence against children, saying that it aimed to provide an in-depth global picture of violence against children, and to make recommendations with a view to its eradication.  The Special Representative carrying out the study, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, wished to develop close links with the human rights treaty bodies, and, in particular, the Committee against Torture, concerning its particular insight into the very disturbing problem of torture of children. 

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