COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONCLUDES THIRTY-SECOND SESSION

COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONCLUDES THIRTY-SECOND SESSION

Considered Reports of CzechRepublic, Monaco,

Croatia, Germany, Chile, New Zealand and Bulgaria

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 21 May (UN Information Service) -- The Committee against Torture concluded today its three-week spring session during which it reviewed reports from the Czech Republic, Monaco, Croatia, Germany, Chile, New Zealand and Bulgaria. 

Those countries are among 136 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and are bound by the terms of the treaty to submit periodic reports on efforts to ensure that such human rights violations do not occur on their territories.  In addition to submitting the reports, the countries sent delegations before the Committee of 10 independent Experts to answer questions.  

Cited among positive developments in the report of the Czech Republic were the ongoing efforts to revise the State party’s legislation in order to safeguard human rights in general and, more specifically, those relating to the implementation of the Convention against Torture.  The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about the persistent occurrence of acts of violence against the Roma community.  Among the Committee’s recommendations was that the State party should take measures to establish an effective, reliable and independent complaints system to undertake prompt and impartial investigations into all allegations of ill-treatment or torture by police and other public officials.

Among the positive developments in the report of Monaco were the absence of any allegations of violations of the Convention in the country and the contribution each year by the State party to the United Nations Fund for Voluntary Contributions for Victims of Torture.  The Committee was concerned about the lack of a definition of torture in the criminal law taking into consideration all the elements in article 1 of the Convention, and the fact that persons in custody were not entitled to a lawyer’s assistance immediately after arrest.  Among its recommendations was that the State party ensure monitoring of the treatment and physical conditions of detained foreign nationals condemned by Monegasque jurisdiction to long-term sentences and placed in French penitentiary facilities.

The Committee said positive developments in the report of Croatia included the ongoing efforts to reform legislation in order to ensure a better protection of human rights, including the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.  Among matters of concern was the reported failure of the State party in connection with torture and ill-treatment which reportedly occurred during the 1991-1995 armed conflict in the Former Yugoslavia, to carry out prompt, impartial and full investigations, to prosecute the perpetrators and to provide fair and adequate compensation to the victims.  Among the Committee’s recommendations were that Croatia enforce all relevant legislation providing for the protection of witnesses and other participants in proceedings; adopt all necessary measures to improve the material conditions of the reception centres for asylum seekers; and refrain from detaining asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.

Cited among positive developments in the report of Germany were the State party’s strengthening of institutional protection for human rights, including through the establishment of the Human Rights Committee of the Federal Parliament and the Federal Government’s submission of biennial national human rights reports to the Federal Parliament; and the State party’s passage of legislation to implement the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.  The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about the length of time taken to resolve criminal proceedings arising from allegations of ill-treatment of persons in custody of law enforcement authorities, including in particularly serious cases where death had resulted.  Among the Committee’s recommendations were that Germany should take all appropriate measures to ensure that criminal complaints lodged against its law enforcement authorities were resolved with all possible expedition.

Among positive aspects in the report of Chile, the Committee noted Chile’s introduction of the offence of torture in the national criminal system, and the abolition of the provision of arrest on suspicion without due cause.  The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about the allegations of continued ill-treatment of persons, in some cases amounting to torture, by Carabineros, civil police forces and prison guards, and reports of failure to conduct thorough and independent investigations into such complaints; and reports that some officials accused of torture-related crimes during the dictatorship had been appointed to high official positions.  Among the Committee’s recommendations were that Chilean authorities reform the Constitution to ensure the full protection of human rights including the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and abolish the Amnesty Law; and adopt all the necessary measures to ensure impartial, full and prompt investigations into all allegations of torture.

Positive developments in New Zealand, the Committee said, included the measures taken to improve the effectiveness and strengthen the independence of the Police Complaints Authority; the efforts undertaken to promote a positive relationship between the Police and Maori; and the steps taken to elaborate a national plan of action on human rights.  The Committee was concerned, among other things, that the immigration legislation did not incorporate the non-refoulement obligation; and the detention of several asylum seekers in remand prisons, with no segregation from other detainees.  The Committee recommended, among other things, that New Zealand ensure at all times that the fight against terrorism would not lead to a breach of the Convention and undue hardship imposed on asylum seekers; and that it reduce the time and improve the conditions of non-voluntary segregation (solitary confinement).

And the Committee said positive developments in the report of Bulgaria included the ongoing efforts by the State party to reform its legislation related to the implementation of the Convention and aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights; and the access given to non-governmental organizations to visit prisons on a regular basis.  Among matters of concern, the Committee noted the absence in domestic law of a comprehensive definition of torture as set out in article 1 of the Convention; and numerous allegations of ill-treatment of persons in custody that might amount to torture, in particular during police interviews, which disproportionately affected the Roma.  The Committee recommended, among other things, that Bulgaria take measures to establish an effective, reliable and independent complaints system to initiate and undertake prompt and impartial investigations into all allegations of ill-treatment or torture and to punish those found responsible.

In addition to reviewing country reports in public session, the Committee considered in private meetings information appearing to contain well-founded indications that torture was being systematically practised in the territories of some State parties.  And it examined communications from individuals claiming to be victims of violations by States parties of the provisions of the Convention.  Such communications are accepted only if they concern the 50 States that have declared the Committee competent to receive complaints under article 22 of the Convention.  

The Committee also drafted a letter to be addressed to the United States whose initial report was considered by the Committee in May 2000.  In the letter, the Committee requested the State party to submit its second periodic report to the Committee by 1 October 2004.  The letter drew the State party’s attention in particular to article 2.1 of the Convention, according to which each State party should take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.  The letter added that the report should include up-dated information concerning the situation in places of detention in Iraq, up to the time of the submission of the report.

At its closing meeting today, the Committee discussed its annual report and procedural matters related to the next session.

The Committee’s next session will be from 15 to 26 November 2004 during which it is scheduled to examine reports from Argentina, Canada, Greece, Togo and the United Kingdom.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Country Reports

The Committee welcomed the ongoing efforts by the Czech Republic to revise its legislation in order to safeguard human rights in general and, more specifically, those related to the implementation of the Convention such as the amendments to the Residence of Aliens Act establishing an independent judicial second-instance body to review asylum cases; the Law on the Special Protection of Witnesses; and the introduction in 2003 of the National Strategy on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, among others.

The Committee said it was concerned about the persistent occurrence of acts of violence against the Roma community and the alleged reluctance by the police to investigate and prosecute such crimes; at the findings of the investigations into the excessive use of force by the police following the demonstration in Prague during the September 2000 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank meeting, according to which only one case qualified as a criminal offence; and allegations regarding some incidents of uniformed and involuntary sterilization of Roma women, as well as the Government’s inability to investigate due to the insufficient identification of the individual complainants.

The Committee recommended, among other things, that the State party exert additional efforts to combat racial intolerance and xenophobia, and to ensure that the comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation being discussed included all relevant grounds covered by the Convention; take measures to establish an effective, reliable and independent complaints system to undertake prompt and impartial investigations into all allegations of ill-treatment or torture by police and other public officials, including allegations of racially motivated violence by non-state actors, in particular any that had resulted in deaths, and to punish the offenders; strengthen existing efforts to reduce occurrence of ill-treatment by police and other public officials; and strengthen safeguards provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure against ill-treatment and torture.

The Committee noted with satisfaction the absence in Monaco of any allegations of violations of the Convention against Torture by the State party; the reform of the Criminal Code and the Criminal Code Procedure; and the contribution made each year since 1994 to the United Nations Fund for Voluntary Contributions to Victims of Torture.

The Committee said it was concerned about the weakness of the guarantees surrounding expulsion of a foreigner and refoulement, in the measure where no clause of non-refoulement in conformity with article 3 of the Convention seemed to exist in domestic legislation, and where the recourse to the Supreme Court did not have a character of automatic suspension; the fact that persons in custody were not entitled to a lawyer’s assistance, and the assistance was provided only after the first appearance of the persons before a judge, and that they were allowed to inform the members of their families on the judge’s authorization; and the absence of a mechanism to monitor the treatment and physical conditions of detained foreign nationals condemned by Monegasque jurisdictions to long-term sentences and placed in French penitentiary facilities.

The Committee recommended, among other things, that the State party establish a provision prohibiting the invocation of exceptional circumstances or an order of a superior or a public authority to justify torture; respect the principle under article 3 of the Convention, including in the cases of expulsion and refoulement; and give a character of automatic suspension to appeals against the removal decisions invoking the risk of torture in the country of destination.  The Committee, noting that expulsion and refoulement were made exclusively to France, recalled that the State party should ensure that no expulsion was made to a third country where there was a risk of torture; and ensure monitoring of treatment and the physical detention of prisoners in the French penitentiary facilities; and envisage to ratify the optional protocol to the Convention against Torture.

The Committee noted with satisfaction the ongoing efforts in Croatia to reform legislation in order to ensure a better protection of human rights, including the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.  It cited the adoption of the law on asylum in June 2003; and the entry into force of the new law on foreigners in February 2004, which included a provision prohibiting the deportation of individuals who could face torture if returned to their own country, among other things.

The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about the reported failure of the State party in connection with torture and ill-treatment which reportedly occurred during the 1991-1995 armed conflict in the Former Yugoslavia to carry out prompt, impartial and full investigations, to prosecute the perpetrators, and to provide fair and adequate compensation to the victims.  The Committee also referred to allegations of the application of double standards at all stages of the proceedings against Serb defendants and in favour of Croat defendants in war crime trials; the reported harassment, intimidation and threats faced by witnesses and victims testifying in proceedings and the lack of adequate protection from the State party; the alleged failure to prevent and fully and promptly investigate acts of violent attacks by non-State actors against members of ethnic and other minorities; and the poor regime for remand prisoners.

Among other things, the Committee recommended that the State party take effective measures to ensure impartial, full and prompt investigations into all allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and ensure the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators as appropriate and irrespective of their ethnic origin; adopt all necessary measures to improve the material conditions of the reception centres for asylum seekers; refrain from detaining asylum seekers and illegal immigrants; allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) full access to asylum seekers; and continue its efforts to strengthen human rights education and training activities on the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment for law enforcement officials.

The Committee cited among positive developments in the report of Germany its strengthening of institutional protection for human rights, including through the establishment of the Human Rights Committee of the Federal Parliament and the Federal Government’s submission of biennial national human rights reports to the Federal Parliament; the State party’s reaffirmation of its commitment to the absolute character of the ban on exposure to torture, including through refoulement; and the State party’s passage of legislation to implement the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, whose legislation comprehensively codified crimes against international law, including torture in the context of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.

The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about the length of time taken to resolve criminal proceedings arising from allegations of ill-treatment of persons in custody of law enforcement authorities, including in particularly serious cases where death had resulted; some allegations that criminal charges had been laid, for punitive or dissuasive purposes, by law enforcement authorities against persons who laid charges of ill-treatment against law enforcement authorities; and the fact that in numerous areas covered by the Convention, the State party was unable to supply statistics, or appropriately disaggregate those in its possession.

Among its recommendations, the Committee said the State party should take all appropriate measures to ensure that criminal complaints lodged against its law enforcement authorities were resolved with all possible expedition, in order to provide prompt resolution to such allegations and avoid any possible inferences of impunity, including in cases where counter-charges were alleged to have occurred; take such measures as were appropriately within its power with respect to the authorities of the Länder to ensure the adoption and general application of measures, which had proven efficacious at the federal level in improving compliance of the Convention; and comprehensively group together its criminal provisions relating to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Cited among positive developments in the report of Chile were the introduction of the offence of torture in the national criminal system; the establishment of the Office of the Public Criminal Defender, and of the Office of the Public Prosecutor; the abolition of the provision of arrest on suspicion without due cause; the reduction in the period of detention in police custody to a maximum of 24 hours; the establishment of a National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture to identify persons who were deprived of freedom and tortured for political reasons during the military dictatorship; and confirmation that non-governmental organizations were allowed regularly to visit places of deprivation of liberty.

The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about the allegations of continued ill-treatment of persons, in some cases amounting to torture, by Carabineros, civil police forces and prison guards, and reports of failure to conduct thorough and independent investigations into such complaints; the fact that certain constitutional provisions jeopardizing the full exercise of fundamental human rights remained in force, including, in particular, the Amnesty Law, which prohibited prosecution of human rights violations committed from 11 September 1973 to 10 March 1987 and which entrenched impunity for those responsible for torture, disappearances and other serious human rights violations during the military dictatorship and the lack of reparation for the victims of torture; reports that some officials accused of torture-related crimes during the dictatorship had been appointed to high official positions; and the absence of internal legal provisions that expressly prohibit extradition, return, or expulsion when there were grounds for believing the person faced a real risk of torture in the requesting country.

The Committee recommended, among other things, that the State party should adopt a definition of torture in conformity with article 1 of the Convention, and ensure that it covered all forms of torture; reform the Constitution to ensure the full protection of human rights including the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and abolish the Amnesty Law; adopt all the necessary measures to ensure impartial, full and prompt investigations into all allegations of torture, the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators, and adequate compensation for the victims; consider eliminating or extending the current 10-year statute of limitations for the crime of torture, taking into account its seriousness; eliminate the practice of extracting confessions for prosecution of purposes from women seeking emergency medical care as a result of prohibited abortion; and provide updated information on the status of prosecution of past crimes involving torture, including the cases known as the “Caravan of Death”, “Operation Condor” and “Colonia Dignidad”.

Among positive developments in the report of New Zealand, the Committee noted with appreciation the adoption of the 1999 Extradition Act, responding to the Committee’s previous recommendations; the efforts undertaken to promote a positive relationship between the Police and Maori; and the ongoing elaboration of a national plan of action on human rights by the Human Rights Commission.

The Committee expressed concern, among other things, about the fact that the immigration legislation did not incorporate the non-refoulement obligation provided for in article 3 of the Convention; the significant decrease of the proportion of asylum seekers who were immediately released unrestricted into the community upon arrival, and the detention of several asylum seekers in remand prisons, with no segregation from other detainees; the process of issuing risk certificates under the Immigration Act, which might potentially lead to a breach of article 3 of the Convention in that it enabled the authorities to remove or deport a person deemed to constitute a threat to national security; cases of over-prolonged non-voluntary segregation (solitary confinement); and the findings of the Ombudsman regarding investigations of alleged staff assaults on inmates.

The Committee recommended, among other things, that the State party incorporate in the immigration legislation the non-refoulement obligation; ensure at all times that the fight against terrorism would not lead to a breach of the Convention and undue hardship imposed on asylum seekers; take immediate steps to review the legislation relating to the security risk certificate, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the appeal made against the decision to detain, remove or deport a person; reduce the time and improve the conditions of non-voluntary segregation; report on the results of the development strategy aimed at ensuring that minors were not subjected to unreasonable searches; and inform the Committee about the results of the action taken in response to the concern expressed by the Ombudsman regarding investigations of staff assaults on inmates.

And in the report of Bulgaria, the Committee noted that positive developments included the ongoing efforts by the State party to reform its legislation related to the implementation of the Convention and aimed at strengthening the protection of human rights; and the access given to non-governmental organizations to visit prisons on a regular basis.

Concern was expressed, among other things, about numerous allegations of ill-treatment of persons in custody that might amount to torture, in particular during police interviews, which disproportionately affected the Roma; the lack of an independent system to investigate complaints, and that allegations of ill-treatment were not always investigated promptly and impartially, resulting in an apparent situation of impunity for those responsible; the reported lack of prompt and adequate access by persons in custody to legal and medical assistance and to family members and that access to free legal aid was quite limited and ineffective in practice; poor conditions in homes for persons with mental disabilities and the insufficient steps taken thus far by the authorities to address that situation; and the extremely poor material conditions prevailing in detention facilities, in particular in investigative detention facilities, some of which were still underground or lacked basic facilities for outdoor activities.

Among its recommendation, the Committee said the State party should adopt a definition of torture that would cover all the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention; strengthen safeguards provided in the Code of Criminal Procedure against ill-treatment and torture and pursue efforts to reduce incidents of ill-treatment by police and other public officials; take measures to establish an effective, reliable and independent complaints system to initiate and undertake prompt and impartial investigations into all allegations of ill-treatment or torture and to punish those found responsible; ensure that, in law as well as in practice, all persons deprived of their liberty were duly registered at the place of custody and guaranteed and informed of the right to have access to counsel, to contact next of kin and to a doctor; ensure that no person was expelled, returned or extradited to a country where there were substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture; and ensure that all persons who had been victims of a violation of their rights under the Convention had access to the means of obtaining redress.

Membership

The Committee's members are elected by the States parties to the Convention and serve in their personal capacity.  The current members of the Committee are:  Guibril Camara (Senegal); Sayed Kassem el Masry (Egypt); Felice Gaer (United States); Claudio Grossman (Chile); Fernando Marino Menendez (Spain); Andreas Mavrommatis (Cyprus); Julion Prado Vallejo (Ecuador); Ole Vedel Rasmussen (Denmark); Alexander M. Yakovlev (Russian Federation); and Yu Mengja (China). 

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