Chair of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture Presents Annual Report to the Committee against Torture

The Chair of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture this morning presented the Subcommittee’s sixteenth annual report to the Committee against Torture.

Suzanne Jabbour, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, said after being severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Subcommittee was able to resume a full programme of its visiting activities. It conducted high-level talks in Brazil, and visits to Argentina, Tunisia, Lebanon, Türkiye, Ecuador, Australia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 2023, the Subcommittee had conducted visits to South Africa, Kazakhstan and Madagascar and would visit Croatia, Georgia, Guatemala, State of Palestine and the Philippines in the second half of the year. Visits and discussions in 2022 contributed to important outcomes. For example, in Brazil, the high-level talks conducted with authorities contributed to the Supreme Court overturning a presidential decree which impacted the independence of the national preventative mechanism. The Subcommittee continued to have close cooperation with other bodies in the United Nations system, including the Committee against Torture.

In the ensuing discussion, Committee Experts asked about the effect of the pandemic on national preventative mechanisms, as well as the general comment that the Subcommittee was preparing, and how the Committee and Subcommittee could work together.

The Committee against Torture will next meet in public on Tuesday, 2 May at 10 a.m. to review the fourth periodic report of Kazakhstan (CAT/C/KAZ/4).

Statement by the Chair of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture

SUZANNE JABBOUR, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, said after being severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Subcommittee was able to resume a full programme of its visiting activities. It conducted high-level talks in Brazil, and visits to Argentina, Tunisia, Lebanon, Türkiye, Ecuador, Australia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The visit to Australia was suspended in October 2022 due to the lack of cooperation, and then terminated in 2023. While this setback was deplored, the situation illustrated that the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and the Subcommittee’s mandate remained misunderstood in many places, and that learnings needed to be taken from this to enhance cooperation from States.

In 2023, the Subcommittee had conducted visits to South Africa, Kazakhstan and Madagascar and would visit Croatia, Georgia, Guatemala, State of Palestine and the Philippines in the second half of the year. During 2022, the Subcommittee conducted more than 730 collective interviews with more than 2,300 persons, mostly detainees, but also law enforcement officials and medical staff. This was a unique opportunity to educate authorities on the best ways to address shortcomings with the support of the Subcommittee and other actors. These recommendations represented added value to the Subcommittee’s mandate. It was hoped that there would soon be the means to carry out 12 visits per year, in line with the predictable review cycle.

Visits and discussions in 2022 contributed to important outcomes. In Brazil, the high-level talks conducted with authorities contributed to the Supreme Court overturning a presidential decree which impacted the independence of the national preventative mechanism. In Argentina, following the visit, the Government announced a commission which would find a solution to the penitentiary crisis and the number of local national preventative mechanisms was increased. The Subcommittee continued to have close cooperation with other bodies in the United Nations system, including the Committee against Torture.

2022 was also a year which celebrated 20 years of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and 15 years of the Subcommittee in various ways. This was an opportunity to step back and examine lessons learned from the past. Côte d'Ivoire had recently acceded to the Optional Protocol, and the treaty now had 92 parties and signatories. However, ratifications remained slow, and this problem needed to be tackled. There were 14 countries in non-compliance with article 17 of the Optional Protocol which needed to be addressed.

The first draft of the first general comment on article 4 of the Optional Protocol was finalised in 2022, which was a significant step for the Subcommittee. This strengthened the advisory function of the Optional Protocol and served as an important resource for anyone involved in the prevention of torture and ill treatment. Complex issues in counties such as Afghanistan, South Sudan and Ukraine had impacted the implementation of the Optional Protocol. The Committee had encountered similar cases, and the Subcommittee would be grateful for advice on how to approach these situations. Ms. Jabbour reiterated the Subcommittee’s commitment to prevent torture and ill treatment.

Questions by Committee Experts

A Committee Expert asked about national preventative mechanisms; what were the major findings and obstacles that these mechanisms and human rights non-governmental organizations monitoring places of detention faced during the pandemic period? The Subcommittee was congratulated on the work on the general comment. Could an update of this work be provided?

Another Committee Expert said he had visited Côte d'Ivoire and the State was very late in submitting its report to the Committee. Capacity building was needed to improve the presentation of the report. A seminar had been held in December to work towards this, and ratification of the Optional Protocol had been discussed. The Côte d’Ivoire committee for human rights was expected to be extended, but the State was still finding difficulties in submitting the report to the Committee.

CLAUDE HELLER, Committee Chairperson, asked about the promotion of the Optional Protocol; 92 States parties was a good figure but what kind of joint activity could be conducted, along with the Association for the Prevention against Torture, to drive forward the process of encouragement to accession? The issue of prevention was paramount.

Responses by the Chair of the Subcommittee

SUZANNE JABBOUR, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, said the work of national preventative mechanisms on the ground was affected by the pandemic, regarding full access. The restrictions from States made their work more complicated. The majority of national preventative mechanisms were very innovative and created alternative approaches to guarantee access and the monetary process was regional and functioning. The Subcommittee had published a protocol for the national preventative mechanisms to follow during their visits. Despite the challenges they encountered, the national preventative mechanisms continued to do their jobs on the ground. Some national preventative mechanisms lacked the human resources to conduct their monitoring, but were collaborating with the Subcommittee and they sometimes conducted visits together.

The general comment would give all stakeholders engaged in the fight against torture more clarification, and could give context, despite different regions and cultures, to strengthen the definition of places of detention.

The work for Côte d'Ivoire was an example of the work that the Subcommittee and the Committee could do together. When the Subcommittee did not have capacity to be there, the Committee could be their voice and promote the Optional Protocol. The Subcommittee was happy that there were 92 States parties, but much more work remained. There was a need to reflect on why the ratification process was slow. There was a need to work more on awareness. There needed to be discussions on the role of the Convention against Torture initiative in promoting the Optional Protocol.