Committee against Torture Concludes Eighty-First Session after Adopting Concluding Observations on Reports of Cameroon, Jordan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Namibia and Thailand
The Committee against Torture this morning closed its eighty-first session after adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Cameroon, Jordan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Namibia and Thailand on their efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Claude Heller, Committee Chairperson, said the eighty-first session was held from 28 October to 22 November 2024. The concluding observations on Cameroon, Jordan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Namibia and Thailand are available on the session’s webpage.
Concerning Cameroon, Mr. Heller said, the Committee raised deep concern at the numerous allegations of serious human rights violations, including acts of torture and ill treatment, summary executions, murders and mass graves, forced displacements and sexual and gender-based violence, committed against civilians by the defence and security forces, the Rapid Intervention Battalion, the police and gendarmerie forces and other allied groups in the context of counter-insurgency operations and by non-State armed groups in the Far-North, North-West and South-West regions. The Committee recommended that the State party guarantee prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigations by an independent body into such allegations to identify, prosecute and punish those responsible and ensure that victims had access to effective remedies and could obtain full reparation.
Mr. Heller said the Committee was concerned about reports of intimidation, harassment, torture and ill treatment, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions of human rights defenders, members of civil society, journalists, political opponents and peaceful demonstrators. The Committee recommended that the State party take the necessary measures to ensure that these persons were adequately protected against human rights violations, that all such violations were thoroughly and impartially investigated, that those responsible were tried and convicted, and that the victims or their families obtained compensation.
Regarding Jordan, while acknowledging certain fundamental legal safeguards against torture and ill treatment provided by domestic law, the Committee observed with concern that significant gaps remained in ensuring the full and effective exercise of detainees' rights. In particular, it regretted the absence of an explicit provision guaranteeing access to legal counsel during first instance proceedings. It was concerned at reports of increased interference and intrusive control of lawyers, and of detainees being held incommunicado, often in the custody of the General Intelligence Directorate, for prolonged periods before being brought before judicial authorities. It urged the State party to ensure that all persons deprived of their liberty were afforded all fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of their detention, in particular the right to be assisted without delay by counsel and to be brought promptly before a judge.
Mr. Heller said the Committee expressed concern regarding the potential adverse implications of the new cybercrime law adopted in August 2023. Its vague and broad provisions could be misused to criminalise legitimate online activities and lead to the arbitrary detention of journalists and others engaged in lawful online discourse. It recommended that the State party take measures to protect civic space and amend the cybercrime law to ensure that its provisions were in line with international human rights law standards.
Regarding Kuwait, the Committee raised concern about consistent reports that persons in custody were subjected to torture or ill treatment by law enforcement officers and other members of the security forces, especially during the arrest, interrogation and investigation phases. It also expressed deep concern at the reported lack of accountability, which contributed to a climate of impunity. It recommended that the State party ensure that all complaints of torture and ill treatment were investigated in a prompt, effective and impartial manner by an independent body and that the suspected perpetrators and the superior officers responsible for ordering or tolerating such acts were duly tried and, if found guilty, punished in a manner that was commensurate with the gravity of those acts.
The Committee expressed its deep concern about reports of widespread abuse, exploitation and ill treatment of migrant workers, including cases involving the murder of migrant domestic workers, and reports of physical, sexual and psychological abuse and denial of annual paid leave, which could amount to forced labour and resemble slavery. It was also concerned that these practices were enabled by the kafalah system, which placed migrant workers in a highly dependent relationship with their employers and at risk of deportation. The Committee recommended that the State party abolish the kafalah system and replace it with a system of residency permits for migrant workers to prevent exploitation, abuse and ill treatment and facilitate their ability to change employers without risk to or penalty for the worker.
As for Mongolia, the Committee expressed concern about the delays in the establishment of an independent body to investigate complaints of torture and ill treatment by persons deprived of their liberty, while noting the State party’s commitment to submit the draft law on the establishment of a special investigation unit in 2025. It remained concerned about the potential conflict of interest and ineffectiveness of investigations into allegations of torture and ill treatment carried out by the Investigation Division of the Anti-Corruption Agency and the Investigative Division of the General Police Department, as well as about the numerous allegations of torture or ill treatment committed by law enforcement officials received, the high rate of dismissal of torture cases as time-barred, and the low percentage of prosecutions. It recommended that the State party finalise the law establishing an independent mechanism to investigate acts of torture and ill treatment committed by public officials, and to ensure that there was no institutional or hierarchical relationship between the body’s investigators and the alleged perpetrators of such acts.
While noting Mongolia’s efforts to strengthen procedural legal safeguards, the Committee remained concerned at reports of a high number of arrests that were still carried out with the consent of the prosecutor, without a court order, although it noted the measures taken and envisaged to enhance judicial oversight of these immediate detentions. It urged the State party to take all necessary measures to require law enforcement officials to obtain an arrest warrant issued by a judicial authority to carry out an arrest, except in cases of flagrante delicto.
Regarding Namibia, Mr. Heller said the Committee was concerned about the lack of progress made in codifying torture as a specific criminal offence in its criminal legislation, as the revised Prevention and Combatting of Torture Bill had been awaiting parliamentary approval since 2019. It also noted several shortcomings in the proposed definition of act of torture in the draft legislation. It urged the State party to adopt the Bill as soon as possible and to ensure that its provisions defined torture as a specific offence in its domestic legislation, incorporating all the elements of article one of the Convention.
The Committee expressed concern about reports of prolonged pretrial detention that routinely exceeded legal limits and that the majority of pretrial detainees were held in police detention facilities in poor, dilapidated and severely overcrowded holding cells, with inadequate facilities and services. It requested the State party to ensure that the provisions governing pretrial detention were respected, and to resort to it only when strictly necessary, for limited periods and in accordance with the law. It also asked Namibia to discontinue the practice of placing pretrial detainees in police detention facilities and take the necessary steps to hold them in appropriate detention facilities.
Regarding Thailand, the Committee commended the State party on its adoption of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act in 2022; however, it raised concerns over the definition of torture it contained, which failed to fully reflect the definition of torture under the Convention. It was also concerned that the Act did not prohibit amnesties for torture and ill treatment, nor did it adequately punish superiors who ought to have known that torture or ill treatment was occurring, or was likely to occur, but failed to take reasonable and necessary preventive measures against it. It recommended that the State party review the new Act to ensure its full conformity with the Convention.
The Committee was also concerned over the occurrence, investigation and prosecution of enforced disappearance in the State party, particularly the disappearance of Thai political activists abroad and of foreign political activists within Thailand itself. It was concerned that, under previous legislation, victims needed to present a death certificate and autopsy report to receive compensation, leaving family members of the disappeared unable to make successful claims. While welcoming the process underway to develop and approve regulations on assistance, remedy and rehabilitation of victims, it urged the State party to promptly investigate and prosecute allegations of enforced disappearance, punishing perpetrators and keeping families of the disappeared abreast of efforts and developments in their loved ones’ cases.
Mr. Heller said that during the current session, the Committee adopted list of issues prior to reporting for Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, San Marino, Serbia and Sweden. It also examined 21 individual complaints and postponed consideration of one other. Of the examined cases, three were deemed inadmissible. Additionally, seven cases were decided on the merits: in five cases, the Committee found no violations, while in one case, it determined that there was a violation by the State party. Further, the Committee adopted 12 discontinuance requests. Mr. Heller also reported on the activities the Committee undertook on follow-up under articles 19 and 22 of the Convention and in relation to reprisals.
On 14 November, the Committee, jointly with the other United Nations anti-torture mechanisms, held a high-level event to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The event was the culmination of a public campaign to highlight achievements since the adoption of the Convention and to provide a platform for discussions on the current state of the anti-torture movement, with a particular focus on emerging issues. Information related to the anniversary and the various associated activities could be found on a dedicated web page, which included stories from torture survivors, capacity-building publications and more.
Regarding other activities, Mr. Heller reported that on 1 November, the Committee met in private with the Human Rights Committee to discuss collaboration and areas of mutual interest. On 11 November, the Committee held its yearly joint meeting with the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and met with representatives of the United against Torture Consortium. Additionally, the Committee Chairperson and Expert Ana Racu participated in the second Convention against Torture Initiative Annual Forum. The Committee welcomed the extension of the Initiative’s mandate to 2030 and the accession of Bahamas to the group of core States.
For the eighty-second session, Mr. Heller said, country reviews would be preceded by private briefings with national human rights institutes, national preventive mechanisms and non-governmental organizations. The cessation of hybrid meetings due to the United Nations’ liquidity crisis continued to negatively impact the Committee’s work in this regard. The Committee welcomed the submission of written information by stakeholders for its consideration during the preparation of country reviews. The deadline for submissions was 10 March 2024.
At the session, the Committee would adopt list of issues prior to reporting for Antigua and Barbuda, Botswana, Iceland, Iraq, Kenya, Montenegro, State of Palestine and Uruguay. Additionally, it would adopt list of issues for Pakistan and Tajikistan. The Committee welcomed information already submitted by non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutes and other stakeholders for its consideration during the preparation of these lists.
The countries scheduled for review in the eighty-third session in July 2025 were Albania, Argentina, Bahrain and Israel.
Mr. Heller paid tribute to Felice Gaer, the longest serving former Committee member (2000–2019) who passed away a few days ago. Her expertise and dedication had had a lasting impact on the advancement of the Committee’s work in promoting dignity and fighting impunity for torture, and had been and would continue to be a source of inspiration for many.
In closing, Mr. Heller thanked all relevant members of States parties, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, national human rights institutes, national preventive mechanisms, as well as Committee Experts, Secretariat staff and other stakeholders for their contributions to the session. The Committee, he said, was aware of the challenges it would face in the years to come but had a firm commitment to its mandate. Multilateralism was the only way to build a better, fairer world.
The Committee is scheduled to hold its eighty-second session from 7 April to 2 May 2025, during which it will consider the reports of Armenia, France, Mauritius, Monaco, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.
Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.
CAT24.027E