COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONCLUDES FIFTY-SEVENTH SESSION

The Committee against Torture this morning concluded its fifty-seventh session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of France, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the Philippines and Israel on their implementation of the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The Committee’s concluding observations and recommendations on the reviewed country reports will be available shortly at the Committee’s session webpage. They will also be presented at a press conference which will take place in Press Room III of the Palais des Nations at noon today.

The closing meeting started with the consideration and adoption of the annual report, which would this year include information on new ratifications, activities of the Committee Experts during the reporting period and the decisions adopted by the Committee.

Turning to the programme of work for the next session of the Committee, Jens Modvig, Committee Chairperson, recalled that in November 2015 the Committee had requested Burundi to submit a special report by March 2016 and that, in the absence of the submission, the Committee had decided to examine Burundi under the specific issues identified for the special report, during its fifty-eighth session, along with the reports of Honduras, Kuwait and Mongolia. The Committee would also discuss its working methods on individual complaints, continue to discuss the revision of the General Comment N°1 and the list of topics to be covered in the new draft General Comment on Article 3, and receive a thematic briefing on the need for effective victim and redress protection systems.

During the fifty-ninth session from 7 November to 7 December 2016, the Committee would review the reports of Armenia, Ecuador, Finland, Monaco, Namibia, Sri Lanka, and Turkmenistan. Cabo Verde would be examined in the absence of report. At its sixtieth session in April 2017, the Committee would review the following countries: Afghanistan, Argentina, Bahrain, Republic of Korea, Lebanon and Pakistan, said Mr. Modvig.

At the present session, the Committee had adopted concluding observations on France, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the Philippines and Turkey. It had also adopted lists of issues on Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan, and lists of issues prior to reporting on Cyprus, Lithuania, United Kingdom and Uruguay, concluded Mr. Modvig.

Comprehensive meeting coverage of all public meetings held this session, including the country reviews, can be found here.

The fifty-eighth session of the Committee against Torture will take place at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 25 July until 12 August 2016, during which the Committee will consider the reports of Burundi, Honduras, Kuwait and Mongolia, which can be read here.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CAT16/011E