COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONCLUDES FORTY-THIRD SESSION

The Committee against Torture concluded its forty-third session today, issuing its concluding observations and recommendations on reports from Slovakia, El Salvador, Spain, Azerbaijan, Colombia and the Republic of Moldova, which it reviewed during the session. It also issued provisional concluding observations on the report of Yemen, which it examined in the absence of a delegation from the State party.

Those countries are among the 146 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. The consideration of reports takes the form of a dialogue between the delegation from the reporting State and the Committee’s members. Exceptionally, the Committee may consider a report in the absence of a delegation from the State party when, after being notified, they fail to appear without providing strong reasons.

In its observations and recommendations on the second periodic report of Slovakia, the Committee welcomed the Constitutional Court decision in 2008 not to send Mustapha Labsi to Algeria on the ground that he might be in danger of being subject to torture. It was concerned, however, that persons considered to be a threat to national security or a danger to the community were not protected by the principle of non-refoulement. Slovakia was recommended to further strengthen the independence of the Inspection Service Office by including independent experts drawn from outside the Police.

With respect to the second periodic report of El Salvador, the Committee welcomed invitations extended to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and to the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to visit. It was concerned about continuing allegations that the National Civil Police and prison personnel in El Salvador committed grave offences, including torture, in the context of their functions, in particular within the framework of strategies to combat the high crime rate. The Committee recommended that El Salvador immediately adopt measures to reduce overcrowding in detention centres, and that it urgently address inter-prisoner violence.

Regarding the fifth periodic report of Spain, the Committee welcomed the Law on Historical Memory, which recognized and broadened the scope of rights as well as measures for those who had suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and under the dictatorship. The Committee reiterated its concern that Spain’s incommunicado detention regime for cases involving terrorism or armed groups, which could extend to 13 days, weakened legal safeguards against acts of torture or ill-treatment. It recommended that Spain ensure that all persons deprived of their liberty had the right to consult a lawyer, and to be examined by a doctor of their own choosing.


On the third periodic report of Azerbaijan, the Committee noted with satisfaction the establishment of a Public Committee to monitor penitentiary institutions. The Committee was particularly concerned that not a single case against an official had been initiated under article 133 of the Criminal Code (torture). Azerbaijan was urged to promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate all incidents of death in custody and prosecute those responsible.

Concerning the fourth periodic report of Colombia, the Committee noted with satisfaction the adoption of the National Plan to Find Disappeared Persons in 2007. It was gravely concerned at the lack of adequate judicial action to establish the criminal responsibility of demobilized illegal armed groups. The absence of convictions was evidence of a de facto amnesty for such individuals. The Committee urged Colombia to guarantee the security and integrity of persons working in the administration of justice and to take immediate steps to put an end to harassment and investigation of judges by national intelligence agents.

Regarding the second periodic report of the Republic of Moldova, the Committee welcomed the introduction of probation and community service and other forms of alternative punishment. Of particular concern were numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment taking place in temporary detention facilities under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Committee recommended a thorough review of current policing practices, including the training and deployment of law enforcement officials in crowd control.

In provisional concluding observations on the second periodic report of Yemen, the Committee welcomed Yemen’s accession to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. Among serious concerns were reports of grave violations of the Convention committed in the context of the fight against terrorism, such as extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, indefinite detention without charge or trial, torture and ill-treatment, and deportation of non-citizens to countries where they were in danger of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment. The Committee called on Yemen to establish a national system to monitor and inspect all places of detention, and to ensure that forensic doctors trained in detecting signs of torture were present during such visits

In addition to reviewing country reports in public, the Committee considered in private meetings information appearing to contain well-founded indications that torture was being systematically practiced in the territories of some States parties. It also 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 64 States that have declared the Committee competent to receive complaints under article 22 of the Convention. Progress reviews of the status of follow-up to individual communications, as well as follow-up to the Committee's concluding observations, were also held in public meetings.

Also at this session, on 17 November, the Committee held a meeting with the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture in which it discussed areas of collaboration between the two bodies, and also heard presentations from members of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the topic of torture and ill-treatment with regard to persons with disabilities.

At the Committee’s last meeting, Committee members discussed the agenda for the May session. At the suggestion of a Committee Expert, it was agreed that, in addition to its other work, the Committee would have a meeting on the Istanbul Protocol, including a briefing for the Committee by a Turkish forensic doctor who was an Expert on its application.

The Committee’s next session will be held from 26 April to 14 May 2010, during which it is scheduled to examine reports from Austria, Cameroon, France, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Syria.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Country Reports

Slovakia

In its conclusions and recommendations on the second periodic report of Slovakia, the Committee noted with appreciation the ratification of the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (in 2004) and on the involvement of children in armed conflict (in 2006); the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (in 2002); the legislative reforms aimed at improving the fulfilment of commitments under the Convention, such as the new Criminal Code and the new Criminal Procedure Code (2005), the Act on the Execution of Custodial Sentences (2005) and the Act on the Execution of Remand in Custody (2006); and the creation in 2001 of the Public Defender of Rights (Ombudsman’s Office). The Committee also welcomed the decision by the Constitutional Court in June 2008 not to send Mustapha Labsi to Algeria on the ground that he might be in danger of being subject to torture.

The Committee was concerned that persons in police custody in Slovakia could exercise their right to contact a family member and have access to an independent medical doctor and to legal counsel only “as soon as practical”, and not from the outset of their detention. It was also concerned that, according to the Asylum Law, persons considered to be a threat to national security or a danger to the community were not protected by the principle of non-refoulement. The Committee was further concerned that alleged unlawful acts committed by the police, including torture and ill-treatment, were investigated by police officers of the Inspection Service Office and that very few complaints against police officers were accepted and investigated and led to prosecution and convictions. In that regard, the Committee was concerned about significant allegations of ill-treatment of detainees by law enforcement officers, including slaps, punches, kicks or blows with hard objects, as well as the death of a man in 2001 after brutal police questioning. It was further concerned about the practice of handcuffing detainees for extended periods to fixtures in a corridor or office. Additional concerns were the effectiveness of training for law enforcement and that training programmes for medical personnel might be inadequate.

In recommendations, the Committee said Slovakia should bring its definition of torture in line with Article 1 of the Convention, by including the element of discrimination and by criminalizing instigation, consent and acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It should also further strengthen the independence of the Inspection Service Office, inter alia, by including independent experts drawn from outside the Police, so as to ensure that allegations of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment were promptly, impartially, thoroughly and effectively investigated. In addition, Slovakia should ensure that fully independent monitoring – including unannounced visits – of all places of deprivation of liberty took place on a regular basis. Concerned about the conditions of detention for juveniles, such as solitary confinement for a period up to 10 days, the Committee recommended that Slovakia ensure that juveniles were held in detention only as a last resort and in strict compliance with the law and ensure regular review of the conditions of detention of juveniles; and that it set up a training programme for judges to specialize for juveniles, including on the application of non-custodial measures. Deeply concerned about allegations of continued involuntary sterilizations of Roma women, the Committee pressed Slovakia to take urgent measures to investigate promptly, impartially, thoroughly and effectively all allegations of involuntary sterilizations of Roma women, prosecute and punish the perpetrators and provide the victims with fair and adequate compensation; and that it effectively enforce the Healthcare Act (2004) by issuing guidelines and conducting training of public officials, including on the criminal liability of medical personnel conducting sterilizations without free, full and informed consent, and on how to obtain such consent from women undergoing sterilization.

El Salvador

Having reviewed the second periodic report of El Salvador, the Committee was pleased to note El Salvador’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol (in 2006 and 2007, respectively); and the ratification of the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child – on the involvement of children in armed conflict (in 2002); and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (in 2004). The Committee welcomed the invitations extended by El Salvador to various Special Procedures mechanisms, including the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, and noted with satisfaction the adoption of the Special Law on the Protection of Victims and Witnesses, in May 2006. Also welcome was the creation in June 2000 of a Human Rights Unit within the National Civil Police.

The Committee was concerned that it continued to receive allegations that the National Civil Police and prison personnel in El Salvador committed grave offences, including torture, in the context of their functions, in particular within the framework of strategies to combat the high crime rate. It was especially concerned that the alleged victims of such torture included some of the most vulnerable members of society – children and street children. In addition, the Committee noted with concern that some cases of torture were investigated as disciplinary cases related to abuse of power. In that connection, it regretted that there was no independent body to investigate complaints of torture or ill-treatment, which further contributed to a lack of punishment for such crimes. Indeed, the Committee was concerned that widespread impunity was one of the principal reasons that torture had not been eradicated in El Salvador. It was particularly disturbed at various reports of serious accusations against the National Civil Police and prison personnel which never made it out of an increasingly prolonged investigative stage, cases in which the perpetrators were never brought to court, and the fact that those accused remained in their posts. Further concerns were the integration of 4,000 members of the armed forces into Joint Task Forces with the police to carry out police work; the lack of comprehensive reparations for the victims of enforced disappearance during the armed conflict from 1980 to 1992 and their families, as well as insufficient investigations into those crimes; and serious problems in places of detention, including overcrowding, a lack of separation between accused and convicted persons, males and females, children and adults, and a lack of sanitation, clean drinking water, education and visits.

The Committee recommended that El Salvador take the necessary measures to limit the use of preventive detention, as well as its duration; that it immediately adopt measures to reduce overcrowding in detention centres, and to improve the conditions therein; that it abolish all forms of incommunicado detention; that it develop programmes for the rehabilitation and social reintegration of persons deprived of their liberty; that it urgently adopt measures to prevent violence among prisoners; and that it promptly, impartially and comprehensively investigate all allegations of ill-treatment of minors in detention and take urgent measures to prevent acts of torture or ill-treatment of minors deprived of their liberty. In addition, the Government had to intensify efforts to ensure the implementation of urgent and effective measures to combat violence against women and girls and to protect them, including by elaborating sensitization campaigns for public officials who had direct contacts with victims, such as the police, lawyers, and social workers, as well as for the general public.

Spain

Among positive aspects in the fifth periodic report of Spain, the Committee welcomed the ratification of a number of relevant international instruments, including the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. It noted with satisfaction Spain’s efforts to reform its legislation, policies and procedures to provide greater human rights protections, including the right not to be tortured or ill-treated. In particular, it welcomed the Law on Historical Memory, which recognized and broadened the scope of rights as well as measures for those who had suffered persecution or violence during the Civil War and under the dictatorship, including the right to reparations; the reform of the Civil Code to explicitly abolish any excuse for violence or physical punishment of children; the acquittal handed down by the Supreme Court in the case of Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed for terrorism, on the basis that the accusations against him were founded on interrogations that had taken place in the international judicial “limbo” of Guantanamo; and the adoption of a National Plan to Combat Trafficking for Purposes of Sexual Exploitation.

The Committee noted that, under the Spanish Criminal Code, those guilty of torture were “punishable by a prison sentence of from two to six years for serious offences and from one to three years if not”, which did not appear to conform to the Convention’s obligation to provide adequate penalties for torture that took into account the seriousness of that crime. While noting measures to improve guarantees for individuals being held in incommunicado detention, the Committee reiterated its concern – shared by all relevant regional and international human rights bodies – that Spain’s incommunicado detention regime for cases involving terrorism or armed groups, which could extend to 13 days, weakened necessary legal safeguards against acts of torture or ill-treatment. Also noting Spain’s position that returns on the basis of diplomatic assurances did not violate article 3 of the Convention (non-refoulement), the Committee reiterated its position that under no circumstances could such assurances be considered as guarantees that a person would not be subject to torture or ill-treatment upon their return. Other concerns included a continued high number of suicides and violent deaths in police custody and in prisons; and a lack of information on measures taken to address concerns raised by the Ombudsman in his 2009 report on conditions in juvenile detention centres, in particular with regard to the use of solitary confinement and the administration of drugs without proper oversight.


Among others, the Committee recommended that Spain amend its regime of incommunicado detention, with a view to abolishing it, and that it assure that all persons deprived of their liberty had the right to consult a lawyer of their own choosing; to be examined by a doctor of their own choice; that a family member or other person of the detainee’s choice be informed of the detention and the place in which the individual was being kept; and that detainees could see their lawyer in private. In the case of the return of individuals on the basis of diplomatic assurances, the Committee asked Spain to provide information in its next report on the number of such cases; the minimum guarantees required for such returns; and the follow up measures to be taken to track such persons. With regard to amnesty laws, the Committee said that Spain had to ensure that no acts of torture, including forced disappearances, could be subject to amnesty.

Azerbaijan

In concluding observations on the third periodic report of Azerbaijan, the Committee welcomed the adoption of the law on the “Fight against Human Trafficking” in 2005 and the creation of a relief fund for victims of human trafficking; the adoption of a Presidential Order “On modernization of judiciary” on 19 January 2006 and a law on amendments of the same date, establishing regional courts of appeal to address legal assistance to individuals; and the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture in 2009. The Committee also noted with satisfaction the adoption of a National Plan of Action for the Protection of Human Rights in 2006; the launching of a prison reform programme in 2006; the establishment of a Public Committee to monitor penitentiary institutions; and efforts to improve the conditions of detention of prisoners, including those leading to the substantial reduction of the rate of mortality from tuberculosis in prisons since 1995.

The Committee remained concerned, however, about the numerous continued allegations of torture and ill-treatment of suspects and other detainees, which reportedly took place between the moment of apprehension and formal registration at remand centres. It was also deeply concerned about allegations that authorities were reluctant to initiate criminal proceedings for alleged acts of torture or ill-treatment, and noted with concern that officials who had allegedly committed acts of torture or ill-treatment were not charged with those crimes, but with “excess of authority”, “negligence” and “minor, serious or serious harm to health out of imprudence”. The Committee was particularly concerned that not a single case against an official had been initiated under article 133 of the Criminal Code (torture). It regretted the lack of information provided on the number of allegations or complaints of specific acts of torture or ill-treatment that had been received and investigated by the Ombudsman’s Office, as well as information on the number of investigations into torture or ill-treatment that that mechanism had initiated on its own accord. The Committee was deeply concerned at the information that the Ombudsman’s office was not permitted to monitor all state organs, and felt the Ombudsman lacked the requisite level of independence to be the national institution responsible for investigating complaints of torture and other human rights violations, as well as to serve as the National Prevention Mechanism under the Optional Protocol. Further concerns included inadequate legal safeguards for detainees, such as restricted access to independent doctors and public defenders, failure to notify detainees of their rights at the time of detention and a shortage of public defenders; the number of deaths and suicides committed by inmates and alleged restrictions on independent forensic examinations of such deaths; and allegations of the prolonged use of solitary confinement. In yet further concerns, the Committee noted numerous reports of forced confinement in psychiatric hospitals in Nakhchivan of persons for reasons other than medical; as well as cases of extraordinary rendition based on bilateral extradition agreements where those individuals might face a real risk of torture.

In recommendations, the Committee urged Azerbaijan to take prompt and effective measures to ensure that individuals were registered from the actual moment of deprivation of liberty, and that a central registration system for all detainees be improved. The systematic use of audio and video equipment in police stations and detention facilities should be implemented, particularly in interrogation rooms and for all interrogations of minors. Further, Azerbaijan should promptly, thoroughly and impartially investigate all incidents of death in custody and prosecute those allegedly responsible for any deaths, and families of victims should be provided with adequate compensation and rehabilitation. Solitary confinement should be used only as a measure of last resort, for as short a time as possible, under strict supervision and with a possibility of judicial review. Azerbaijan should also take all measures to ensure that individuals who might face a risk of torture in their countries of origin were not returned, extradited, or deported to those countries, and the systematic use of diplomatic assurances should be avoided.

Colombia

Following its review of the fourth periodic report of Colombia, the Committee welcomed Colombia’s ratification of a number of international instruments, including the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearances; and International Labour Organization Convention No. 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. It regarded as positive the collaboration of the State party with the Special Procedures mechanisms of the Human Rights Council and the numerous visits carried out by those bodies. The Committee also noted with satisfaction the adoption of the National Plan to Find Disappeared Persons in 2007; the Policy to Combat Impunity, adopted in 2006; and the trainings carried out jointly with United Nations bodies on the Istanbul and Minnesota Protocols (for documenting signs of torture).

The Committee was concerned that, in practice, acts of torture in Colombia were prosecuted as aggravating circumstances of other crimes or were prosecuted as less serious crimes, such as bodily harm, which did not take the perpetrator’s intentions into consideration. It was further concerned that, as a result, there had been a serious under reporting of torture cases as well as impunity for such crimes. Despite a registered decrease in torture complaints since 2004, the Committee was concerned that the number of complaints remained high and that they fell into specific patterns which indicated the practice was widespread. The Committee was deeply concerned at the persistence of serious violations connected to torture such as extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances; forced displacements; sexual violence; and recruitment of children by armed groups. Despite efforts to combat it, the Committee noted that a climate of impunity prevailed in Colombia. In that connection, it was deeply concerned at a lack of reliable information on torture cases, as well as the lack of criminal investigations brought by the Public Prosecutor and the fact that all cases were not assigned to the Human Rights Unit. The Committee was further concerned that torture cases continued to be prosecuted exclusively in administrative, disciplinary and military instances, and that there were no centralized statistics that allowed for a comprehensive picture of torture cases to be seen. The Committee was deeply concerned that Supreme Court Judges had been threatened and that they had had to have recourse to the Inter-American Justice System for protection orders. It was gravely concerned at the lack of adequate judicial action to establish the criminal responsibility of demobilized illegal armed groups, including approximately 30,000 individuals in paramilitary groups. The absence of convictions was evidence of a de facto amnesty for such individuals, in contravention of international human rights law. The Committee similarly expressed deep concern about the extent of forced disappearances (28,000 in the official national register), and the number of bodies exhumed from mass graves (2,778 according to the State). The Committee noted the evidence that the vast majority of those found in the mass graves had been tortured before execution.

The Committee, among others, recommended that Colombia establish a centralized system to identify all cases of torture and to track the status of each investigation. It urged the Government, in appointing a Public Prosecutor, to follow establish criteria that would guarantee the professional capacity and independence of that individual, and that the practice of housing prosecutors at military bases was discontinued. The Committee further urged Colombia to guarantee the security and integrity of persons working in the administration of justice and that it take immediate steps to put an end to harassment and investigation of judges by national intelligence agents. The Committee pressed Colombia to take effective measures and to provide adequate resources to implement the National Plan to Find Disappeared Persons, ensuring that victims and their families participated adequately in its implementation. With regard to a high incidence of arbitrary detentions, the Committee recommended that Colombia take steps to eradicate preventive administrative detentions and mass detentions and that it fully implement the recommendations of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued following its 2008 visit to the country.

Republic of Moldova

Among positive aspects in the second periodic report of the Republic of Moldova, the Committee welcomed the ratification of or accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, in 2006; the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, in 2005; the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, in 2006; and the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, in 2006. It also welcomed the State party’s ongoing efforts to reform legislation to ensure better protection of human rights, in particular with regard to the definition of torture in the Criminal Code; the introduction of probation and community service and other forms of alternative punishment; and the asylum law, which was largely in line with international and European standards.

The Committee was concerned about the numerous and consistent allegations of widespread use of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in police custody. It was also concerned about allegations of torture and ill-treatment being used to extract confessions or information as evidence in criminal proceedings. Of particular concern were numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment taking place in temporary detention facilities under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. A plan to transfer the responsibility over temporary detention facilities to the Ministry of Justice had not taken place and had now been made conditional upon construction of eight new remand centres. The Committee further expressed concern at the system of pre-trial detention, in which lengthy periods were set by reference to the penalty for the offence of which the person stood accused, as well as at the inadequacy of the penalties applicable to torture and the frequent use of suspended sentences for persons found guilty. Another concern was the low rates of convictions and disciplinary measures imposed on law enforcement officers, as well as the lack of public information about such cases of torture or ill-treatment. Further concerns included credible reports on the excessive use of force by law enforcement officers, with particular reference to the post-election demonstrations in April 2009, as well as arbitrary arrests, beatings, torture and ill-treatment of persons detained in connection with those demonstrations.

The Committee recommended that the Republic of Moldova ensure in practice that every detainee was afforded all fundamental legal safeguards during his or her detention from the actual moment of deprivation of liberty, including the right to access a lawyer and to have an independent medical examination. It should introduce a procedure of mandatory medical examination for detainees on each entry and departure from the temporary detention facilities; and adopt regulations requiring mandatory use of registers in all police premises. Furthermore it should ensure that torture was punishable by adequate penalties, which took into account its grave nature, and that statistics on convictions and disciplinary measures were regularly published and made available to the general public. It should also ensure that all law enforcement officers were adequately equipped and trained to employ non-violent means and only resorted to the use of force and firearms when strictly necessary and proportionate to the situation. In that respect, the State party’s authorities should conduct a thorough review of current policing practices, including the training and deployment of law enforcement officials in crowd control.

Yemen

In provisional concluding observations on the second periodic report of Yemen, the Committee welcomed that Yemen had acceded to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, in 2009; and had ratified the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child – on the involvement of children in armed conflict, in 2007; and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in 2004. The Committee also welcomed the signature of several Memoranda of Understanding with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (in 2004, 2005 and 2007), including a commitment to prepare a Refugee Law and promote it; as well as the various human rights education and training activities and Yemen’s openness to international cooperation.

The Committee was, however, deeply concerned at the numerous allegations, corroborated by a number of Yemeni and international sources, of a widespread practice of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in Yemeni prisons, including state security prisons run by the Public Security Department, the National Security authority and the Department of Anti-Terrorism under the Ministry of Interior, and that such allegations were seldom investigated and prosecuted. Moreover, Article 26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure appeared to provide that criminal lawsuits might not be filed against a law enforcement officer or a public employee for any crime committed while carrying out his job or caused thereby, except with the permission of the General Prosecutor, a delegated Public Attorney or Heads of Prosecution. The Committee was further concerned at the statement in the report that “persons in pre-trial detention may meet with their relatives and lawyers, provided they obtain a written authorization from the body/entity that issued the detention order”, as well as at the lack of a central register for all persons held in detention. A further concern was the proliferation of places of detention, including political security, national security and military prisons, as well as private detention facilities run by tribal leaders, and at the apparent absence of control by the Prosecutor-General of such prisons and detention centres. Among other serious concerns were reports of grave violations of the Convention committed in the context of the State party’s fight against terrorism, such as extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, indefinite detention without charge or trial, torture and ill-treatment, and deportation of non-citizens to countries where they were in danger of being subjected to torture or ill-treatment; the reported practice of holding relatives of alleged criminals, including children and elderly, as hostages, sometimes for years at a time, in order to compel such individuals to surrender themselves to the police; reported cases of imposition of the death penalty on children between 15 and 18 years; and that women in detention were frequently harassed, humiliated and ill-treated by male guards, and that there were allegations of sexual violence, including rape, against women in detention.

Among recommendations, the Committee called upon Yemen to establish a national system to monitor and inspect all places of detention, and to ensure that forensic doctors trained in detecting signs of torture were present during such visits. Yemen should formally prohibit all detention facilities that did not fall under State authority and should take all necessary measures to counter enforced disappearances and the practice of mass arrests without a warrant; it should minimize the number of security forces and agencies with such powers; and it should consider ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

Membership and Officers

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: Essadia Belmir (Morocco); Abdoulaye Gaye (Senegal); Felice Gaer (the United States); Luis Gallegos Chiriboga (Ecuador); Claudio Grossman (Chile); Alexander Kovalev (Russian Federation); Fernando Mariño Menendez (Spain); Myrna Kleopas (Cyprus); Nora Sveaass (Norway) and Xuexian Wang (China).

Mr. Grossman is the Committee Chairman; Ms. Sveaass, Ms. Belmir and Mr. Wang are Vice Chairmen; and Ms. Kleopas is the Committee Rapporteur.


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