COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONCLUDES FIFTY-FOURTH SESSION

The Committee against Torture today concluded its fifty-fourth session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Colombia, Congo, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Romania, Serbia, Spain and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 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 eight country reports will shortly be available on the Committee’s webpage.

In concluding remarks, the Chairperson of the Committee, Claudio Grossman, said that in addition to adopting the concluding observations and recommendations, the Committee had held meetings with States parties to the Convention, non-governmental organizations, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, the United Nations Special Advisor on the prevention of genocide and the Chair of the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims briefed the Committee on the right to rehabilitation. The Committee also met to discuss reprisals against people who cooperated with the Committee as well as its follow-up activities under Articles 19 and 22 of the Convention. The Committee had had a very useful retreat.

Committee Expert and Rapporteur Satyabhoosun Gupt Domah presented the Committee’s annual report to the General Assembly and it was adopted ad referendum.

During the session, the Committee held a public meeting with representatives of non-governmental organizations in which general issues relating to the Convention were discussed. The Committee additionally held private meetings with non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions from States under consideration during the session. The Committee also held private meetings in which it considered communications and complaints from individuals claiming to be victims of violations to the provisions of the Convention by a State party.

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

The fifty-fifth session of the Committee against Torture will take place at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from Monday, 27 July to Friday, 14 August 2015. The reports of Iraq, Slovakia and Switzerland will be considered, and can be found here.


For use of the information media; not an official record

CAT15/016E