COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONCLUDES FIFTY-EIGHTH SESSION

The Committee against Torture today concluded its fifty-eighth session after adopting its concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Kuwait, Honduras, Burundi and Mongolia 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 after 1 p.m. Geneva time on the Committee’s webpage for the session.

In concluding remarks, Committee Chairperson Jens Modvig said that the Committee had adopted concluding observations on Burundi on a special report, Honduras, Kuwait and Mongolia. He recalled that the Committee had asked for a special report from Burundi after receiving alarming information on reports of possibly politically or ethnically motivated cases of torture. The special report was considered during this session. The delegation had been present the first day but had not showed up on the second day. The Committee had decided to issue concluding observations and recommendations anyway based on the information before it, which would be presented at a press conference later today.

Mr. Modvig said that also during the session, the Committee had held a discussion on a list of topics to be covered in the new draft General Comment on Article 3 on refoulement. A working group had been entrusted with the drafting of this revised General Comment and the Committee would consider a preliminary draft general comment at the fifty-ninth session in November/December 2017 and would hold public consultations once a first draft general comment was ready for discussion.

The Chair also said that the Committee would continue to adopt individual complaints this afternoon as well as consider its working methods.

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

The fifty-ninth session of the Committee against Torture will take place at the Palais Wilson in Geneva from 7 November to 7 December, during which the Committee will consider the reports of Armenia, Ecuador, Finland, Monaco, Namibia, Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan, which can be read here. The situation in Cabo Verde will also be considered in the absence of a report.



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