Committee against Torture Opens Seventy-Seventh Session in Geneva

The Committee against Torture this morning opened its seventy-seventh session, being held in Geneva from 10 to 28 July, during which it will review efforts by Switzerland, New Zealand, Romania and Spain to implement the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Opening the session, Mahamane Cisse-Gouro, Director of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Representative of the Secretary-General, said June this year marked the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.  To commemorate the 30th anniversary and as part of a year-long initiative by the Office of the High Commissioner to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Government of Austria and Office of the High Commissioner had held a high-level event on 5 and 6 June in Vienna to reflect on progress and revitalise a worldwide consensus on human rights, essential to confronting today’s challenges.  Thirty years after the Vienna Declaration, the world still faced multiple crises and the commitment to human rights was more important than ever. 

During his keynote address at this event, High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said there had been massive gains in human rights since the Vienna Declaration, but today, all around the world, dramatic rollbacks were seen.  People from Sudan to Ukraine to Myanmar to Afghanistan endured the unbearable daily consequences of conflict and oppression.  The geopolitical backdrop to many of these crises was a deepened division within and across countries, resulting in hostile standoffs between opposing blocs.  This was a disturbing trend which threatened national cohesion and multilateral solutions, the one way out of chaos.

Mr. Cisse-Gouro welcomed the joint statement of the Committee against Torture, the Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture, the Special Rapporteur on torture and the Voluntary Contribution Fund for Victims of Torture, issued on 26 June 2023 on the occasion of the International Day to Support the Victims of Torture.  It called on States to respect and defend the complete prohibition of torture, especially in armed conflict; and recalled that the protections granted by international humanian law were applicable in situations of armed conflict.  The prohibition of torture was a fundamental principle that applied at all times, in all circumstances and to all parties in a conflict. 

The joint statement was particularly timely, as today there were more than 100 armed conflicts across the world.  These raised issues regarding the protection and the attainment of human rights, increased the risk of torture for combatants and civilians alike, and prevented survivors of torture from accessing reparation, assistance, and readaptation.  States needed to take decisive action before acts of torture were perpetrated.  These included criminalising torture as a specific offence at the national level, raising awareness among and training police and military staff.  Training needed to address the prohibition of torture and officers’ responsibility to not obey when called upon to carry out torture, and also to carry out investigations of acts of torture and prosecute those involved, including non-State actors. 

Mr. Cisse-Guoro drew attention to the fact that on 8 June 2023, two State Parties to the Convention against Torture filed a joint application instituting proceedings against a third State Party before the International Court of Justice concerning alleged violations of the Convention.  This application was illustrative of how other international bodies could also be seized with issues related to the implementation of the Convention.  The Office of the High Commissioner would continue to follow the proceedings before the Court closely and with interest. 

The Office of the High Commissioner continued to actively support efforts to strengthen the treaty body system.  It prepared a comprehensive Working Paper with options for the implementation of the conclusions adopted by the treaty body Chairpersons last year.  The document was intended to be a guide for the creation of an efficient, fit-for-purpose, cost-effective, coherent and sustainable treaty body system.  The conclusions adopted last month at the 35th annual meeting of Chairpersons, held from 19 May to 2 June 2023 in New York, had the potential to significantly improve the work of the Committee and that of the treaty body system as a whole, Mr. Cisse-Gouro said.  Ably guided by Committee Chairperson Claude Heller, in his new capacity as Chair of the Chairpersons’ meeting, the Chairs had agreed, among other things, to establish a coordination mechanism for the harmonisation of working methods and substantive coordination on common intersectional issues. The Chairs had also considered the options proposed for the rolling out of the eight year predictable review calendar.  The Chairs had further confirmed that any of the options for the introduction of an eight year predictable schedule of reviews and the further digitisation of their work could be implemented by all human rights treaty bodies only if the necessary human, technical and financial resources could be provided by Member States.

While decisions on these issues remained in the hands of Member States, the Secretary-General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights had expressed their firm commitment to continue to support the treaty body strengthening process, including as regards the budgetary implications of the reform of the United Nations treaty bodies system, Mr. Cisse-Gouro added.  In closing, he wished the Committee a successful session.

Claude Heller, Committee Chairperson, said that during the session, in addition to conducting in-person dialogues to review the reports of Switzerland, New Zealand, Romania and Spain, the Committee would hold private meetings with the national human rights institutions of Spain and New Zealand; the national preventive mechanisms of New Zealand, Romania, Spain and Switzerland; and non-governmental organisations from New Zealand, Spain and Switzerland.

During the current session, the Committee would consider a total of 18 communications. Of these, three communications would be considered on the merits, four communications on admissibility, as well as 11 requests for discontinuance of communications.

On Monday, 24 July, follow-up reports and allegations of reprisals under articles 19, 20 and 22 of the Convention would be considered.  Follow-up reports would be presented by the Committee’s Rapporteur for follow-up to concluding observations, Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov.  Cases and allegations of reprisals against individuals and organisations cooperating with the Committee under articles 19, 20 and 22 were to be presented by the Committee’s Rapporteur on reprisals, Ana Racu.

Mr. Heller thanked State parties, national human rights institutions, national preventive mechanisms, civil society organisations including the World Organization Against Torture, and the Committee Secretariat for their support.

The Committee adopted its provisional agenda for the session.

Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here. The programme of work of the Committee’s seventy-seventh session and other documents related to the session can be found here.

The Committee will next meet in public on Wednesday, 12 July at 10 a.m. to consider the eighth periodic report of Switzerland  (CAT/C/CHE/8).

 

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