News Release
(For International Day in Support of Victims of Torture - 26 June 2010)
Torture still widespread and impunity prevails, warn four UN expert
bodies
prevails in many regions of the world and is often accompanied by an
alarming degree of impunity,” warned four UN bodies* involved in
preventing torture and helping its victims, on the International Day in
Support of Victims of Torture.
“Torture continues to be widespread and certain practices amounting to
torture as well as to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment have been reinvigorated, in particular in the context of the
so-called global war on terror after 11 September 2001,” the group of UN
experts said.
“Some States, invoking different types of emergencies,” they noted,
“have been involved in practices such as secret detention,
disappearances, expulsion or extradition of individuals to countries
where they were in danger of torture, and other unlawful treatment or
punishment in violation of the Convention against Torture and other
international human rights instruments and humanitarian law.”
The four UN bodies stressed that “the prohibition against torture and
other forms of inhumane treatment is absolute and cannot be derogated
even under emergency situations.” In their view, “Sates must take
effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to
prevent acts of torture in any territory under their jurisdiction.”
The lack of criminalization of torture and inadequate sanctions were
described by the UN experts as main factors contributing to impunity.
“States must ensure that all acts of torture are criminalized as
offences in their domestic penal law and punishable with appropriate
penalties that take into account their gravity.”
“We often see that in the few instances where perpetrators are held
accountable they often receive sentences far below what is required by
international law,” they said. “We are dismayed to see that in almost no
recent cases have there been judicial investigations into such
allegations; almost no one has been brought to justice; and most victims
have never received any form of reparation, including rehabilitation or
compensation.”
The UN experts noted that adequate reparation, tailored to the needs of
the victim including compensation and rehabilitation, is rarely provided
or entirely dependent on the limited resources of private entities and
civil society organizations. “We call upon all States to ensure that
victims of torture and other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment obtain full redress and urge them to adopt general guarantees
of non-repetition including taking determined steps to fight impunity.”
The four UN bodies urged all States to become party to the Convention
against Torture and fully adopt its provisions, recognizing the
competence of the Committee against Torture to receive individual
complaints, “in order to maximize transparency and accountability in
their fight against torture and its related impunity.”
They also call on States to ratify the Optional Protocol and thus to
engage with the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. The Optional
Protocol is a key instrument to prevent torture and ill-treatment by
ensuring the establishment of independent and effective national
preventive mechanisms empowered to visit places of detention.
Finally, the UN experts called on all States to contribute to the UN
Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture as part of a universal commitment
for the rehabilitation of torture victims and their families.
(*) The UN Committee against Torture; the Subcommittee on Prevention of
Torture; the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment; and the Board of Trustees of the UN
Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture.
ENDS
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