HC Video message for the Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI)

Regional workshop on the Benefits of, and challenges to, the ratification and implementation of CAT in the Pacific
27/28 October 2016
Natadola, Fiji

Bula Vinaka!

This is a very promising event for the people of the Pacific region. I congratulate the Convention against Torture Initiative for organising this regional workshop. The CTI has been an important partner for my Office in our work to promote ratification and implementation of the Convention Against Torture in every country around the world.

Congratulations also to Fiji, Vanuatu and Nauru for their recent ratifications of the Convention against Torture. We are hopeful that these steps will pave the way for ratification and implementation of the full Convention in all Pacific member states, including Fiji.

The Convention against Torture is among the most comprehensive and powerful instruments of international law ­– one of the few unequivocal obligations that the international community has embraced.

CAT recognizes that the intentional infliction of severe physical or mental pain – whether to obtain information, to punish for perceived crimes, or to put pressure on the victim or other parties – is a crime so repugnant that it must be prohibited under all circumstances, without exception.        

Torture can never be justified, and the men, women and children of the Pacific region deserve to be free of this threat.
Small Island States often encounter specific challenges in implementing international human rights treaties, including their reporting obligations. My Office stands ready to provide support to Pacific Island States in their efforts to implement CAT, as we do in many other areas.

I wish you successful discussions, and I trust they will be fruitful. All of us at the UN Human Rights Office look forward to continued cooperation with the Convention against Torture Initiative and with the Pacific Island States.