UN Committee against Torture to review Namibia

GENEVA (15 November 2016) - The UN Committee against Torture is due to review Namibia on 18 and 21 November in Geneva. Namibia has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and so is required to be reviewed regularly by the Committee.

Among the possible issues for discussion between CAT members and a delegation from the Namibian Government are:
·    Legal safeguards during deprivation of liberty;
·    Excessive use of force by police and ill-treatment of detainees in police custody;
·    The asylum process including the prohibition of non-refoulement;
·    Allegations of torture and ill-treatment in the Caprivi High Treason Trial;
·    Ill-treatment and discrimination of LGBTI people.

The review will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 10:00-13:00 (11:00-14:00 in Windhoek) on 18 November and 15:00 to 18:00 on 21 November (16:00-19:00) and be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org/. The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives.

More information, including Namibia’s submitted written report, at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1085&Lang=en

The Committee has scheduled a press conference for Wednesday, 7 December at 12:30 at the Palais des Nations to discuss its findings on Namibia and the other States being reviewed – Ecuador, Finland, Monaco, Sri Lanka, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Cape Verde. These findings, officially known as concluding observations, will be published here on 7 December: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1085&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell +41 (0) 22 917 9466/ +41 79 752 0488 ethrossell@ohchr.org)

Media accreditation:    http://unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpPages)/70991F6887C73B2280256EE700379C58?OpenDocument

Background

Members of the CAT are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. More information:  http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx

For your news websites and social media: Multimedia content & key messages relating to our news releases are available on UN Human Rights social media channels, listed below. Please tag us using the proper handles:
Twitter: @UNHumanRights
Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Instagram: unitednationshumanrights
Google+: unitednationshumanrights
Youtube: unohchr