Committee against Torture Concludes Eightieth Session after Adopting Concluding Observations on Reports of Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Republic of Korea and Türkiye

The Committee against Torture this morning closed its eightieth session after adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Republic of Korea and Türkiye on their efforts to implement the provisions of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Claude Heller, Committee Chairperson, said the eightieth session was held from 8 to 26 July 2024. The concluding observations on Côte d'Ivoire, Ecuador, Republic of Korea and Türkiye would be available on the Committee session webpage in the coming days.

Concerning Côte d'Ivoire, the Committee welcomed that the State had submitted its initial report, which was due in 1997. Mr. Heller expressed the Committee’s deep concern about reports of very high levels of prison overcrowding to almost three times total capacity, and poor material conditions in many places of deprivation of liberty. It was also concerned about the limited access to quality health care and the lack of trained and qualified prison staff, including medical personnel, in the penitentiary system. The Committee recommended that the State party make greater use of alternatives to detention and continue to develop prison infrastructure and improve conditions of detention, allocate the necessary resources for proper medical and health care for prisoners, including mental health care, and increase the number of trained and qualified prison officers, including medical staff.

The Committee also expressed its deep concern at the lack of accountability for acts of torture and ill treatment attributable to State agents, which contributed to a climate of impunity. It called on the State party to ensure that all allegations of torture or ill treatment were promptly, effectively and impartially investigated by an independent body, that there was no institutional or hierarchical link between the investigators and the alleged perpetrators, that suspects were duly brought to justice and, if found guilty, sentenced to penalties commensurate with the gravity of their acts, and that victims received adequate reparation.

On Ecuador, Mr. Heller said the Committee was concerned about the militarisation of public security and the reports of possible violations of the Convention due to excessive actions by the armed forces in maintaining it. The Committee also expressed concern about serious shortcomings in Ecuador's prison system, particularly reports of self-government and extortion in prisons, lack of prison and security staff, corruption, the entry of firearms and drugs, as well as frequent riots and other violent incidents, including the reported deaths of more than 680 persons between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee was further concerned that declarations of a state of emergency to respond to the prison crisis had continued to be adopted since 2019, and that the armed forces were mobilised to ensure the maintenance of security in prisons on 13 January 2024. The Committee requested the State party to redouble its efforts to address the prison crisis and its systemic causes with a human rights approach, prioritising policies of rehabilitation, re-education and social reintegration, the demilitarisation of control of prisons, and the prevention of violence.

While noting Ecuador’ steps taken to reform legislation to allow for abortion in case of rape, the Committee expressed concern about the criminalisation of abortion on grounds other than rape or threat to the life of a mother, as well as the limited application of the law, which forced women and girls to resort to clandestine abortions and exposed them as well as medical professionals to criminal sanctions. It encouraged the State party to decriminalise abortion and include other legal exceptions to the prohibition of abortion, in particular when the pregnancy was the result of incest and in cases of severe malformation of the foetus.

Regarding the Republic of Korea, Mr. Heller said the Committee took note of recent measures that sought to ensure access to legal counsel, but expressed concern that this right could be limited based on grounds that were not clearly defined, leaving excessively broad discretion to the prosecution and police to exclude counsel. The Committee recommended that the State party ensure that all persons deprived of their liberty were afforded all fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of their detention, in particular the rights to be assisted without delay by counsel.

While acknowledging the measures taken by the State party to address human rights abuses in the military, the Committee was concerned about the reported increase in cases of violence in the military, including sexual and gender-based violence, which had resulted in deaths, including suicides. Another source of concern was the criminalisation of consensual sexual relations between same-sex adults, which could give rise to violations of the Convention. The Committee asked the State party to continue efforts to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and suicides in the military, including by addressing their root causes and monitoring, documenting and investigating these types of incidents. It invited the State party to consider repealing article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act.

On Türkiye, the Committee was concerned over allegations that torture and ill treatment continued to occur in the State party in a generalised manner, including beatings and sexual assault by law enforcement and intelligence officers, and recommended that all allegations of torture and ill treatment be promptly, impartially, effectively and independently investigated and prosecuted, with those found guilty being punished commensurately with the gravity of their crimes. It also raised concerns over the deterioration in the independence of judges and lawyers in Türkiye since the failed coup attempt in 2016, including the mass dismissal of judges and prosecutors, the closure of bar associations, and the erosion of independence of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors. The Committee recommended that the State party ensure the full independence, impartiality and effectiveness of the judiciary, and refrain from interference in the self-governance of professional lawyers’ associations.

The Committee was alarmed by the regime of aggravated life imprisonment in Türkiye, noting that many prisoners subject to this regime were kept isolated in cells for over 22 hours per day in de facto solitary confinement, and that some had no prospect of release. The Committee was particularly concerned about the situation of prisoners Abdullah Öcalan, Hamili Yıldırım, Ömer Hayri Konar and Veysi Aktaş, currently held in İmralı Prison, who had been unable to contact their families or lawyers since March 2021. It recommended that the State party consider abolishing aggravated life imprisonment and immediately facilitate contact between the prisoners held in İmralı Prison and their families and legal representatives.

Mr. Heller said that during the current session, the Committee also examined 31 individual complaints and postponed consideration of one other. Of the examined cases, two were deemed inadmissible. Additionally, 10 cases were decided on the merits: in nine cases, the Committee found no violations, while in one case, it determined that there was a violation by the State party. Furthermore, the Committee adopted 19 discontinuance requests. Its work under article 20 of the Convention also continued during the session.

For the eighty-first session, to be held from 28 October to 22 November 2024, Mr. Heller said the Committee would consider the reports of Cameroon, Jordan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Namibia and Thailand. The cessation of hybrid meetings due to the United Nations’ liquidity crisis continued to hamper the Committee’s work in this regard. At the session, the Committee would adopt lists of issues prior to reporting for Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, San Marino, Serbia and Sweden.

For the eighty-second session, to be held in April/May 2025, reviews were initially scheduled with Armenia, France, Mauritius, Monaco, Turkmenistan and Ukraine.

This year marked the fortieth anniversary of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Mr. Heller said. To mark the occasion, the Committee was planning several initiatives in collaboration with the other United Nations anti-torture mechanisms to reassert the prohibition, prevention and prosecution of torture and other ill treatment, and encourage a torture-free world. Information related to anniversary activities could be found on a dedicated web page, which would include stories from torture survivors, capacity building publications and more. In this connection, a letter was sent this week to all States parties to the Convention regarding planned anniversary activities, encouraging them to undertake their own activities and share with the Committee information on events and initiatives undertaken at the national level.

In closing, Mr. Heller thanked all relevant members of States parties, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, national human rights institutes, national preventive mechanisms, as well as Committee Experts, Secretariat staff and other stakeholders for their contributions to the session. He called on the Committee to continue its efforts in the upcoming session, which had a busy schedule.

The Committee is scheduled to hold its eighty-first session from 28 October to 22 November 2024, during which it will consider the reports of Cameroon, Jordan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Namibia and Thailand.

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