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COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE ADOPTS GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING INITIAL REPORTS
13 May 2005
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Committee against Torture
MORNING
13 May 2005
The Committee against Torture this morning adopted guidelines on the form and content of initial reports submitted by States parties to the Committee on their efforts to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
According to article 19 of the Convention, a State party undertakes to submit a report on the measures taken to give effect to its undertakings under the Convention within one year after its entry into force in the country and thereafter every four years unless the Committee requests other reports. The Committee started its discussion of the guidelines last year. They replace the earlier version adopted by the Committee in April 1991 and will complement any guidelines that might be produced jointly by the treaty bodies for an expanded core document.
Committee Expert Odel Vedel Rasmussen prepared the text of the new guidelines. Their purpose was to assist States parties in fulfilling their obligations under article 19, and the Committee recommended that the States follow the general guidelines as to the form and content of reports. The elements contained in the guidelines cover the areas of constitutional, criminal and administrative provisions regarding the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the status of the Convention in the domestic legal order of the State party; and an overview of the practical implementation of the Convention at the central, regional and local levels of the State party, among other things. The guidelines also set out procedures for States parties to provide detailed information in relation to each of the 16 articles of the Convention.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will first hold a discussion with Kamel Filali, the Special Rapporteur charged with implementing the proposal which would see States parties presenting one expanded core report to all the treaty bodies and then a specialized report relating to each committee. The Committee will then hear the response of Bahrain to questions raised by Committee Experts on Thursday, 12 May.
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This press release is not an official record and is provided for public information only.
MORNING
13 May 2005
The Committee against Torture this morning adopted guidelines on the form and content of initial reports submitted by States parties to the Committee on their efforts to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
According to article 19 of the Convention, a State party undertakes to submit a report on the measures taken to give effect to its undertakings under the Convention within one year after its entry into force in the country and thereafter every four years unless the Committee requests other reports. The Committee started its discussion of the guidelines last year. They replace the earlier version adopted by the Committee in April 1991 and will complement any guidelines that might be produced jointly by the treaty bodies for an expanded core document.
Committee Expert Odel Vedel Rasmussen prepared the text of the new guidelines. Their purpose was to assist States parties in fulfilling their obligations under article 19, and the Committee recommended that the States follow the general guidelines as to the form and content of reports. The elements contained in the guidelines cover the areas of constitutional, criminal and administrative provisions regarding the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the status of the Convention in the domestic legal order of the State party; and an overview of the practical implementation of the Convention at the central, regional and local levels of the State party, among other things. The guidelines also set out procedures for States parties to provide detailed information in relation to each of the 16 articles of the Convention.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will first hold a discussion with Kamel Filali, the Special Rapporteur charged with implementing the proposal which would see States parties presenting one expanded core report to all the treaty bodies and then a specialized report relating to each committee. The Committee will then hear the response of Bahrain to questions raised by Committee Experts on Thursday, 12 May.
* *** *
This press release is not an official record and is provided for public information only.
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