Welcome to the United Nations 
OHCHR 
Press releases Treaty bodies
COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE BEGINS REVIEW OF REPORT OF CHAD
29 April 2009
Share
Committee against Torture
29 April 2009
The Committee against Torture this morning began its consideration of the initial report of Chad on the efforts of that country to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Introducing the report, Abderaman Djasnabaille, Minister for Human Rights and the Promotion of Freedoms of Chad, said that the report set out the institutional and legal framework for the promotion and protection of human rights and the respect for human dignity. The latter provided protections against attacks against an individual's mental and physical integrity, arbitrary detention or imprisonment and abduction. However, Chad needed security and a calm environment, as well as stability of its democratic institutions, before it could ensure its citizens' well being, social cohesion and a properly functioning justice system. Despite activities to implement human rights commitments, Chad had been severely impacted by the crisis in Darfur starting in 2003, with the massive flow of refugees into the country, intercommunal conflicts and incursions by the Janjaweed and other armed groups which had given led to the attacks on N'Djamena in April 2006 and February 2008. Those conflicts and crises had given rise to a new series of human rights violations, including abductions, physical attacks, forced displacement, child recruitment, and rape of women, leading the Government to declare a state of emergency.
With a desire to shed light on those events and to establish responsibility for human rights violations, the Government had taken a number of steps, including the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry. Assisted by international observers, the Commission of Inquiry had made public its conclusions in September 2008, following three months of intense work. To follow-up on its recommendations, the Government had set up a follow-up committee, which had already begun its work. Complaints had been laid by the Government against those accused of murder, abduction and rape. A judicial panel, composed of judges and judicial police officers, had been set up to investigate the claims.
Serving as Rapporteur for the report of Chad, Committee Expert Essadia Belmir was concerned that the offence of torture was not explicitly defined or penalized in the Criminal Code of Chad and she underscored that the current lacuna in Chad's legal provisions made it difficult to assess the implementation of the Convention. Of serious concern were reports of kidnappings and torture, in particular committed under the Habré regime, which remained unpunished. While the report by the Commission of Inquiry went into those crimes, it had made some recommendations that had not been followed up, in particular the recommendation that the members of Habré's regime not be kept on. Other concerns included the non-respect of the 48-hour time limit for preliminary detentions; the fact that legal aid was virtually non-existent; and "enormous" health issues for detainees, including a lack of medical care and food.
Claudio Grossman, the Committee Chairperson serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report, asked for more information on training programmes for officials, members of the judiciary and law enforcement agents; efforts to professionalize prison staff; a lack of progress in the case against the political police under former President Habré, for torture and other charges; the status of a draft law before the National Assembly that aimed to grant a sum of money for those who had been victims of violations of their rights under the previous Government; and information that obtaining of confessions under duress was an established practice in Chad.
Several Experts also raised the issue of children in religious schools, including information that such children were chained up, forced to beg and beaten, and asked about measures to address that situation, and whether any prosecutions had been undertaken against the owners of such schools.
Also representing the delegation of Chad was Malloum Bamanga Abbas, the Permanent Representative of Chad to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and other members of the Permanent Mission in Geneva, as well as representatives of the Executive branch, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The delegation will return to the Committee at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 30 April, to provide its responses to the questions raised today.
Chad is among the 146 States parties to the Convention and as such it must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will hear the answers of the Philippines to the questions posed by Experts on Tuesday, 28 April.
Report of Chad
The initial report of Chad (CAT/C/TCD/1) notes that, since the early years of independence, Chad has had a long tradition of secret detentions, torture and disappearances, fed by intercommunal conflicts and bloody internecine civil wars in the struggle for power. While illegal arrests, arbitrary detentions and abductions are prohibited and severely punished under the 1967 Criminal Code, torture is not a separate offence in the current national legal instruments. This situation is linked to the lack of harmonization of the domestic legal framework with the Convention. However, the 1967 legislature defined torture as an aggravating circumstance in criminal proceedings. The Constitution stipulates that “The human person is sacred and inviolable.” In thus establishing through its Constitution some provisions that prohibit the practice of torture, Chad unquestionably adheres to the perception of international law to the effect that torture is a crime and as such destroys the victim’s personality and is no less than a negation of the dignity inherent in the human person. Certain laws and regulations also contain specific provisions prohibiting torture or any form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Examples are the Act on reproductive health and the Code of Ethics of the National Police.
After Hissène Habré returned to N’Djamena and seized power on 7 June 1982, human rights violation was to reach its apogee in Chad with the creation of the formidable political police, known as the Documentation and Security Directorate in January 1983, and answerable directly to the Office of the President. The report of the Commission of Inquiry into former President Habré’s crimes and abuses of power, created in December 1990, showed that Security Directorate agents used various forms of torture, such as: a form of binding hands and feet together known as “arbatachar”; forced swallowing of water; spraying with gas (in the eyes, nose, etc.); exhaust pipe (in the mouth, etc.); burning with red-hot substances; cohabitation with corpses; stick torture; the “black diet”; pulling out of fingernails; poisoning; withholding of medical care; and electric shocks. The same report points out that the outcome of eight years (1982-1990) of President Habré’s rule was some 40,000 dead and thousands of widows and orphans. This figure does not cover the real number of victims, inasmuch as the work of the Commission encountered a number of difficulties and was restricted to N’Djamena and some of the country’s larger towns. In pursuance of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, the former Documentation and Security Directorate agents were removed from their positions of responsibility and the Government is ensuring that they are not re-employed in the new service.
Presentation of Report
ABDERAMAN DJASNABAILLE, Minister for Human Rights and the Promotion of Freedoms of Chad, said that for the new ministerial department for human rights and the promotion of freedoms, the review of this initial report represented a sort of test to gauge the activities already undertaken by Chad in the promotion and protection of human rights and to point the way towards the activities that needed to be taken to improve in that area.
In the preamble to its Constitution of 31 March 1996, Chad had reaffirmed it attachment to the general principles of human rights as defined by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Mr. Djasnabaille observed. In an attempt to move on from the bloody dictatorship that had devastated all Chadians by multiple acts of torture, murder and forced disappearances, the National Sovereignty Conference of 1993 had allowed for several targeted directives to be established for the creation of institutions to promote and protect human rights. The establishment of those institutions started in 1994, with the creation of the National Commission on Human Rights; the adoption of the Convention against Torture by referendum in 1996; the organization of presidential and legislative elections; and the creation of a Supreme Court, the Constitutional Council, the national Ombudsman's office and the economic and social council. Local elections soon to take place would implement Chad's new policy of decentralization.
Conscious that human rights were the firm basis for international relations and were a condition for all partnerships for development, Chad had created the Ministry of Human Rights in 2005, which had its mandate enlarged in 2008 by the addition of the promotion of freedoms, thus becoming the Ministry for Human Rights and the Promotion of Freedoms. The Ministry was responsible for implementing Chad's human rights policy and had established an inter-ministerial technical committee for follow-up on obligations stemming from international human rights instruments to which Chad was a party, Mr. Djasnabaille said.
The report before the Committee set out the institutional and legal framework for the promotion and protection of human rights and the respect for human dignity. The latter provided protections against attacks against an individual's mental and physical integrity, arbitrary detention or imprisonment and abduction. However, Chad needed security and a calm environment, as well as stability of its democratic institutions, before it could ensure its citizens' well being, social cohesion and a properly functioning justice system. Despite activities of the Government, stakeholders and civil society to implement human rights commitments, Chad had been severely impacted by the crisis in Darfur starting in 2003, with the massive flow of refugees into the country, by intercommunity conflicts and by incursions by the Janjaweed and other armed groups which had led to the attacks on N'Djamena in April 2006 and February 2008.
Those conflicts and crises had given rise to a new series of human rights violations, including abductions, physical attacks, forced displacement, child recruitment and rape of women, Mr. Djasnabaille higlighted. That situation had led the Government to declare a state of emergency to stamp out the serious threats to public order engendered by the insecurity that had spread in the six regions concerned by the troubles, as well as in N'Djamena. That measure, while restricting freedoms, had nevertheless allowed for the re-establishment of public and constitutional order.
With a desire to shed light on the events and to establish responsibility for human rights violations, the Government had taken a number of steps, including the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to look into the events and their consequences. Assisted by international observers, the Commission of Inquiry, which was made up mainly of members of civil society, had made public its conclusions in September 2008, following three months of intense work. To follow-up on the recommendations made, the Government set up a follow-up committee, which had already begun its work. Complaints had been laid by the Government against those accused of murder, abduction and rape. A judicial panel, composed of judges and judicial police officers, had been set up to investigate the claims.
Mr. Djasnabaille lamented that the various situations in Chad, particularly wars and inter-communal conflicts, had led to numerous human rights violations, and had rendered ineffective the many efforts taken to promote and protect human rights. In the face of such constraints, the Government was well aware of its shortcomings. Chad was equally well aware that its criminal law was not in conformity with the Convention against Torture. However, together with its partners, including the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme, the Government was continuing to take measures to address that situation. A national forum on human rights would be held this year in Chad, which was expected to result in a short, medium- and long-term plan of action. Chad was also launching an appeal to the international community to help the Government realize its human rights engagements.
Questions Raised by Committee Experts
ESSADIA BELMIR, the Committee Chairperson serving as Rapporteur for the report of Chad, underscored the fact that Chad's initial report actually covered three reporting periods, which was not ideal. However, Chad was making progress and she agreed that the country was going through a very particular situation.
Ms. Belmir felt that the report seemed to use the historical background of the country, including its colonial history and customs, to justify in some sense the torture and atrocities that had been committed in the past. That had led to a disastrous situation with regard to human rights.
While commending Chad's Constitution, which prohibited torture, Ms. Belmir was concerned that the offence of torture was not explicitly defined or penalized in the Criminal Code. She asked for more information on the draft criminal legislation in this area. She underscored that the current lacuna in Chad's legal provisions made it difficult to assess the implementation of the Convention in Chad.
Of serious concern were reports of kidnappings and torture, in particular committed under the Habré regime, which remained unpunished, Ms. Belmir said. While the report by the Commission of Inquiry went into those crimes, it had made some recommendations that had not been followed up. In particular, it had recommended that the members of Habré's regime who had committed offences not be kept on, but there were a number of instances where that had not been respected.
Ms. Belmir was further concerned, as noted in Chad's report, that the police and the gendarmes did not in practice respect the 48-hour time limit for preliminary detentions. One of the reasons cited for this was a lack of knowledge of the regulations of those responsible. Also of concern was information in the report that illegal arrests and arbitrary detentions took place, mostly during the February 2008 incidents, and reports from other sources also confirmed this.
With regard to detainees, it was also worrisome that legal aid was virtually non-existent, Ms. Belmir continued. Although there were laws on the books in that regard, they were not implemented. This was especially problematic as most detainees were poor. In addition, there were enormous health issues for detainees, and a lack of medical care.
Turning to issues of impunity, Ms. Belmir underscored that this issue was made worse by a lack of existing legislation defining the crimes that had been committed.
With regard to prisoners, there was no separation of adults and children, there was a serious food problem – as families were responsible for providing for their family members in prison – and visits, while allowed, were not carried out in practice.
The National Commission on Human Rights, as the report acknowledged, lacked resources and its structure did not provide sufficient independence. What was being done to address those issues, Ms. Belmir asked?
CLAUDIO GROSSMAN, the Committee Chairperson serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Chad, asked for clarification of training programmes mentioned in the report. The report had said workshops had been held for officials from ministerial departments directly concerned with the question of rights, magistrates, police officers, and representatives of human rights organizations, and that those meetings had always ended with the formulation of recommendations which were submitted to the Government. Could the delegation give some examples of those recommendations, he asked?
Noting that a reference centre on international humanitarian law had been established in March 2002 with the task, inter alia, of preparing a national programme of training in international humanitarian law, Mr. Grossman asked if that had been done. Similarly, regarding a code of ethics for the gendarmerie, which had led to the creation of a manual for trainers of the armed forces and the security services, how many training sessions had taken place and would more than the initial 500 copies of the manual be produced?
Concerning detention limits, Mr. Grossman asked about possible extensions to the 48-hour time limit, registration requirements for detainees and whether those were met in all places of detention.
Mr. Grossman appreciated the frankness of the report, for example, in acknowledging a lack of resources, a lack of professional training for the Gendarmerie, anarchic conditions with regard to prisoners in jails, and the criminal and insubordinate attitude of officials in charge of criminal investigations. In that connection, what was being done to address the attitude of officials? He understood that a draft decree had been signed by the Minister of Justice to professionalize prison staff, but that had not been signed into law yet, and he wondered why that was so?
Turning to military justice measures, Mr. Grossman asked how many cases there had been in which the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces had authorized the criminal investigation of personnel of the armed forces and how many of those had resulted in sentences. Moreover, did military tribunals have exclusive jurisdiction over crimes committed by the military, or was that jurisdiction limited to crimes committed while on active duty?
Regarding criminal cases brought against the political police under former President Habré, for torture and other charges, what barriers were there to moving forward in those trials?
With respect to issues of reparations, as he read the report, no one had been compensated for human rights violations in Chad, and individuals were also not coming forward for fear of retribution, Mr. Grossman commented.
In that connection, Mr. Grossman noted that there was a draft law before the National Assembly that aimed to grant a sum of money for those who had been victims of violations of their rights under the previous Government, estimating that the amount would be 40 million CFA per person per year. What was the current status of that draft law?
On invalidity of confessions obtained under duress, while the legal framework prohibited such confessions in Chad, the Committee had reports that this was an established practice. What was being done to address that situation? Here, Mr. Grossman noted that if it was possible to torture with impunity in Chad, then it was all the more difficult to eradicate the use of duress, which might not be torture, in the juridical setting.
Regarding claims in the report that harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation, were disappearing, Mr. Grossman asked for figures. He also asked for more information on the protection of children attending religious schools, who were often treated as "beasts of burden" according to the report. Finally, on child soldiers, there had been information from non-governmental organizations that following an agreement by which the recruitment of children would be put to an end there had been an increase in such recruitment. What mechanisms were in place to monitor, prevent and redress that situation?
Other Committee Experts asked questions related to measures to demilitarize refugee camps; whether Chad was considering becoming a party to the Istanbul Protocol; protections for human rights defenders, who were exposed to threats and violence; and guarantees for the independence of the judiciary, in particular given information that members of the judiciary had gone on strike following interference by the executive.
With regard to judicial proceedings in the Habré case, an Expert asked for clarification of the information provided in the report. As she understood it, some 20 former Documentation and Security Directorate (political police) agents had been indicted. The report said that "19 of them were subjected to detailed interrogation" but that the investigating judges had only succeeded in making "one confrontation". What was meant by this?
Several Experts raised the issue of children in religious schools, including information that such children were chained up, forced to beg, and were beaten, and asked about measures to address that situation, and whether any prosecutions had been undertaken against the owners of such schools.
_________
For use of the information media; not an official record
29 April 2009
The Committee against Torture this morning began its consideration of the initial report of Chad on the efforts of that country to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Introducing the report, Abderaman Djasnabaille, Minister for Human Rights and the Promotion of Freedoms of Chad, said that the report set out the institutional and legal framework for the promotion and protection of human rights and the respect for human dignity. The latter provided protections against attacks against an individual's mental and physical integrity, arbitrary detention or imprisonment and abduction. However, Chad needed security and a calm environment, as well as stability of its democratic institutions, before it could ensure its citizens' well being, social cohesion and a properly functioning justice system. Despite activities to implement human rights commitments, Chad had been severely impacted by the crisis in Darfur starting in 2003, with the massive flow of refugees into the country, intercommunal conflicts and incursions by the Janjaweed and other armed groups which had given led to the attacks on N'Djamena in April 2006 and February 2008. Those conflicts and crises had given rise to a new series of human rights violations, including abductions, physical attacks, forced displacement, child recruitment, and rape of women, leading the Government to declare a state of emergency.
With a desire to shed light on those events and to establish responsibility for human rights violations, the Government had taken a number of steps, including the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry. Assisted by international observers, the Commission of Inquiry had made public its conclusions in September 2008, following three months of intense work. To follow-up on its recommendations, the Government had set up a follow-up committee, which had already begun its work. Complaints had been laid by the Government against those accused of murder, abduction and rape. A judicial panel, composed of judges and judicial police officers, had been set up to investigate the claims.
Serving as Rapporteur for the report of Chad, Committee Expert Essadia Belmir was concerned that the offence of torture was not explicitly defined or penalized in the Criminal Code of Chad and she underscored that the current lacuna in Chad's legal provisions made it difficult to assess the implementation of the Convention. Of serious concern were reports of kidnappings and torture, in particular committed under the Habré regime, which remained unpunished. While the report by the Commission of Inquiry went into those crimes, it had made some recommendations that had not been followed up, in particular the recommendation that the members of Habré's regime not be kept on. Other concerns included the non-respect of the 48-hour time limit for preliminary detentions; the fact that legal aid was virtually non-existent; and "enormous" health issues for detainees, including a lack of medical care and food.
Claudio Grossman, the Committee Chairperson serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report, asked for more information on training programmes for officials, members of the judiciary and law enforcement agents; efforts to professionalize prison staff; a lack of progress in the case against the political police under former President Habré, for torture and other charges; the status of a draft law before the National Assembly that aimed to grant a sum of money for those who had been victims of violations of their rights under the previous Government; and information that obtaining of confessions under duress was an established practice in Chad.
Several Experts also raised the issue of children in religious schools, including information that such children were chained up, forced to beg and beaten, and asked about measures to address that situation, and whether any prosecutions had been undertaken against the owners of such schools.
Also representing the delegation of Chad was Malloum Bamanga Abbas, the Permanent Representative of Chad to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and other members of the Permanent Mission in Geneva, as well as representatives of the Executive branch, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The delegation will return to the Committee at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 30 April, to provide its responses to the questions raised today.
Chad is among the 146 States parties to the Convention and as such it must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention.
When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon, it will hear the answers of the Philippines to the questions posed by Experts on Tuesday, 28 April.
Report of Chad
The initial report of Chad (CAT/C/TCD/1) notes that, since the early years of independence, Chad has had a long tradition of secret detentions, torture and disappearances, fed by intercommunal conflicts and bloody internecine civil wars in the struggle for power. While illegal arrests, arbitrary detentions and abductions are prohibited and severely punished under the 1967 Criminal Code, torture is not a separate offence in the current national legal instruments. This situation is linked to the lack of harmonization of the domestic legal framework with the Convention. However, the 1967 legislature defined torture as an aggravating circumstance in criminal proceedings. The Constitution stipulates that “The human person is sacred and inviolable.” In thus establishing through its Constitution some provisions that prohibit the practice of torture, Chad unquestionably adheres to the perception of international law to the effect that torture is a crime and as such destroys the victim’s personality and is no less than a negation of the dignity inherent in the human person. Certain laws and regulations also contain specific provisions prohibiting torture or any form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Examples are the Act on reproductive health and the Code of Ethics of the National Police.
After Hissène Habré returned to N’Djamena and seized power on 7 June 1982, human rights violation was to reach its apogee in Chad with the creation of the formidable political police, known as the Documentation and Security Directorate in January 1983, and answerable directly to the Office of the President. The report of the Commission of Inquiry into former President Habré’s crimes and abuses of power, created in December 1990, showed that Security Directorate agents used various forms of torture, such as: a form of binding hands and feet together known as “arbatachar”; forced swallowing of water; spraying with gas (in the eyes, nose, etc.); exhaust pipe (in the mouth, etc.); burning with red-hot substances; cohabitation with corpses; stick torture; the “black diet”; pulling out of fingernails; poisoning; withholding of medical care; and electric shocks. The same report points out that the outcome of eight years (1982-1990) of President Habré’s rule was some 40,000 dead and thousands of widows and orphans. This figure does not cover the real number of victims, inasmuch as the work of the Commission encountered a number of difficulties and was restricted to N’Djamena and some of the country’s larger towns. In pursuance of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, the former Documentation and Security Directorate agents were removed from their positions of responsibility and the Government is ensuring that they are not re-employed in the new service.
Presentation of Report
ABDERAMAN DJASNABAILLE, Minister for Human Rights and the Promotion of Freedoms of Chad, said that for the new ministerial department for human rights and the promotion of freedoms, the review of this initial report represented a sort of test to gauge the activities already undertaken by Chad in the promotion and protection of human rights and to point the way towards the activities that needed to be taken to improve in that area.
In the preamble to its Constitution of 31 March 1996, Chad had reaffirmed it attachment to the general principles of human rights as defined by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Mr. Djasnabaille observed. In an attempt to move on from the bloody dictatorship that had devastated all Chadians by multiple acts of torture, murder and forced disappearances, the National Sovereignty Conference of 1993 had allowed for several targeted directives to be established for the creation of institutions to promote and protect human rights. The establishment of those institutions started in 1994, with the creation of the National Commission on Human Rights; the adoption of the Convention against Torture by referendum in 1996; the organization of presidential and legislative elections; and the creation of a Supreme Court, the Constitutional Council, the national Ombudsman's office and the economic and social council. Local elections soon to take place would implement Chad's new policy of decentralization.
Conscious that human rights were the firm basis for international relations and were a condition for all partnerships for development, Chad had created the Ministry of Human Rights in 2005, which had its mandate enlarged in 2008 by the addition of the promotion of freedoms, thus becoming the Ministry for Human Rights and the Promotion of Freedoms. The Ministry was responsible for implementing Chad's human rights policy and had established an inter-ministerial technical committee for follow-up on obligations stemming from international human rights instruments to which Chad was a party, Mr. Djasnabaille said.
The report before the Committee set out the institutional and legal framework for the promotion and protection of human rights and the respect for human dignity. The latter provided protections against attacks against an individual's mental and physical integrity, arbitrary detention or imprisonment and abduction. However, Chad needed security and a calm environment, as well as stability of its democratic institutions, before it could ensure its citizens' well being, social cohesion and a properly functioning justice system. Despite activities of the Government, stakeholders and civil society to implement human rights commitments, Chad had been severely impacted by the crisis in Darfur starting in 2003, with the massive flow of refugees into the country, by intercommunity conflicts and by incursions by the Janjaweed and other armed groups which had led to the attacks on N'Djamena in April 2006 and February 2008.
Those conflicts and crises had given rise to a new series of human rights violations, including abductions, physical attacks, forced displacement, child recruitment and rape of women, Mr. Djasnabaille higlighted. That situation had led the Government to declare a state of emergency to stamp out the serious threats to public order engendered by the insecurity that had spread in the six regions concerned by the troubles, as well as in N'Djamena. That measure, while restricting freedoms, had nevertheless allowed for the re-establishment of public and constitutional order.
With a desire to shed light on the events and to establish responsibility for human rights violations, the Government had taken a number of steps, including the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to look into the events and their consequences. Assisted by international observers, the Commission of Inquiry, which was made up mainly of members of civil society, had made public its conclusions in September 2008, following three months of intense work. To follow-up on the recommendations made, the Government set up a follow-up committee, which had already begun its work. Complaints had been laid by the Government against those accused of murder, abduction and rape. A judicial panel, composed of judges and judicial police officers, had been set up to investigate the claims.
Mr. Djasnabaille lamented that the various situations in Chad, particularly wars and inter-communal conflicts, had led to numerous human rights violations, and had rendered ineffective the many efforts taken to promote and protect human rights. In the face of such constraints, the Government was well aware of its shortcomings. Chad was equally well aware that its criminal law was not in conformity with the Convention against Torture. However, together with its partners, including the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme, the Government was continuing to take measures to address that situation. A national forum on human rights would be held this year in Chad, which was expected to result in a short, medium- and long-term plan of action. Chad was also launching an appeal to the international community to help the Government realize its human rights engagements.
Questions Raised by Committee Experts
ESSADIA BELMIR, the Committee Chairperson serving as Rapporteur for the report of Chad, underscored the fact that Chad's initial report actually covered three reporting periods, which was not ideal. However, Chad was making progress and she agreed that the country was going through a very particular situation.
Ms. Belmir felt that the report seemed to use the historical background of the country, including its colonial history and customs, to justify in some sense the torture and atrocities that had been committed in the past. That had led to a disastrous situation with regard to human rights.
While commending Chad's Constitution, which prohibited torture, Ms. Belmir was concerned that the offence of torture was not explicitly defined or penalized in the Criminal Code. She asked for more information on the draft criminal legislation in this area. She underscored that the current lacuna in Chad's legal provisions made it difficult to assess the implementation of the Convention in Chad.
Of serious concern were reports of kidnappings and torture, in particular committed under the Habré regime, which remained unpunished, Ms. Belmir said. While the report by the Commission of Inquiry went into those crimes, it had made some recommendations that had not been followed up. In particular, it had recommended that the members of Habré's regime who had committed offences not be kept on, but there were a number of instances where that had not been respected.
Ms. Belmir was further concerned, as noted in Chad's report, that the police and the gendarmes did not in practice respect the 48-hour time limit for preliminary detentions. One of the reasons cited for this was a lack of knowledge of the regulations of those responsible. Also of concern was information in the report that illegal arrests and arbitrary detentions took place, mostly during the February 2008 incidents, and reports from other sources also confirmed this.
With regard to detainees, it was also worrisome that legal aid was virtually non-existent, Ms. Belmir continued. Although there were laws on the books in that regard, they were not implemented. This was especially problematic as most detainees were poor. In addition, there were enormous health issues for detainees, and a lack of medical care.
Turning to issues of impunity, Ms. Belmir underscored that this issue was made worse by a lack of existing legislation defining the crimes that had been committed.
With regard to prisoners, there was no separation of adults and children, there was a serious food problem – as families were responsible for providing for their family members in prison – and visits, while allowed, were not carried out in practice.
The National Commission on Human Rights, as the report acknowledged, lacked resources and its structure did not provide sufficient independence. What was being done to address those issues, Ms. Belmir asked?
CLAUDIO GROSSMAN, the Committee Chairperson serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Chad, asked for clarification of training programmes mentioned in the report. The report had said workshops had been held for officials from ministerial departments directly concerned with the question of rights, magistrates, police officers, and representatives of human rights organizations, and that those meetings had always ended with the formulation of recommendations which were submitted to the Government. Could the delegation give some examples of those recommendations, he asked?
Noting that a reference centre on international humanitarian law had been established in March 2002 with the task, inter alia, of preparing a national programme of training in international humanitarian law, Mr. Grossman asked if that had been done. Similarly, regarding a code of ethics for the gendarmerie, which had led to the creation of a manual for trainers of the armed forces and the security services, how many training sessions had taken place and would more than the initial 500 copies of the manual be produced?
Concerning detention limits, Mr. Grossman asked about possible extensions to the 48-hour time limit, registration requirements for detainees and whether those were met in all places of detention.
Mr. Grossman appreciated the frankness of the report, for example, in acknowledging a lack of resources, a lack of professional training for the Gendarmerie, anarchic conditions with regard to prisoners in jails, and the criminal and insubordinate attitude of officials in charge of criminal investigations. In that connection, what was being done to address the attitude of officials? He understood that a draft decree had been signed by the Minister of Justice to professionalize prison staff, but that had not been signed into law yet, and he wondered why that was so?
Turning to military justice measures, Mr. Grossman asked how many cases there had been in which the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces had authorized the criminal investigation of personnel of the armed forces and how many of those had resulted in sentences. Moreover, did military tribunals have exclusive jurisdiction over crimes committed by the military, or was that jurisdiction limited to crimes committed while on active duty?
Regarding criminal cases brought against the political police under former President Habré, for torture and other charges, what barriers were there to moving forward in those trials?
With respect to issues of reparations, as he read the report, no one had been compensated for human rights violations in Chad, and individuals were also not coming forward for fear of retribution, Mr. Grossman commented.
In that connection, Mr. Grossman noted that there was a draft law before the National Assembly that aimed to grant a sum of money for those who had been victims of violations of their rights under the previous Government, estimating that the amount would be 40 million CFA per person per year. What was the current status of that draft law?
On invalidity of confessions obtained under duress, while the legal framework prohibited such confessions in Chad, the Committee had reports that this was an established practice. What was being done to address that situation? Here, Mr. Grossman noted that if it was possible to torture with impunity in Chad, then it was all the more difficult to eradicate the use of duress, which might not be torture, in the juridical setting.
Regarding claims in the report that harmful traditional practices, such as female genital mutilation, were disappearing, Mr. Grossman asked for figures. He also asked for more information on the protection of children attending religious schools, who were often treated as "beasts of burden" according to the report. Finally, on child soldiers, there had been information from non-governmental organizations that following an agreement by which the recruitment of children would be put to an end there had been an increase in such recruitment. What mechanisms were in place to monitor, prevent and redress that situation?
Other Committee Experts asked questions related to measures to demilitarize refugee camps; whether Chad was considering becoming a party to the Istanbul Protocol; protections for human rights defenders, who were exposed to threats and violence; and guarantees for the independence of the judiciary, in particular given information that members of the judiciary had gone on strike following interference by the executive.
With regard to judicial proceedings in the Habré case, an Expert asked for clarification of the information provided in the report. As she understood it, some 20 former Documentation and Security Directorate (political police) agents had been indicted. The report said that "19 of them were subjected to detailed interrogation" but that the investigating judges had only succeeded in making "one confrontation". What was meant by this?
Several Experts raised the issue of children in religious schools, including information that such children were chained up, forced to beg, and were beaten, and asked about measures to address that situation, and whether any prosecutions had been undertaken against the owners of such schools.
_________
For use of the information media; not an official record
VIEW THIS PAGE IN: