Committee against Torture concludes review of report of Ukraine

CAT
27th session
15 November 2001
Afternoon






Government Officials Describe Standards for Treatment of
Detainees and Prisoners, Obtaining Confessions


A seven-member Government delegation from Ukraine told the Committee against Torture this afternoon of steps taken to protect detainees and prisoners from ill-treatment and to provide safeguards for their human rights.

The delegation, responding to questions put by the Committee on Wednesday, also said that international treaties ratified by Ukraine became part of national legislation and their standards could be applied in the courts, which meant that the protections afforded prisoners, detainees, refugees and asylum-seekers under the Convention had direct effect in the country.

Committee members had cited concern on Wednesday over reports from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that there was widespread maltreatment of persons imprisoned or held in custody, and that in some 26 cases such maltreatment had resulted in death. They also said it had been reported by NGOs that confessions were forcibly extracted from thousands of criminal suspects each year and that some 30 per cent of prisoners suffered ill-treatment.

The delegation contended that detainees were entitled to legal counsel at any time, including during interrogations, and that laws prohibited the use in court of any evidence obtained by illegal means, including torture. They added, however, that it was true, as cited by the Committee, that pre-trial detention could in some cases last as long as 18 months.

The delegation introduced Ukraine's fourth periodic report to the Committee on Wednesday afternoon. Formal conclusions and recommendations on the report will be issued by the Committee on Wednesday, 21 November.

Ukraine, as one of the 126 States parties to the Convention against Torture, is required to present periodic summations to the Committee of national efforts to put the Convention's provisions into effect. Government delegations generally appear during the consideration of such reports to answer questions and provide additional information to the Committee's 10 independent Experts.

The Committee will reconvene at 10 p.m. on Friday, 16 November, to begin consideration of an initial report of Indonesia.


Discussion

A seven-member Ukrainian delegation responded to a series of questions put by Committee members at their meeting on Wednesday afternoon upon introduction of the Ukrainian report.

A. ZAYETS, First Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and Head of the Ukrainian delegation, said among other things that the Government did not have a comprehensive plan for eradicating torture, but a document had been developed to combat crime as a whole, including such abuses as torture.

The limitation of rights allowed during states of emergency was subject to the standards of the Constitution, and the Constitution prohibited cruel or inhuman treatment, Mr. Zayets said. The Constitution did allow limitations in certain circumstances of such rights as the freedom of movement, he said, but did not allow any derogation that would allow torture.

An accusation of a crime could not be based on evidence obtained by illegal means, which would include information obtained by torture, Mr. Zayets said. The testimony of a suspect had to be confirmed by all evidence available, especially if a suspect pleaded guilty. Laws prohibited obtaining testimony from suspects through force, threats, or other illegal means. And the new Criminal Code established the liability of anyone who obtained evidence through illegal means such as torture.

The law on State secrets had been amended in 1999, Mr. Zayets said, and now provided that a State secret did not cover information on or violation of the rights of citizens by illegal action of Government authorities. However, certain aspects of warders' activities and police work remained secret, meaning that some illegal activities could be hidden through such provisions, but the delegation had no information that this sort of abuse had occurred.

Under new legislation, detainees had the right to legal counsel at any stage, Mr. Zayets said; in a number of situations, furthermore, legal counsel was obligatory, for example when people under age 18 were suspected or accused of committing offenses. In general, when a suspect was arrested or detained, rules called for interrogations to be conducted immediately, or at the latest within 24 hours, and legal counsel was entitled to be present. A shortage of funds and lawyers meant that counsel was not always provided if the suspect did not request it.

Other members of the Ukrainian delegation also responded to questions. They said, among other things, that articles dating from the Soviet era remained in the current Criminal Code because the crimes they covered had not disappeared with Ukraine's achievement of independence but were still committed. The draft of the new Criminal Code, however, had been examined by international experts and found laudable and in keeping with global standards for judicial practice.

There was less use these days of imprisonment as a punishment, with more reliance on fines and community work, the delegation said; that reduced crowding in prisons and allowed greater respect for the rights of those convicted. Much attention was given to the social rehabilitation of those found guilty of crimes.

It was illegal for Ukraine, under current legislation, to return refugees to countries where they stood a good chance of undergoing torture or ill-treatment, the delegation said. Meanwhile, thousands of Crimean Tartars returning to their ancestral home of the Ukraine after being deported to other regions during the Soviet area had been granted Ukrainian citizenship, the delegation said.

International treaties ratified by Ukraine became part of national legislation and their standards could be applied in the courts, the delegation said, which meant, among other things, that the protections afforded refugees and asylum-seekers under the Convention against Torture applied in Ukrainian law.

The courts were independent of other branches of Government, the delegation said, and the Constitution stressed that judges and the judicial system were not to be subject to any interference.

An Amnesty International report referring to Ukraine and cited by the Committee had been received by the Government at a late date, the delegation said; there had been very little time to read and discuss it, and it was felt that it would be better to respond to the report at a later date.

In one specific case referred to by the Committee, the delegation said, it was true that a case had come before a procurator charging that bodily harm had been brought to bear by police resulting in an individual's death. Unfortunately, the matter was not yet concluded because identification of the perpetrators had not been possible. The investigation was continuing.

Bullying was problem in the military, it was true, the delegation said; some 15 per cent of cases brought in the military courts dealt with such violations of military discipline. It was not possible at the moment to say how many such charges had been brought against officers, but the matter was being studied and statistics should be available for the country's next periodic report.

In cases brought before the procurator's office, if there was sufficient justification, investigations certainly would be carried out into allegations of torture, and if evidence showed such maltreatment had occurred, charges certainly would be filed, the delegation said. It was not possible to provide details on how many such cases had occurred, as the new Criminal Code had just taken effect, and while some 145 sentences had been handed down relating to members of the police for official misconduct under previous provisions that could relate to acts amounting to torture, not all those cases did in fact relate to torture.

The Human Rights Ombudsman had full access to all places of detention, including remand centres, prisons, and pre-trial holding centres, the delegation said.

Pre-trial investigation and remand custody could last 18 months, it was true, the delegation said; this was a matter of law and would take some time to review and possibly change; however, of the hundreds or thousands of those held in pre-trial detention only 50 or 60 per year were held for 18 months.

The Criminal Procedure Code variously divided responsibilities for carrying out pre-trial investigations between the police, the procurator's office, the tax police, or the security services, the delegation said. Who investigated depended on the seriousness and the nature of the offense. The Code also set standards for determining whether or not someone could be considered a criminal suspect. Administrative penalties related to petty offenses that were not subject to criminal sanctions, the delegation said; detentions of up to 15 days could be imposed for administrative offenses.

There was a difference in Ukraine between the militia and the police, the delegation said; the militia was a body of the executive branch that protected the rights, health, freedom, and property of citizens, the environment, and the well-being of the State. Various laws and regulations defined the jurisdiction of the militia and regulated its activities.

The Procurator's Office, the Human Rights Ombudsman, and various Government ministries had responsibilities for monitoring human rights and responding to violations, the delegation said. In addition the new Code of Criminal Procedure offered further protections.

Trafficking in persons was a new type of crime which had not existed in the old Criminal Code, the delegation said; under the new Code there were fairly serious penalties for the offense. The Minister for Humanitarian Affairs was responsible for combatting problems related to trafficking, along with a sub-department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs which was concentrating on prevention.

The Ombudsman carried out inspection of prisons, the delegation said, and that and other measures ensured sufficient oversight of prison activities in relation to human rights. There was no recorded case in recent years of sexual violence in prisons, but there had been some 33 convictions over the last five years related to violence between convicted persons.



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