COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE ISSUES PROVISIONAL CONCLUSIONS ON CAMBODIA, CONCLUSIONS ON AZERBAIJAN

CAT
30th session
12 May 2003
Afternoon




The Committee against Torture issued provisional conclusions and recommendations this afternoon on a report submitted to it by Cambodia and final conclusions and recommendations on a report of Azerbaijan. The reports dealt with national efforts to implement the Convention against Torture, of which Cambodia and Azerbaijan are two of 133 States parties. The Cambodian report was discussed in a Committee meeting held 29 April; the Azerbaijani report was reviewed at meetings on 30 April and 1 May.
The Committee's reactions to the initial report of Cambodia were provisional because – as the Committee noted with regret – a Government delegation had not been present to introduce the report and to answer questions from Committee Experts. The Committee requested the Cambodian Government to provide responses to the questions asked by its members orally and to the issues raised in the provisional conclusions and recommendations by 31 August 2003.
The Committee cited among positive aspects to the Cambodian report the Government's willingness to continue undertaking legal reforms in order to fulfill its international obligations in the field of human rights and its cooperation with United Nations agencies and mechanisms in the field of human rights.
It expressed concern, among other things, over numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations of acts of torture and other ill-treatment committed by law-enforcement personnel in police stations and prisons; extended impunity for past and present violations of human rights committed by law-enforcement officials and members of the armed forces, and in particular the failure of the Government to investigate acts of torture and other cruel or degrading treatment; and allegations of widespread corruption among public officials in the criminal justice system.
Among the Committee's recommendations were that Cambodia incorporate into its domestic law the definition of torture set out in article 1 of the Convention, and that it characterize acts of torture as a specific crime punishable by appropriate sanctions; that Cambodia take effective measures to establish and ensure a fully independent and professional judiciary; that it ensure prompt, impartial and full investigation into the many allegations of torture and the prosecution and punishment, as appropriate, of the perpetrators; and that it establish an independent body competent to deal with complaints against the police and other law-enforcement personnel.
On the second periodic report of Azerbaijan, the Committee said positive developments included extensive legal and legislative reforms carried out; the introduction of the offense of torture in the country‘s new Criminal Code; and the report of some convictions for this crime.
Concern was cited, among other things, about numerous ongoing allegations of torture and ill-treatment in Azerbaijan; reports that some persons had been held in police custody much beyond the time limit of 48 hours established in the Code of Criminal Procedure, and that in exceptional circumstances, persons could be held up to 10 days in temporary detention in local police facilities; and reports that, in many instances, judges refused to deal with visible evidence of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and did not order independent medical examinations or return cases for further investigation.
The Committee recommended, among other things, that Azerbaijan guarantee in practice that persons could not be held in initial preventive detention (police custody) beyond 48 hours, and that it abolish the possibility of holding persons in temporary detention in local police facilities for up to 10 days; that it clearly instruct police officers, investigative authorities and remand centre personnel that they must respect the right of detained persons to obtain access to a lawyer immediately following detention; that it transfer the remand centre of the Ministry of National Security to the authority of the Ministry of Justice or discontinue its use; and that it ensure the full protection of non-governmental human rights defenders and organizations.
Inaugurating a new procedure on follow-up, the Committee requested the Government of Azerbaijan to provide it with information within a year on its response to five specified recommendations by the Committee.
After meeting in private for most of the afternoon, the Committee re-opened its meeting and heard one of its Experts, Ole Vedel Rasmussen, say that Mexico had been the object of a confidential inquiry as called for in Article 20 of the Convention against Torture which stipulates that "If the Committee receives reliable information which appears to it to contain well-founded indications that torture is being systematically practiced in the territory of a State Party, the Committee shall invite that State Party to cooperate in the examination of the information and to this end to submit observations with regard to the information concerned. … The Committee may, if it decides that this is warranted, designate one or more of its members to make a confidential inquiry and to report to the Committee urgently". Mr. Rasmussen said that the inquiry had been conducted after he, the late Alejandro Gonzalez Poblete and two members of the Secretariat had visited Mexico. A report had been sent to Mexico and the Government had responded, Mr. Rasmussen said. As a result, the inquiry had been closed and the results had been made public.
The Committee also named Rapporteurs and Co-Rapporteurs for reports to be considered at the Committee's spring 2004 session. Assigned as Rapporteurs and Co-Rapporteurs, respectively, were Mr. Rasmussen and Alexander Yakovlev for the report of Croatia; Andreas Mavrommatis and Sayed Kassem el Masry for the report of New Zealand; Fernando Mariño and Mr. Rasmussen for the report of Chili; Mr. el Masry and Felice Gaer for the report of the Czech Republic; Yu Mengja and Claudio Grossman (who replaced the late Mr. Poblete) for the report of Germany; Mr. Yakovlev and Mrs. Gaer for the report of Bulgaria; and Guibril Camara and Mr. Mariño for the report of Monaco. It was noted that this decision depended on the results of the elections which would be held at the end of 2003 and the renewal of the mandates of a number of Experts.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 13 May, to issue its conclusions and recommendations on the second periodic report of Iceland.

Provisional Conclusions and Recommendations of Initial Report of Cambodia
The Committee regretted the absence of a delegation from Cambodia with which it could have carried out a dialogue on the report and looked forward to receiving written responses to its questions and comments.
The Committee cited as positive the Government's willingness to continue undertaking legal reforms in order to fulfill its international obligations in the field of human rights and its cooperation with United Nations agencies and mechanisms in the field of human rights.
It noted as a factor impeding the application of the Convention the difficulties encountered by Cambodia during its political and economic transition, including lack of a judiciary infrastructure and budgetary constraints.
It expressed concern, among other things, over numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations of acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment committed by law-enforcement personnel in police stations and prisons; extended impunity for past and present violations of human rights committed by law-enforcement officials and members of the armed forces, and in particular the failure of the Government to investigate acts of torture and other cruel or degrading treatment; allegations of widespread corruption among public officials in the criminal justice system; ineffective functioning of the criminal justice system, particularly the lack of independence of the judiciary as well as its inefficiency; the importance given to the confession in criminal proceedings and the reliance of the police and the judiciary on confessions to secure convictions; the unwarranted protraction of the pre-trial period during which detainees were more likely to be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment; the use of incommunicado detention for at least 48 hours before the person was brought before a judge, during which period the detainee had no access to legal counsel or the opportunity to contact relatives, and the possibility for police to extend this period; and lack of access by detainees in general to legal counsel and a medical doctor of their choice.
Among the Committee's recommendations were that Cambodia incorporate into its domestic law the definition of torture set out in article 1 of the Convention, and that it characterize acts of torture as a specific crime punishable by appropriate sanctions; that Cambodia take effective measures to establish and ensure a fully independent and professional judiciary; that it ensure prompt, impartial and full investigation into the many allegations of torture reported to the authorities and the prosecution and punishment, as appropriate, of the perpetrators; that it establish an independent body competent to deal with complaints against the police and other law-enforcement personnel; and that it take all necessary measures to ensure that the requirement of article 3 of the Convention was taken into consideration when deciding on the expulsion, return or extradition of foreigners.
The Committee also recommended that the Cambodian Government take measures to ensure that evidence obtained under torture was not invoked in court; that it take all necessary measures to guarantee access to justice for all people in Cambodia, particularly the poor and the inhabitants of rural and distant areas of the country; that it undertake all necessary measures to guarantee to any person deprived of his or her liberty the right to a defense and the right to be assisted by a lawyer, if necessary at the State's expense; that it take urgent measures to improve conditions of detention in police stations and prisons; that it increase its efforts to remedy prison overcrowding and establish a systematic and independent system to monitor the treatment of persons arrested, detained or imprisoned; that it consider, in this connection, signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention; and that it take measures to regulate and institutionalize the right of victims of torture to fair and adequate compensation; and that it ensure that the reported practice of unlawful trafficking of persons be suppressed.
In addition, the Committee asked that Cambodia provide data on the number of persons held in prisons and places of detention and the number, types and results of cases of police and other law-enforcement personnel accused of torture and related offenses; and requested the Cambodian Government to provide responses to the questions asked by its members orally and to the issues raised in the present provisional conclusions and recommendations by 31 August 2003.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Second Periodic Report of Azerbaijan
Among positive developments in Azerbaijan, the Committee noted efforts by the Government to address the Committee's previous concluding observations; the country's declaration under article 22 of the Convention enabling individuals to submit complaints to the Committee; the ratification of several significant human rights treaties; the extensive legal and legislative reforms carried out; and the introduction of the offense of torture into the new Criminal Code, and reports of some convictions for this crime.
Concern was cited, among other things, about numerous ongoing allegations of torture and ill-treatment; the fact that the definition of torture in the new Criminal Code did not fully comply with article 1 of the Convention; lack of information on the implementation of article 3 of the Convention regarding handover of persons to a country where they faced a real risk of torture; the apparent lack of independence of the judiciary despite new legislation; reports that some persons had been held in police custody much beyond the time limit of 48 hours established in the Code of Criminal Procedure, and that in exceptional circumstances, persons could be held up to 10 days in temporary detention in local police facilities; the lack, in many instances, of prompt and adequate access of persons in police custody or remand centres to independent counsel; the fact that, despite the Special Rapporteur on Torture's recommendation, the remand centre of the Ministry of National Security continued to operate and that it remained under the jurisdiction of the same authorities that conducted pre-trial investigations; reports of harassment and attacks on human rights defenders and organizations; and reports that, in many instances, judges refused to deal with visible evidence of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and did not order independent medical examinations or return cases for further investigation.
The Committee recommended, among other things, that Azerbaijan ensure that the offense of torture in national legislation fully complied with the definition provided in article 1 of the Convention; that it guarantee in practice that persons could not be held in initial preventive detention (police custody) beyond 48 hours, and that it abolish the possibility of holding persons in temporary detention in local police facilities for up to 10 days; and that it transfer the remand centre of the Ministry of National Security to the authority of the Ministry of Justice or discontinue its use.
The Committee also recommended that Azerbaijan ensure the full independence of the country's Ombudsman; that it ensure the rights of detainees to lodge a complaint; that it review the treatment of persons serving life sentences; that it institute a system for regular and independent inspections of all places of detention; and that it ensure that redress, compensation and rehabilitation were guaranteed to victims of torture.
The Committee requested that Azerbaijan provide within one year information on its responses to the following recommendations: that Azerbaijan clearly instruct police officers, investigative authorities and remand centre personnel that they must respect the right of detained persons to obtain access to a lawyer immediately following detention, and to a medical doctor upon request of the detainee; that it fully ensure prompt creation of a new Bar association; that it ensure the full protection of non-governmental human rights defenders and organizations; that it ensure that all persons had the right to review any decision about extradition to a country where the person faced a real risk of torture; and that it ensure that prompt, impartial and full investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment were carried out and establish an independent body with the authority to receive and investigate all complaints of torture and other ill-treatment by officials.



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