COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE OPENS TWENTY-FIRST SESSION

HR/CAT/98/29
9 November 1998


The Committee against Torture opened its two-week fall session this morning by adopting its agenda and programme of work.

As at previous sessions, the Committee noted the large number of overdue country reports on the implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Committee Secretary Alessio Bruni, reviewing the status of overdue reports, said that for the period from June 1988 to October 1998, 105 initial country reports had been expected. Seventy reports had been received and 35 were late. The countries owing the latest reports were Uganda, Togo, Guyana, Brazil, Guinea, Somalia, Estonia, Yemen, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Latvia, Seychelles, Antigua and Barbuda, Burundi, Slovakia, Slovenia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Albania. These States had received anywhere from 5 to 16 reminders.

For the period from June 1992 to October 1998, 78 second periodic reports had been expected, Mr. Bruni added. Forty-eight reports had been presented, while 30 were late. They were owed, among others, by Afghanistan, Belize, Cameroon, Uganda, Philippines, Togo, Guyana, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Guinea and Somalia. For the period from June 1996 to October 1998, 14 third periodic reports had been presented while 32 were late. The Committee planned to send further reminders to the countries owing reports.

Committee Chairman Peter Thomas Burns expressed satisfaction concerning the detention of former Chilean military leader Augusto Pinochet in London and surprise that a British court had said Mr. Pinochet could not be tried because he was a former head of state. However, since the House of Lords was presently considering the case, the Committee would not comment on it. He asked the Secretariat to obtain copies of the British court rulings concerning this case before the report of the United Kingdom was considered on 16 November.

The Chairman recalled that a number of years ago, when Mr. Pinochet was visiting Holland, the Committee against Torture through the Chair had requested that the Dutch Government detain the Chilean leader. At the time, a Dutch magistrate who considered the matter, concluded that since there was no likelihood of the conviction of Mr. Pinochet, the Government would not take any action.

Mr. Burns also drew the attention of the Committee to the fact that Scotland was presently prosecuting a North African national for acts of torture carried out in North Africa pursuant to the articles of the Convention. He said that to his knowledge, this was the first time the treaty had been relied upon to try a person in a third State.

The Committee also announced the countries it will consider in its 1999 sessions. They are the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Mauritius, Bulgaria, Venezuela, Italy, Luxembourg, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Malta, Austria and Egypt.

During this session, the Committee will take up the reports of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Iceland, Croatia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Norther Ireland, Hungary and Tunisia.

The Committee will meet in private to consider information received under article 20 of the Convention and communications under article 22 of the Convention until Wednesday, 11 November, at 10 a.m. when it will take up the initial report of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (document CAT/C/16/Add.7). For further information, see background release document HR/CAT/98/28.