SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON COMMUNICATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE DESCRIBES ACTIVITIES TO COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE

CAT
27th session
13 November 2001
Afternoon






Martin Scheinin, the Special Rapporteur for communications of the Human Rights Committee, told a brief public session of the Committee against Torture this afternoon of his methods for reviewing complaints submitted by individuals, saying the appointment of one Committee Expert with responsibility for first perusal of communications had worked well, among other things enabling quick preventive measures in some cases, including requests to relevant States for delays when a death penalty was to be carried out.

The Committee against Torture, which does not use such a Special Rapporteur but spreads communications for first review among its 10 members based on the language in which they are submitted, had asked Mr. Scheinin to explain his procedures. Mr. Scheinin said that after an initial review he decided some communications were not worth review by the entire Human Rights Committee, but referred other, more likely candidates, to the Chairman. If the Chairman thought they deserved consideration, they were taken up by the entire Committee.

Both the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture have provisions which, if accepted by ratifying States, allow individuals on their territories to submit communications to the panels of experts alleging violations, respectively, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and of the Convention against Torture.

Following Mr. Scheinin's remarks, the Committee against Torture said it would consider appointing and using a Special Rapporteur for processing complaints submitted to it.

The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 November, to begin its consideration of a fourth periodic report of Ukraine.



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