UN torture prevention body to visit Chile

GENEVA (31 March 2016) – The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) is due to make its first visit to Chile from 4 to 13 April to assess the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty, as well as the safeguards for their protection against torture and ill-treatment.

Among the places the SPT delegation is due to visit are prisons, police stations, psychiatric institutions and detention facilities for juveniles. The SPT delegation will also hold meetings with the Chilean authorities and civil society representatives.  

“One of the aims during our visit is to provide advice and assistance to the Chilean authorities on the full implementation of their treaty obligations, including the establishment of a national independent body fully able to monitor places of detention,” said Lorena González Pinto, head of the SPT delegation.  

Chile ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in December 2008. According OPCAT’s article 17, States parties are required to maintain, designate or establish such a body, known as a National Preventive Mechanism, within a year after ratification.

“Having a body able to carry out such work is a fundamental aspect of preventing torture and ill-treatment,” Ms González Pinto stressed.

Following the visit, the SPT will submit a confidential report to the Chilean Government , containing its observations and recommendations.

The SPT has a mandate to visit all States that are parties to OPCAT and can make unannounced visits to places of detention. For the SPT, the key to preventing torture and ill-treatment lies in building constructive relations with the State concerned, and its guiding principles are cooperation and confidentiality.

The SPT delegation will comprise:  Lorena González Pinto (Guatemala), Roberto Michel Feher Pérez (Uruguay), Enrique Andrés Font (Argentina), Emilio Ginés Santidrián (Spain).

ENDS

For media inquiries, please contact: Yulia Babuzhina  + 41 79 444 4355 / ybabuzhina@ohchr.org

Chile: Leire Agirreazkuenaga +56 2 654 1032 / leire.agirreazkuenaga@undp.org
From 5 April: Maria Jeannette Moya  + 56 979996907 /  mmoya@ohchr.org
Geneva: Liz Throssell, +41 (0) 22 917 9466/ +41 79 752 0488 / ethrossell@ohchr.org

Background: The Optional Protocol on the Prevention of Torture has to date been ratified by 80 countries.  The SPT communicates its recommendations and observations to the State by means of a confidential report, and if necessary to National Preventive Mechanisms. However, State parties are encouraged to request that the SPT makes these reports public. More about the SPT:  http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/OPCAT/Pages/OPCATIndex.aspx

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