UN Committee against Torture to review Saudi Arabia

GENEVA (19 April 2016) - The UN Committee against Torture is due to review Saudi Arabia on 22 and 25 April in sessions that will be webcast live. Saudi Arabia has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and so is required to be reviewed regularly by the Committee.

Among the possible issues for discussion between CAT members and a delegation from the Saudi government are:
·    Prohibition of corporal punishment such as flogging and amputation of limbs; reported incommunicado pre-trial detention;
·    Independence of the judiciary;
·    Violence against women;
·    Protection of human rights defenders and journalists from reprisals, harassment, intimidation and arrest;
·    Detention conditions; 
·    Investigation and prosecution of complaints of torture and ill-treatment;
·    Legal prohibition of use of statements obtained as result of torture;
·    Elimination of death penalty for non-violent crimes and offences such as “sorcery”, “adultery” and “apostasy”;
·    Torture and ill-treatment of migrant workers.

The review will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 10:00 - 13:00 (11:00 – 14:00 in Riyadh) on 22 April and 15:00 - 18:00 (16:00 – 19:00) on 25 April and be webcast at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.  The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives.

More information, including Saudi Arabia’s submitted written report, at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1011&Lang=en  The Committee will publish its concluding observations here on Friday 13 May.

A news conference is scheduled for 12:30 on Friday 13 May at Palais des Nations in Geneva when the Committee will discuss its concluding observations on Saudi Arabia and the other countries being reviewed – France, Tunisia, Turkey, the Philippines and Israel.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell +41 (0) 22 917 9466/ +41 79 752 0488 ethrossell@ohchr.org)

Media accreditation:    http://unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpPages)/70991F6887C73B2280256EE700379C58?OpenDocument

Background
Members of the CAT are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. More information:  http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx

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