UN Committee against Torture to review Tunisia

GENEVA (18 April 2016) - The UN Committee against Torture is due to review Tunisia on 20 and 21 April in Geneva. Tunisia 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 Tunisian government are:
·    Length of police custody;
·    Detainees’ access to lawyer and medical examination;
·    Independence of judiciary;
·    Violence against women;
·    Current asylum, return and extradition procedure;
·    Law on combatting terrorism and money-laundering;
·    Prison overcrowding; investigations into deaths in custody;
·    Investigations and prosecution of cases of torture and ill-treatment by officials;
·    Prosecution of serious human rights violations during the revolution and the long lead-up to it, especially under the Government of Ben Ali;
·    Harassment of and attacks against human rights defenders.

The review will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 10:00 - 13:00 on 20 April and 15:00 - 18:00 on 21 April and be webcast at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.  The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives.

More information, including Tunisia’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 Tunisia and the other countries being reviewed – France, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, 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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