UN Committee against Torture to review Turkey

GENEVA (19 April 2016) - The UN Committee against Torture is due to review Turkey on 26 and 27 April. Turkey 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 Turkish State are:
·    Measures to prevent and prosecute torture and ill-treatment by public officials;
·    Allegations of excessive use of force by police against demonstrators and ill-treatment in detention;
·    Steps to ensure all detainees are promptly registered, given access to a lawyer and an independent medical doctor; 
·    Massive counter-terrorism operations and alleged ill-treatment of detainees while responding to security threats in the south-eastern part of the country;
·    Independence of the judiciary;
·    Investigation of all outstanding cases of alleged disappearances, including from 1974 conflict in Cyprus;
·    Return of asylum-seekers and non-refoulement;
·    Violence against women, including domestic violence and so-called “honour killings”;
·    Protection of human rights defenders from, intimidation and violence; reports of harassment, arrest and imprisonment of journalists. 

The review will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 10:00 - 13:00 (11:00 - 14:00 in Ankara) on 26 April and 15:00 - 18:00 (16:00 - 19:00) on 27 April and be webcast at http://www.treatybodywebcast.org/.  The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives.

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

For your news websites and social media: Multimedia content & key messages relating to our news releases are available on UN Human Rights social media channels, listed below. Please tag us using the proper handles:
Twitter: @UNHumanRights
Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
Instagram: unitednationshumanrights
Google+: unitednationshumanrights
Youtube: unohchr