UN torture prevention body visits Poland

GENEVA (July 6, 2018) – The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) will carry out its first visit to Poland between 8 and 19 July. The Subcommittee will assess the treatment of people deprived of their liberty in Poland and the safeguards in place for their protection against torture and ill-treatment.

“During our visit, we will assess the torture prevention polices Poland has put in place,” said Aisha Shujune Muhammad, who is heading the delegation. “As a comprehensive torture prevention system also requires regular visits by an independent and fully funded detention monitoring body, we will also be looking at the set-up and functioning of Poland’s National Preventive Mechanism.”

In the course of the visit, the delegation intends to visit prisons, police stations, and detention facilities for juveniles, as well as other locations. In addition to meetings with the national preventive mechanism, the experts plan to meet with representatives of the authorities, the prosecution, the judiciary, and with civil society.

The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture has a mandate to visit all States that are parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which  Poland ratified in 2005. At the end of the visit, the Subcommittee will present its confidential preliminary observations to Poland’s government and its national preventive mechanism.

The delegation will be composed of Ms. Aisha Shujune Muhammad (Head of Delegation, Maldives), Ms. Marija Definis-Gojanovic (Croatia), Mr. Petros Michaelides (Cyprus), Ms. Mari Amos (Estonia), Ms. Zdenka Perovic (Montenegro) and Mr. Daniel Fink (Switzerland).

For media inquiries or for more information, please contact:
In Poland: Armen Avetisyan, +41 79 444 5401/ aavetisyan@ohchr.org      
In Geneva: Julia Gronnevet, +41 (0) 22 917 9310 / jgronnevet@ohchr.org   

Background 

The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture monitors States parties’ adherence to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, ratified to date by 88 States.The Committee is made up of 25 members who are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Subcommittee has a mandate to undertake visits to States Parties, during the course of which it may visit any place where persons may be deprived of their liberty.

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