GENEVA (8 July 2021) — The UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) will hold its upcoming session from 12 to 30 July 2021 during which it will review Belgium.

The Committee, which has received the country report from Belgium, and submissions from non-governmental organisations as well as other stakeholders, will discuss five priority themes with the State delegation.

These are prevention and investigation of police violence; prison conditions, overpopulation in detention facilities and deaths in custody; investigation practices in anti-terrorism operations; principle and implementation of non-refoulement to ensure no one is returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel or inhuman treatment and punishment; repatriation of Belgian families from Syria and other conflict zones.

The public dialogue with Belgium will be held online and livecast on UN web TV on 15 and 16 July from 12:30 to 14:30 Geneva time.

After reviewing Belgium, the Committee will then focus on the consideration of 25 complaints submitted by individuals alleging violation of rights in nine countries.

More information about the CAT’s upcoming review of Belgium, including reports submitted by the State party, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders, is now available online.

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For more information and media requests in Geneva, please contact:
Vivian Kwok at +41 (0) 22 917 9362 / vkwok@ohchr.org or UN Human Rights Office Media Section at +41 (0) 22 928 9855 / media@ohchr.org  

Background
The Committee Against Torture monitors States parties’ adherence to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which to date has 171 State parties. The Committee is made up of 10 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 Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty.

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