Statement of the Special Rapporteur on torture to the 60th UN Commission on Human Rights, 31 March 2004

Mr. Chairman,
Distinguished Representatives and Observers.

It is not an easy task to present to you a report on a full year of activities as Special Rapporteur on torture within the few minutes allotted to me. I will have to limit myself to some striking features and I recommend the complete report with its addenda (E/CN.4/2004/56 and Add 1-3) to your careful consideration.

It is well understood that in my activities I am guided by the methods of work described in the annex of document E/CN.4/1997/7, which have been approved over the years by the Commission. The main report summarizes the activities of the Special Rapporteur; it describes the types of communications sent to Governments, including urgent appeals. It further draws attention to the issue of guarantees for persons deprived of their liberty with a view to protecting them from the risk of torture and it examines the question of HIV/AIDS and torture.

Addendum 1 of the report contains a summary of communications sent to and received from governments regarding individual cases and other matters of concern to my mandate. During the period under review I have sent 369 urgent appeals to 80 countries and 154 letters of allegation to 71 countries. Further replies to allegations and urgent appeals contained in this addendum have since then been received from a number of States, namely Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Honduras, Italy, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United States of America, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

Mr. Chairman,

As Special Rapporteur I am very much aware that my work will have limited effect unless we will be able to improve methods and procedures of coherent and regular follow-up. This applies to communications I am sending to Governments which call for a more systematic use of deadlines and reminders, as well as to recommendations drawn up by the Special Rapporteur on the basis of visits in situ. This Commission has repeatedly urged Governments, in resolutions pertaining to my mandate, to enter into a constructive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur with respect to the follow-up to his recommendations.
It is with this in mind that I have addressed myself to the countries that were visited by my predecessor and myself and requested information on the consideration given to the recommendations, the steps taken to implement them, and any constraints encountered which may prevent their implementation. The information I received from a number of Governments as well as from some NGO’s and other interested parties is now included in a special document (E/CN.4/2004/56.Add.3).

Mr. Chairman,

As regards visiting missions which allow me to gain more direct knowledge of situations falling within my mandate and which enable me to come forward with special recommendations, a report on my visit to Spain is before you (E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.2) to which I will revert in a moment. I can also inform you that I am in regular contact since some time with the authorities of China and I am pleased that the prospects for a visit to China are positive since the Chinese authorities have reconfirmed their invitation and confirmed their agreement of the terms for the visit as set out by me in my correspondence with the authorities. The visit is scheduled to take place as from the end of June for 15 working days.

I may also inform the Commission that my colleague the Special Rapporteur on the right to health and myself have made a joint request, two months ago, to the Government of the United States of America to extend an invitation to us to undertake a mission to the Guantanamo military base. We are still awaiting a reply. Other visits such as those to Bolivia, Georgia, Nepal and Paraguay have not yet materialized for reasons beyond the control of the Governments concerned and remain under active consideration. Repeated requests for invitations to carry out visits to Algeria, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, India, Indonesia, Israel, the Russian Federation with respect to the Republic of Chechnya, Tunisia and Turkmenistan are still pending and not complied with.

Mr. Chairman,

In connection with my visit to Spain carried out early October 2003 and my report thereon, I wish to associate myself fully with all those who expressed their horror and indignation at the criminal terrorist attacks committed on 11 March in Madrid. In my report I made myself very clear in condemning all acts, methods and practices of terrorism, in all their forms and manifestations, whenever and by whomever committed.

The report on my visit to Spain was carefully drawn up on the basis of information received from a wide spectrum of sources, notably the Spanish governmental authorities of that time, organizations and institutions recommended by the Government, authorities of the Basque Autonomous Region, a large number of human rights organizations in Madrid, Vittoria and Bilbao, all explicitly referred to, like most Special Rapporteurs do, in the introductory part of the report. In line with consistent practice I also gave hearings to persons who had been arrested, detained and interrogated by the State security and police forces. My findings largely concur with those of other independent monitoring bodies. It is my considered view, in the light of the internal consistency of the information received and the precision of the factual details, that allegations of torture and ill-treatment are certainly not all invented and that practices of this kind, though not systematic, were more than sporadic and incidental. I fully maintain my findings, my conclusions and recommendations.

As a general principle I of course welcome comments by Governments, also those which may be critical. As this Commission has stressed time and again, such comments should form part of a constructive dialogue. Against this background I deeply regret that the comments made by the Spanish authorities, also before this Commission (E/CN.4/2004/G/19), are excessive in their efforts to discredit my report, for instance in such matters as sources of information, recording views of the Minister of the Interior, who is now démissionnaire, and more generally in their rejection of my conclusions and recommendations. I strongly resent that the Spanish authorities have called into question my integrity, my good faith and my objectivity. I know from many years of work in the area of human rights, also in relation to this Commission, that in historical perspective notions of denial and acknowledgement and realities of facts are often subject to reappraisal. I nourish myself with the thought that a reappraisal may already be happening in the present instance. I very much hope that the report on my visit to Spain will be re-examined with a fresh look.

Mr. Chairman,

In the main report two issues are particularly highlighted. First, guarantees for individuals deprived of their liberty with a view to protecting them from the risk of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. The analysis of this matter heavily relies on existing international standard enunciated by the United Nations. I cannot but emphasize the importance that, as a preventive device, police, law enforcement personnel and other persons involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of individuals who are deprived of their liberty receive effective training and education in the application of the relevant international standards. The second issue, viz. HIV/AIDS and torture, is examined in response to Commission on Human Rights resolution 2003/47. In my report I state inter alia that in view of discrimination and stigma suffered by people living with HIV/AIDS in some societies, these persons become possible targets for torture which may also affect their capacity to access the justice system and to ask for redress and reparation. As Special Rapporteur I am convinced of the need to continue to integrate HIV/AIDS-related human rights protection in future activities, as requested by the Commission.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, I wished I could have done more in the past year to carry on work for the study on trade in and production of equipment specifically designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. This issue continues to have my keen interest and attention and I hope that substantial progress can be made in the time to come.

I thank you, Mr. Chairman.