Statement of the Special Rapporteur on Torture at the 8th session of the Human Rights Council

4 June 2008



Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

On 13 March 1985, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights decided to appoint for one year a special rapporteur to examine questions related to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Today, the Human Rights Council is assembled to assess the relevance, scope and contents of the mandate established 23 years ago.

What was true of torture then unfortunately remains true now. The practice of torture strikes at the very core of human rights. It is about stripping away the dignity of one human being by another. It is about controlling, degrading and dismantling another person’s humanity and putting in its place despair. Torture is the deliberate betrayal of universal human values. Two decades on, the relevance to the United Nations Human Rights Council to continue to scrutinize and combat the practice of torture has not diminished.

Any State will readily admit that torture is abhorrent. It is condemned absolutely under international law, yet there is no part of the globe, north, south, east, or west, where torture is not found. In some corners torture is what passes for everyday police work, while in others the methods used are elaborate, highly-sophisticated and untraceable. Most disturbing is the trend by States towards accepting that torture of persons is an unfortunate but tolerable risk in the fight against terrorism.

Today, in advocating for and monitoring the implementation of international standards prohibiting torture at the global level, alongside the United Nations’ treaty-based human rights mechanisms, such as the Committee against Torture, its Sub-Committee on Prevention, and the Human Rights Committee, the robust mandate of the Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur on Torture completes the picture.

The Special Rapporteur draws attention to credible individual allegations through communications transmitted to Governments. Concerning country situations, it is the Special Rapporteur who is invited by a State to assess the practice of torture in a country. After meeting with Government officials and civil society, visiting places of detention without notice and interviewing detainees in private, it is with a sense of authority, objectivity and credibility that he can report on his findings, and put forward recommendations to assist Governments to combat and prevent torture and improve prison conditions. Through country visits, the mandate, in my view, has served as an effective catalyst for public debate about the situation of torture and impunity, and is therefore an instrument of real reform. Eradicating torture begins with honest introspection and acknowledgement of existing problems, followed by the implementation of a complex set of measures. With concrete experience and first-hand knowledge, the Special Rapporteur is uniquely placed to support the commitment to change, and ensure that countries can benefit from positive experiences gathered in other countries.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Since the establishment of the mandate, knowledge and understanding of the entire scope of the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment has been deepened. In-depth examination of the issues by the successive mandate-holders have, among other things, served to provoke debate about the frontiers of the mandate, draw attention to crucial yet neglected issues, and have served to strengthen advocacy. Studies have included, for example, proposals for international regulation of the trade in security equipment, examination on States’ use of diplomatic assurances and recourse to refoulement in the context of counter-terrorism measures, international jurisprudence on the prohibition of corporal punishment, reparations for violations, the imperative for documentation of torture, and elaboration on credible fact-finding methodology. I draw your attention to my latest report to the Human Rights Council on “Strengthening the protection of women from torture”, which discusses the use of the anti-torture framework in relation to violence against women, including violence perpetrated within the private sphere. I am pleased to report that I have received very positive feedback from across the international community, in this regard.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Perhaps the most fundamental role in my view which the Special Rapporteur on Torture performs, on behalf of the Member States of the Human Rights Council, is to be the conscience and spokesperson for the standards and norms established by the United Nations against the practice of torture. Recognizing that it is States which have the primary obligation to ensure respect for the absolute prohibition of torture, at the same time, it is my conviction that addressing and preventing human rights violations are more effective when viewed as a common undertaking, and achieved through coordination and partnership. In this regard, the Human Rights Council’s Special Rapporteur exercises leadership to draw together the various interested actors – other Special Procedures mandate-holders, UN mechanisms and funds, UN agencies, regional human rights organizations, civil society and donors – to work in concert to assist Governments in their efforts to combat and prevent torture.

Member States have already recognized the major challenges the mandate of the Special Rapporteur faces when anti-torture resolutions repeatedly call upon all States:

to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his task, to supply all necessary information requested, to fully and expeditiously respond to and follow up his urgent appeals, to give serious consideration to responding favourably to requests to visit their countries and to enter into a constructive dialogue on requested visits as well as with respect to the follow-up to his recommendations.

Unfortunately, non-cooperation by some allows avoidance of any international scrutiny of the situation of torture and ill-treatment. While the Universal Periodic Review mechanism may partially address this concern, I appeal to the Council and observers to intensify their efforts to promote cooperation and responsiveness with mandate-holders.

Twenty-three years after the establishment of the torture mandate we find that there is greater awareness and debate concerning the prohibition against torture and ill-treatment. Only recently the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture entered into force, which requires States parties to set up independent national bodies with the task of carrying out preventive visits to all places of detention. The mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has played a key role in raising international awareness and steering progress in combating torture world-wide. A strong and robust mandate from the Human Rights Council will ensure that this legacy continues.

Thank you.