Committee against Torture
Sixty-ninth session
13–30 July 2020
Item 4 of the provisional agenda
Adoption of the agenda
Annotated provisional agenda *
Provisional agenda
1.Opening of the session.
2.Declaration by the newly elected members of the Committee.
3.Election of the officers of the Committee.
4.Adoption of the agenda.
5.Organizational and other matters.
6.Submission of reports by States parties under article 19 of the Convention.
7.Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention.
8.Consideration of information submitted under article 20 of the Convention.
9.Consideration of communications submitted under article 22 of the Convention.
Annotations
1.Opening of the session
The sixty-ninth session of the Committee will be opened by a representative of the Secretary-General.
2.Declaration by the newly elected members of the Committee
In accordance with rule 14 of the rules of procedure, the new members of the Committee elected at the seventeenth meeting of the States parties to the Convention, held on 3 October 2019, will make the following declaration:
I solemnly declare that I will perform my duties and exercise my powers as a member of the Committee against Torture honourably, faithfully, independently, impartially and conscientiously.
Given the exceptional circumstances resulting from the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the continuing travel restrictions and the related impossibility of holding in-person sessions of Committees in Geneva and New York during the months of June, July and August 2020, the Committee has decided that new members should deposit signed solemn declarations with the Secretariat and that the Secretariat will post them on the Committee’s webpage. The deposit of declarations will be announced during the online public session on Monday, 13 July. At the next in-person session, the three new members will orally confirm their oath.
3.Election of the officers of the Committee
In accordance with article 18 (1) of the Convention and rules 16 and 17 of the rules of procedure, under this item, the Committee will elect from among its members a chair, three vice-chairs and a rapporteur. In electing its officers, the Committee shall give consideration to equitable geographical distribution and appropriate gender balance and, to the extent possible, rotation among members. The officers of the Committee shall be elected for a term of two years.
Given the exceptional circumstances described above, the Committee has decided to postpone the election of officers until the next in-situ session. The current officers of the Committee will continue to perform their functions until that time.
4.Adoption of the agenda
Under rule 8 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the first item on the agenda of any session shall be the adoption of the agenda, except when the election of officers is required under rule 16. Under this item, the Committee will adopt the agenda for the session.
In accordance with rule 6 of the rules of procedure, the present provisional agenda has been prepared by the Secretary-General in consultation with the Chair of the Committee. In accordance with rule 9 of its rules of procedure, the Committee may revise the agenda during the session and may, as appropriate, defer or delete items; only urgent and important items may be added to the agenda.
5.Organizational and other matters
On 4 May 2020, all treaty bodies were informed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights that, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing travel restrictions, it would not be possible to hold in-person sessions of Committees in Geneva and New York during the months of June, July and August 2020.
As a result of the above-mentioned decision, the sixty-ninth session of the Committee will be held online from 13 to 30 July 2020, and will be opened by a representative of the Secretary-General. The first meeting will be convened on Monday, 13 July 2020, at 1 p.m.
The Committee will consider its programme of work for the session and any other matters concerning the modalities of discharging its functions under the Convention. There are a number of serious obstacles to conducting an online session, such as the time difference between the locations of members of the Committee. It is also necessary to ensure a secure and well-functioning platform and connectivity for all Committee members and other entities, regardless of their location, and to ensure interpretation in the working languages, an issue not resolved by the date of submission of the present provisional agenda. Owing to these obstacles, the Committee will not be in a position to carry out most of its public activities. As a result, some activities, including the consideration of country dialogues and some private activities requiring extensive exchanges between Committee members with interpretation, will be postponed to another session.
6.Submission of reports by States parties under article 19 of the Convention
States parties to the Convention
As at 15 May 2020, there were 169 States parties to the Convention.
Reports received
In addition to the reports scheduled for consideration by the Committee at its sixty-ninth session, as at 15 May 2020, the Secretary-General had received the following reports, which are pending consideration:
|
Reporting State party |
Symbol |
|
Australia Austria Azerbaijan |
CAT/C/AUS/6 CAT/C/AUT/7 CAT/C/AZE/5 |
|
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) |
CAT/C/BOL/3 |
|
Chad |
CAT/C/TCD/2 |
|
Colombia |
CAT/C/COL/6 |
|
Costa Rica Cuba |
CAT/C/CRI/3 CAT/C/CUB/3 |
|
Denmark |
CAT/C/DNK/8 |
|
El Salvador Ethiopia Iceland |
CAT/C/SLV/3 CAT/C/ETH/2 CAT/C/ISL/4 |
|
Iraq |
CAT/C/IRQ/2 |
|
Kazakhstan Kenya |
CAT/C/KAZ/4 CAT/C/KEN/3 |
|
Kyrgyzstan |
CAT/C/KGZ/3 |
|
Liechtenstein |
CAT/C/LIE/5 |
|
Lithuania |
CAT/C/LTU/4 |
|
Luxembourg |
CAT/C/LUX/8 |
|
Malawi Montenegro |
CAT/C/MWI/1 CAT/C/MNE/3 |
|
New Zealand |
CAT/C/NZL/7 |
|
Nicaragua |
CAT/C/NIC/2 |
|
Romania |
CAT/C/ROU/3 |
|
Serbia |
CAT/C/SRB/3 |
|
Slovakia |
CAT/C/SVK/4 |
|
Slovenia |
CAT/C/SVN/4 |
|
Spain |
CAT/C/ESP/7 |
|
Sweden |
CAT/C/SWE/8 |
|
Switzerland United Arab Emirates Uruguay |
CAT/C/CHE/8 CAT/C/ARE/1 CAT/C/URY/4 |
Initial reports
The status of submission of initial reports as at 15 May 2020 was as follows:
|
State party (since) |
Initial reports |
|
|
Overdue since |
Date due or received |
|
|
Angola (2019) |
2 November 2020 |
|
|
Bahamas (2018) |
1 July 2019 |
|
|
Botswanaa(2000) |
7 October 2001 |
|
|
Central African Republic (2016) |
10 November 2017 |
|
|
Comoros (2017) |
25 June 2018 |
|
|
Côte d’Ivoireb (1995) |
16 January 1997 |
|
|
Dominican Republicc (2012) |
23 February 2013 |
|
|
Equatorial Guinea (2002) |
6 November 2003 |
|
|
Eritrea (2014) |
25 October 2015 |
|
|
Eswatini (2004) |
25 April 2005 |
|
|
Fiji (2016) |
14 April 2017 |
|
|
Gambia (2018) |
28 October 2019 |
|
|
Grenada (2019) |
27 October 2020 |
|
|
Guinea-Bissau (2013) |
24 October 2014 |
|
|
Kiribati (2019) |
22 August 2020 |
|
|
Lao People’s Democratic Republic (2012) |
26 October 2013 |
|
|
Lesothod (2001) |
11 December 2002 |
|
|
Liberia (2004) |
22 October 2005 |
|
|
Malawie (1996) |
Received on 14 October 2019 |
|
|
Malif (1999) |
27 March 2000 |
|
|
Marshall Islands (2018) |
12 April 2019 |
|
|
Nauru (2012) |
26 October 2013 |
|
|
Nigeria (2001) |
28 June 2002 |
|
|
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2001) |
30 August 2002 |
|
|
Samoa (2019) |
28 April 2020 |
|
|
San Marino (2006) |
27 December 2007 |
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe (2017) |
10 February 2018 |
|
|
Somaliag (1990) |
22 February 1991 |
Received on 16 December 2019 |
|
South Sudan (2015) |
30 April 2016 |
|
|
State of Palestine (2014) |
Received on 14 June 2019 |
|
|
United Arab Emirates (2012) |
Received on 20 June 2018 |
|
|
Vanuatu (2011) |
11 August 2012 |
a On 27 September 2019, the State party accepted the simplified reporting procedure offered by the Committee owing to the amount of time by which the initial report was overdue.
b On 29 January 2016, the State party accepted the simplified reporting procedure offered by the Committee owing to the amount of time by which the initial report was overdue.
c On 30 May 2018, the State party accepted the simplified reporting procedure offered by the Committee owing to the amount of time by which the initial report was overdue.
d On 23 July 2018, the State party accepted the simplified reporting procedure offered by the Committee owing to the amount of time by which the initial report was overdue.
e On 8 December 2016, the State party accepted the simplified reporting procedure offered by the Committee owing to the amount of time by which the initial report was overdue.
f On 26 July 2019, the State party accepted the simplified reporting procedure offered by the Committee owing to the amount of time by which the initial report was overdue.
g On 2 February 2017, the State party accepted the simplified reporting procedure offered by the Committee owing to the amount of time by which the initial report was overdue.
Periodic reports
The status of submission of periodic reports as at 15 May 2020 was as follows:
|
State party (since) |
Periodic reports |
||
|
Last report examined (date of examination) |
Next report overdue (since) |
Next report (date due or received) |
|
|
Afghanistana (1987) |
Second(April 2017) |
Third(Due on 12 May 2021) |
|
|
Albania (1994) |
Second(May 2012) |
Third(1 June 2016) |
|
|
Algeria (1989) |
Third(May 2008) |
Fourth(20 June 2012) |
|
|
Andorraa (2006) |
Initial(November 2013) |
Second(22 November 2017) |
|
|
Antigua and Barbuda (1993) |
Review in absence of initial report (July 2017) |
Second(Due on 11 August 2021) |
|
|
Argentinaa(1986) |
Fifth and sixth (April 2017) |
Seventh (Due on 12 May 2021) |
|
|
Armeniaa (1993) |
Fourth (November 2016) |
Fifth (Due on 7 December 2020) |
|
|
Australiaa (1989) |
Fourth and fifth(November 2014) |
Sixth (Received on 16 January 2019) |
|
|
Austriaa (1987) |
Sixth (November 2015) |
Seventh(Received on 25 February 2020) |
|
|
Azerbaijana(1996) |
Fourth (November 2015) |
Fifth(Received on 8 January 2020) |
|
|
Bahraina (1998) |
Second and third (April 2017) |
Fourth (Due on 12 May 2021) |
|
|
Bangladesh (1998) |
Initial(July 2019) |
Second(Due on 9 August 2023) |
|
|
Belarusa (1987) |
Fifth (May 2018) |
Sixth (Due on 18 May 2022) |
|
|
Belgiuma (1999) |
Third (November 2013) |
Fourth(Received on 1 October 2018) |
|
|
Belizea (1986) |
Initial (November 1993) |
Initial and second (25 June 1996) |
|
|
Benina (1992) |
Third (May 2019) |
Fourth(Due on 17 May 2023) |
|
|
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (1999) |
Second (May 2013) |
Third(Received on 11 February 2019) |
|
|
Bosnia and Herzegovinaa (1993) |
Sixth (November 2017) |
Seventh(Due on 6 December 2021) |
|
|
Brazila (1989) |
Initial (May 2001) |
Second (27 October 2002) |
|
|
Bulgariaa(1986) |
Sixth (November 2017) |
Seventh(Due on 6 December 2021) |
|
|
Burkina Faso(1999) |
Second(November 2019) |
Third (Due on 6 December 2023) |
|
|
Burundi (1993) |
Second(November 2014) |
Third(28 November 2018) |
|
|
Cabo Verde (1993) |
Review in absence of initial report (November 2016) |
Second(Due on 7 December 2020) |
|
|
Cambodiaa (1992) |
Second (November 2010) |
Third (19 November 2014) |
|
|
Cameroona (1986) |
Fifth (November 2017) |
Sixth(Due on 6 December 2021) |
|
|
Canadaa (1987) |
Seventh(November 2018) |
Eighth(Due on 7 December 2022) |
|
|
Chada (1995) |
Initial (May 2009) |
Second (15 May 2012) |
|
|
Chilea (1988) |
Sixth(July 2018) |
Seventh(Due on 10 August 2022) |
|
|
China (including Hong Kong, China, and Macao, China) (1988) |
Fifth (November 2015) |
Sixth(9 December 2019) |
|
|
Colombiaa (1987) |
Fifth (May 2015) |
Sixth (Received on 27 May 2019) |
|
|
Congo (2003) |
Initial(May 2015) |
Second(15 May 2019) |
|
|
Costa Ricaa (1993) |
Second (May 2008) |
Third(Received on 17 December 2019) |
|
|
Croatiaa (1992) |
Fourth and fifth (November 2014) |
Sixth(28 November 2018) |
|
|
Cuba (1995) |
Second (May 2012) |
Third(Received on 19 October 2018) |
|
|
Cyprusa (1991) |
Fifth(November 2019) |
Sixth(Due on 6 December 2023) |
|
|
Czechiaa (1993) |
Sixth(May 2018) |
Seventh (Due on 18 May 2022) |
|
|
Democratic Republic of the Congo (1996) |
Second(May 2019) |
Third (Due on 17 May 2023) |
|
|
Denmarka (1987) |
Sixth and seventh (November 2015) |
Eighth(Received on9 December 2019) |
|
|
Djibouti (2002) |
Initial (November 2011) |
Second(25 November 2015) |
|
|
Ecuadora (1988) |
Seventh (November 2016) |
Eighth (Due on 7 December 2020) |
|
|
Egypt (1986) |
Fourth (November 2002) |
Fifth (25 June 2004) |
|
|
El Salvadora (1996) |
Second (November 2009) |
Third(Received on 4 June 2019) |
|
|
Estoniaa(1991) |
Fifth (May 2013) |
Sixth(31 May 2017) |
|
|
Ethiopia (1994) |
Initial (November 2010) |
Second (Received on 6 March 2020) |
|
|
Finlanda (1989) |
Seventh (November 2016) |
Eighth (Due on 7 December 2020) |
|
|
Francea (1986) |
Seventh (May 2016) |
Eighth(Received on 15 May 2020) |
|
|
Gabona(2000) |
Initial (November 2012) |
Second(23 November 2016) |
|
|
Georgiaa (1994) |
Third (May 2006) |
Fourth and fifth (24 November 2011) |
|
|
Germanya (1990) |
Sixth (May 2019) |
Seventh(Due on 17 May 2023) |
|
|
Ghanaa (2000) |
Initial (May 2011) |
Second (3 June 2015) |
|
|
Greecea (1988) |
Seventh(July 2019) |
Eighth(Due on 9 August 2023) |
|
|
Guatemalaa (1990) |
Seventh(November 2018) |
Eighth(Due on 7 December 2022) |
|
|
Guinea (1989) |
Initial(May 2014) |
Second(23 May 2018) |
|
|
Guyanaa(1988) |
Initial (November 2006) |
Second (31 December 2008) |
|
|
Holy See (2002) |
Initial(May 2014) |
Second(23 May 2018) |
|
|
Hondurasa (1996) |
Second (July 2016) |
Third (Due on 12 August 2020) |
|
|
Hungarya (1987) |
Fourth (November 2006) |
Fifth and sixth (31 December 2010) |
|
|
Icelanda (1996) |
Third (May 2008) |
Fourth(Received on 16 October 2018) |
|
|
Indonesia (1998) |
Second (May 2008) |
Third (30 June 2012) |
|
|
Iraq (2011) |
Initial (July 2015) |
Second(Received on 20 August 2019) |
|
|
Irelanda (2002) |
Second (July 2017) |
Third(Due on 11 August 2021) |
|
|
Israela (1991) |
Fifth (May 2016) |
Sixth (13 May 2020) |
|
|
Italya (1989) |
Fifth and sixth (November 2007) |
Seventh(Due on 6 December 2021) |
|
|
Japana (1999) |
Second(May 2013) |
Third(31 May 2017) |
|
|
Jordana (1991) |
Third (November 2015) |
Fourth(9 December 2019) |
|
|
Kazakhstana (1998) |
Third(November 2014) |
Fourth(Received on 5 December 2018) |
|
|
Kenyaa (1997) |
Second (May 2013) |
Third(Received on 3 August 2018) |
|
|
Kuwaita (1996) |
Third (July 2016) |
Fourth (Due on 12 August 2020) |
|
|
Kyrgyzstana (1997) |
Second(November 2013) |
Third (Received on 31 January 2019) |
|
|
Latviaa(1992) |
Sixth (November 2019) |
Seventh(Due on 6 December 2023) |
|
|
Lebanon (2000) |
Initial(April 2017) |
Second(Due on 12 May 2021) |
|
|
Libyaa (1989) |
Third (May 1999) |
Fourth (14 June 2002) |
|
|
Liechtensteina (1990) |
Fourth (November 2015) |
Fifth(Received on 4 December 2019) |
|
|
Lithuaniaa (1996) |
Third (May 2014) |
Fourth(Received on 19 December 2018) |
|
|
Luxembourga (1987) |
Sixth and seventh (May 2015) |
Eighth (Received on 16 May 2019) |
|
|
Madagascar (2005) |
Initial (November 2011) |
Second(25 November 2015) |
|
|
Maldivesa (2004) |
Initial(November 2018) |
Second(Due on 7 December 2022) |
|
|
Maltaa (1990) |
Second (November 1999) |
Third (12 December 2000) |
|
|
Mauritania (2004) |
Second(July 2018) |
Third(Due on 10 August 2022) |
|
|
Mauritiusa (1992) |
Fourth(November 2017) |
Fifth(Due on 6 December 2021) |
|
|
Mexicoa (1986) |
Seventh (May 2019) |
Eighth(Due on 17 May 2023) |
|
|
Monacoa (1991) |
Sixth (November 2016) |
Seventh (Due on 7 December 2020) |
|
|
Mongoliaa (2002) |
Second (July 2016) |
Third(Due on 12 August 2020) |
|
|
Montenegroa (2006) |
Second (May 2014) |
Third(Received on 7 August 2018) |
|
|
Moroccoa (1993) |
Fourth (November 2011) |
Fifth(25 November 2015) |
|
|
Mozambique (1999) |
Initial(November 2013) |
Second(22 November 2017) |
|
|
Namibia (1994) |
Second (November 2016) |
Third(Due on 7 December 2020) |
|
|
Nepal (1991) |
Second (November 2005) |
Third to fifth (12 June 2008) |
|
|
Netherlandsa (1988) |
Seventh(November 2018) |
Eighth (Due on 7 December 2022) |
|
|
New Zealanda (1989) |
Sixth(May 2015) |
Seventh(Received on 25 September 2019) |
|
|
Nicaragua (2005) |
Initial (May 2009) |
Second(Received on 14 May 2019) |
|
|
Niger (1998) |
Initial(November 2019) |
Second(Due on 6 December 2023) |
|
|
North Macedoniaa (1994) |
Third(May 2015) |
Fourth(15 May 2019) |
|
|
Norwaya (1986) |
Eighth (May 2018) |
Ninth (Due on 18 May 2022) |
|
|
Pakistan (2010) |
Initial(April 2017) |
Second(Due on 12 May 2021) |
|
|
Panamaa (1987) |
Fourth (August 2017) |
Fifth(Due on 11 August 2021) |
|
|
Paraguaya (1990) |
Seventh (July 2017) |
Eighth(Due on 11 August 2021) |
|
|
Perua (1988) |
Seventh (November 2018) |
Eighth (Due on 7 December 2022) |
|
|
Philippinesa (1986) |
Third(May 2016) |
Fourth(13 May 2020) |
|
|
Polanda(1989) |
Seventh (July 2019) |
Eighth(Due on 9 August 2023) |
|
|
Portugala (1989) |
Seventh(November 2019) |
Eighth(Due on 6 December 2023) |
|
|
Qatara (2000) |
Third (May 2018) |
Fourth (Due on 18 May 2022) |
|
|
Republic of Koreaa(1995) |
Third to fifth (May 2017) |
Sixth (Due on 12 May 2021) |
|
|
Republic of Moldovaa (1995) |
Third (November 2017) |
Fourth(Due on 6 December 2021) |
|
|
Romaniaa (1990) |
Second(May 2015) |
Third (Received on 30 September 2019) |
|
|
Russian Federationa (1987) |
Sixth (July 2018) |
Seventh(Due on 10 August 2022) |
|
|
Rwanda (2008) |
Second (November 2017) |
Third(Due on 6 December 2021) |
|
|
Saudi Arabia (1997) |
Second (May 2016) |
Third (13 May 2020) |
|
|
Senegala (1986) |
Fourth (May 2018) |
Fifth(Due on 18 May 2022) |
|
|
Serbiaa (2001) |
Second (May 2015) |
Third(Received on 10 April 2019) |
|
|
Seychelles (1992) |
Initial (July 2018) |
Second(Due on 10 August 2022) |
|
|
Sierra Leone (2001) |
Initial(May 2014) |
Second(23 May 2018) |
|
|
Slovakiaa (1993) |
Third (July 2015) |
Fourth (Received on 14 August 2019) |
|
|
Sloveniaa (1993) |
Third (May 2011) |
Fourth (Received on 11 October 2019) |
|
|
South Africaa(1998) |
Second (May 2019) |
Third (Due on 17 May 2023) |
|
|
Spaina (1987) |
Sixth(May 2015) |
Seventh(Received on 4 June 2019) |
|
|
Sri Lanka (1994) |
Fifth (November 2016) |
Sixth (Due on 7 December 2020) |
|
|
Swedena (1986) |
Sixth and seventh(November 2014) |
Eighth(Received on 26 November 2018) |
|
|
Switzerlanda (1986) |
Seventh (August 2015) |
Eighth (Received on 16 July 2019) |
|
|
Syrian Arab Republic (2004) |
Initial (May 2010) |
Second (14 May 2014) |
|
|
Tajikistan (1995) |
Third(May 2018) |
Fourth (Due on 18 May 2022) |
|
|
Thailanda (2007) |
Initial (May 2014) |
Second(23 May 2018) |
|
|
Timor-Leste (2003) |
Initial(November 2017) |
Second(Due on 6 December 2021) |
|
|
Togoa (1987) |
Third (July 2019) |
Fourth(Due on 9 August 2023) |
|
|
Tunisia (1988) |
Third (May 2016) |
Fourth(13 May 2020) |
|
|
Turkeya (1988) |
Fourth (May 2016) |
Fifth(13 May 2020) |
|
|
Turkmenistan (1999) |
Second (November 2016) |
Third (Due on 7 December 2020) |
|
|
Ugandaa (1986) |
Initial (May 2005) |
Second (25 June 2008) |
|
|
Ukrainea (1987) |
Sixth(November 2014) |
Seventh(Received on 30 November 2018) |
|
|
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelanda (1988) |
Sixth(May 2019) |
Seventh(Due on 17 May 2023) |
|
|
United States of Americaa (1994) |
Third to fifth (November 2014) |
Sixth(28 November 2018) |
|
|
Uruguaya (1986) |
Third (May 2014) |
Fourth(Received on 9 July 2018) |
|
|
Uzbekistan (1995) |
Fifth(November 2019) |
Sixth(Due on 6 December 2023) |
|
|
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (1991) |
Third and fourth(November 2014) |
Fifth(28 November 2018) |
|
|
Viet Nam (2015) |
Initial(November 2018) |
Second(Due on 7 December 2022) |
|
|
Yemena (1991) |
Second (May 2010) |
Third (14 May 2014) |
|
|
Zambiaa (1998) |
Second (May 2008) |
Third (30 June 2012) |
a States parties submitting reports under the simplified reporting procedure.
7.Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention
As explained above, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impossibility of holding in-person sessions, the consideration of reports initially scheduled for the sixty-ninth session has been postponed to 2021.
8.Consideration of information submitted under article 20 of the Convention
In accordance with the provisions of chapter XIX of its rules of procedure, the Committee considers information that has been, or appears to have been, submitted for its consideration under article 20 of the Convention.
In accordance with the provisions of article 20 (5) of the Convention and rules 78 and 79 of the rules of procedure, all documents and proceedings of the Committee relating to its functions under article 20 of the Convention are confidential and all the meetings concerning its proceedings under that article are closed.
9.Consideration of communications submitted under article 22 of the Convention
In accordance with the provisions of chapter XXI of its rules of procedure, the Committee considers communications that have been, or appear to have been, submitted to it under article 22 of the Convention.
In accordance with article 22 (6) of the Convention and rule 107, paragraph 1, of the rules of procedure, meetings of the Committee or its subsidiary bodies during which communications under article 22 of the Convention are examined are closed.