Contents
Chapter Page
I.Organizational and other matters1
A.States parties to the Convention1
B.Sessions and agendas of the Committee1
C.Membership, officers and mandates1
D.Oral report of the Chair to the General Assembly2
E.Activities of the Committee in connection with the Optional Protocol to the Convention2
F.Joint statement on the occasion of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and cooperation with the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture2
G.Participation of non-governmental organizations2
H.Participation of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms3
I.Rapporteur on reprisals3
J.Treaty body strengthening process3
K.Implementation of retreat decisions on the working methods of the Committee4
L.Participation of Committee members in other meetings4
II.Submission of reports by States parties under article 19 of the Convention5
A.Invitation to submit periodic reports5
B.Simplified reporting procedure5
C.Reminders for overdue initial and periodic reports6
D.Examination of measures taken by a State party in the absence of a report6
III.Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention7
IV.Follow-up to concluding observations on States parties’ reports8
V.Activities of the Committee under article 20 of the Convention10
VI.Consideration of complaints under article 22 of the Convention10
A.Introduction10
B.Interim measures of protection10
C.Progress of work11
D.Follow-up activities12
VII.Meetings of the Committee in 202013
VIII.Adoption of the annual report of the Committee on its activities13
Annexes
I.Membership, officers and mandates from 18 May to 31 December 201914
II.Membership (from 1 January 2020), and officers and mandates (from 1 January to 12 July 2020)15
III.Measures for focusing the dialogue with States parties16
I.Organizational and other matters
A.States parties to the Convention
1.As at 15 May 2020, the originally scheduled closing date of the postponed sixty-ninth session of the Committee against Torture, there were 169 States parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
2.Since the adoption of the Committee’s previous annual report (A/74/44), Angola ratified the Convention, on 2 October 2019. Grenada and Kiribati acceded to the Convention on 26 September 2019 and 22 July 2019, respectively. The Committee calls upon all States that have not ratified the Convention to do so, and calls upon those that are already a party to accept all the procedures of the Convention, in order to enable the Committee to fulfil all aspects of its mandate.
3.All information on the status of the treaty, including declarations under articles 20, 21 and 22 and reservations and objections made by States parties with respect to the Convention, can be found at http://treaties.un.org.
B.Sessions and agendas of the Committee
4.Since the adoption of its previous annual report, the Committee held two sessions and some activities initially linked to the sixty-ninth session. The sixty-seventh session (1757th to 1783rd meetings) was held from 22 July to 9 August 2019 and the sixty-eighth session (1784th to 1822nd meetings) from 11 November to 6 December 2019. The sessions were held at the United Nations Office at Geneva. The postponed sixty-ninth session was originally scheduled to be held from 20 April to 15 May 2020.
5.At its 1757th meeting, held on 22 July 2019, the Committee adopted the items listed in the provisional agenda submitted by the Secretary-General (CAT/C/67/1) as the agenda of its sixty-seventh session.
6.At its 1784th meeting, held on 11 November 2019, the Committee adopted the items listed in the provisional agenda submitted by the Secretary-General (CAT/C/68/1) as the agenda of its sixty-eighth session.
7.Some activities contained in the provisional agenda submitted by the Secretary-General (CAT/C/69/1/Rev.1) as the agenda of the sixty-ninth session were carried out (see para. 27).
8.An account of the deliberations and decisions of the Committee at the sessions that were held is contained in the relevant summary records (CAT/C/SR.1757–1822).
C.Membership, officers and mandates
9.Following the seventeenth meeting of States parties to the Convention, held on 3 October 2019, the membership of the Committee changed as of 1 January 2020. In addition, following the resignation of Honghong Zhang on 27 December 2019, Liu Huawen became a member of the Committee, on 11 February 2020. The list of members, officers and mandates from 18 May 2019 to 31 December 2019 is contained in annex I; the list of members (from 1 January 2020) and the list of officers and mandates (from 1 January to 12 July 2020) are contained in annex II. Due to the postponement of the sixty-ninth session, the three new members could not make their solemn declaration in open Committee to enable them to assume their duties, as required under rule 14 of the Committee’s rules of procedure. As provided for under rule 12, the Chair, members of the Bureau and rapporteurs may continue performing the duties assigned to them until one day before the first meeting of the Committee, composed of its new members, at which it elects its officers. Given the exceptional circumstances resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic, and in light of rules 12 and 14, the Chair, members of the Bureau and rapporteurs will continue performing the duties assigned to them until one day before the first meeting of the Committee at the next in-person session.
D.Oral report of the Chair to the General Assembly
10.In accordance with paragraph 35 of General Assembly resolution 68/156, on 14 October 2019 the Chair of the Committee presented an oral report to and engaged in an interactive dialogue with the Assembly at its seventy-fourth session (see the Committee web page, hosted on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), www.ohchr.org/).
E.Activities of the Committee in connection with the Optional Protocol to the Convention
11.As at 15 May 2020, there were 90 States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention (see http://treaties.un.org). As required by the Optional Protocol, on 21 November 2019 a joint meeting was held between the members of the Committee and the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Both treaty bodies and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment pursued their cooperation through their active joint participation in several events, such as a side event during the General Assembly entitled “Professionalizing police and preventing torture”, organized by the Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations, the Convention against Torture Initiative and the Association for the Prevention of Torture, and held on 14 October 2019.
12.The regular meeting between the Committee and the Chair of the Subcommittee, required under the Optional Protocol, for the presentation to the Committee of the thirteenth public annual report of the Subcommittee (CAT/C/69/3) could not take place due to the postponement of the sixty-ninth session.
F.Joint statement on the occasion of the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and cooperation with the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture
13.The Committee adopted a joint statement with the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture for issuance on 26 June 2019, the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture (see the web page of the Voluntary Fund at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/UNVFT/Pages/IntlDay.aspx). The regular meeting between the Committee and the Chair of the Board of Trustees to discuss areas of common interest and cooperation could not take place due to the postponement of the sixty-ninth session.
G.Participation of non-governmental organizations
14.The Committee has long recognized the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and has met with them in private on the day immediately before the consideration of each State party report submitted under article 19 of the Convention. The Committee expresses its appreciation to those organizations for their participation in the meetings and is particularly appreciative of the attendance of national NGOs, which provide immediate and direct information both orally and in writing. The Committee conveys special thanks to NGOs, particularly the World Organization against Torture for its outstanding role in coordinating the input of NGOs to the work of the Committee since its fifty-second session. The Committee has benefited from thematic briefings organized by organizations, such as: (a) a briefing on the prohibition of coerced evidence, relating to article 15 of the Convention against Torture, held on 31 July 2019 and organized by Redress; (b) a briefing on the access of human rights NGOs to places of deprivation of liberty, held on 22 November 2019 and organized by the International Federation of ACAT; and (c) a briefing on medical implications when addressing torture and ill-treatment under the Convention against Torture, held on 3 December 2019 and organized by Dignity – Danish Institute against Torture.
H.Participation of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms
15.Similarly, the Committee appreciates the work of national human rights institutions and national preventive mechanisms established by States parties as provided for under the Optional Protocol. Since the fifty-fifth session, those institutions and mechanisms have had the possibility of meeting in private plenary with the Committee. Specifically, at the sixty-seventh session, the Committee met with the institutions of Greece and Togo, the mechanism of Greece and the institution and mechanism of Poland; at the sixty-eighth session, it met with the institutions of Burkina Faso, Latvia, the Niger and Uzbekistan, and the institutions and mechanisms of Cyprus and Portugal. The Committee expresses its appreciation for the oral and written information that it receives from those bodies, and looks forward to continuing to benefit from that information, which has enhanced its understanding of the issues before it.
I.Rapporteur on reprisals
16.At its forty-ninth session, the Committee decided to adopt a mechanism to prevent, monitor and follow up on cases of reprisal against civil society organizations, human rights defenders, victims and witnesses after their engagement with the treaty body system. It subsequently appointed a rapporteur on reprisals under article 19 and a rapporteur on reprisals under articles 20 and 22. At its fifty-fifth session, the Committee adopted guidelines on the receipt and handling of allegations of reprisals against individuals and organizations cooperating with the Committee under articles 13, 19, 20 and 22 of the Convention (CAT/C/55/2). Those guidelines include a clear recognition of the value of the Guidelines against Intimidation or Reprisals (San José Guidelines).
17.At its sixty-third session, the Committee designated Ana Racu as the rapporteur on reprisals under articles 19, 20 and 22. Information on action taken by rapporteurs during the reporting period is available on the Committee web page.
J.Treaty body strengthening process
18.At its sixty-fourth session, the Committee held a thorough discussion on the review of the human rights treaty body system to be conducted by the General Assembly in 2020. In that context, it developed a treaty-body-oriented position for the 2020 review. The Committee also designated two focal points for the 2020 review, Felice Gaer and Jens Modvig. The Chair organized with Dignity – Danish Institute against Torture a meeting of treaty body focal points on the 2020 review, which was held in Copenhagen on 26 and 27 February 2019. At its sixty-sixth session, the Committee held informal meetings with States parties and NGOs on the 2020 review and the Committee’s position (see A/74/44, annex II). At its sixty-seventh session, the Committee discussed the recommendations issued by the Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies at their thirty-first meeting, held in New York from 24 to 28 June 2019. Particular attention was paid to the position paper of the Chairs on the future of the treaty body system (A/74/256, annex III). At its sixty-eighth session, the Committee adopted, on a pilot basis, concrete measures to ensure that dialogues with and recommendations for States parties were more focused and coordinated with other treaty body reviews (see annex III to the present report).
K.Implementation of retreat decisions on the working methods of the Committee
19.In follow-up to the decisions taken at its two-day retreat on working methods, held at its fifty-third session, the Committee undertook the following actions:
(a)Two additional States (Botswana and Mali) with long-overdue initial reports were offered the simplified reporting procedure, bringing the total number of States in that position and that have received that offer to 13 (see sect. II.D);
(b)A preliminary substantive evaluation of the simplified reporting procedure (see sect. II.B) was started;
(c)Guidelines for follow-up to concluding observations (CAT/C/55/3) were adopted;
(d)The contribution and participation of national human rights institutions, national preventive mechanisms and NGOs in the Committee’s sessions was improved (see sects. I.G and I.H), including using new communication technologies, such as Skype and videoconferences;
(e)A working group on individual complaints was established so as to enable the Committee to apprehend fully the internal processes of the individual complaints procedure, and an intersessional working group on communications was set up to make recommendations to the Committee on draft decisions of inadmissibility and discontinuances;
(f)Guidelines on the receipt and handling of allegations of reprisals against individuals and organizations cooperating with the Committee (see sect. I.I) were adopted.
L.Participation of Committee members in other meetings
20.During the period under consideration, Committee members participated in several events, as follows:
(a)Ms. Racu attended an international conference entitled “Effective multilateralism in the fight against torture: trends in the OSCE region and the way forward”, organized by the Permanent Representatives of Austria, Denmark and Switzerland to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in cooperation with Slovakia (OSCE Chair for 2019) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, co-sponsored by a total of 42 OSCE participating States, and held in Vienna on 5 June 2019;
(b)Ms. Racu attended an expert consultation on the international guidelines on human rights and drug policy, organized by OHCHR and the United Nations Development Programme, and held in Geneva on 20 and 21 June 2019;
(c)Ms. Racu attended a Human Rights Council side event entitled “Women in detention: putting the UN standards in practice”, co-organized by the Permanent Missions of Austria, the Republic of Moldova and Thailand to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, and held in Geneva on 5 July 2019;
(d)Claude Heller attended a workshop where he gave a presentation on treaty bodies, in particular on the Committee against Torture and its simplified reporting procedure; the workshop was organized by OHCHR-Regional Office in Central America, and held in Santo Domingo from 3 to 5 September 2019;
(e)Ms. Racu attended a conference entitled “TRIP: an efficient tool for the implementation of treaty bodies’ recommendations”, organized by the Geneva Academy and the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights and held in Geneva on 18 and 19 September 2019;
(f)Ms. Racu attended a regional meeting on the rights of victims of violent crime suffered in immigration and pretrial detention, organized by Fair Trials and Redress, and held in The Hague on 26 and 27 September 2019;
(g)Essadia Belmir attended a seminar on the role of public authorities in the prevention and combating of torture and ill-treatment, organized by Dignity – Danish Institute against Torture and Morocco, held in Rabat on 17 October 2019;
(h)Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón attended a round-table discussion entitled “Global human rights architecture reform initiatives: lessons learned and challenges ahead”, organized by the Due Process of Law Foundation, held in Washington, D.C. on 1 and 2 November 2019;
(i)Ms. Gaer and Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov made presentations, on 21 and 22 November 2019, as part of the Minorities Fellowship Programme organized by OHCHR, and held in Geneva.
II.Submission of reports by States parties under article 19 of the Convention
21.During the period covered by the present report, 19 reports from States parties under article 19 of the Convention were submitted to the Secretary-General. Initial reports were submitted by Malawi, Somalia and the State of Palestine. Second periodic reports were submitted by Chad, Ethiopia and Iraq. Third periodic reports were submitted by Costa Rica, El Salvador and Romania. Fourth periodic reports were submitted by Slovakia and Slovenia. Fifth periodic reports were submitted by Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein. A sixth periodic report was submitted by Colombia. Seventh periodic reports were submitted by Austria, New Zealand and Spain. Eighth periodic reports were submitted by Denmark and Switzerland.
22.As at 15 May 2020, the Committee had received a total of 467 reports and had examined 436; there were 25 States parties with overdue initial reports and 44 States parties with overdue periodic reports.
A.Invitation to submit periodic reports
23.Further to its decision taken at its forty-first session (A/64/44, para. 26), the Committee continued during the period under review to invite States parties, in the last paragraph of the concluding observations, to submit their next periodic reports within a four-year period from the adoption of the concluding observations, indicating the due date of the next report in the same paragraph.
24.In addition, further to its decision taken at its forty-seventh session (A/67/44, para. 33), the Committee continued during the period under review to invite States parties to accept, within one year from the adoption of the concluding observations, to report under the simplified reporting procedure, or, if a State party had already agreed to report under the procedure, to indicate that the Committee would submit to the State party, in due course, a list of issues prior to the submission of its next periodic report.
B.Simplified reporting procedure
25.The Committee welcomes the fact that a high number of States parties have accepted the simplified reporting procedure, which consists of the preparation and adoption of a list of issues to be transmitted to States parties prior to the submission of a State party’s periodic report (known as the list of issues prior to reporting). The procedure is aimed at assisting States parties to fulfil their reporting obligations, as it strengthens the cooperation between the Committee and States parties (A/66/44, paras. 28–35). While the Committee understands that, since 2007, the adoption of lists of issues prior to reporting has facilitated the States parties’ reporting obligations, it nonetheless wishes to emphasize that the procedure of drafting lists of issues prior to reporting has increased its workload substantially, as their preparation requires more work than the lists of issues following the submission of a State party’s report. That is particularly significant in a Committee with such a small membership.
26.At its sixty-eighth session, the Committee adopted lists of issues prior to reporting with regard to the States parties that had accepted the invitation to submit their next report, due in 2020, under that procedure: Armenia, Ecuador, Finland, Monaco and Namibia. Those lists of issues prior to reporting were transmitted to the respective States parties.
27.Although the sixty-ninth session was postponed, the Committee adopted lists of issues prior to reporting prepared for it with regard to the States parties that had accepted the invitation to submit their next report, due in 2020, under that procedure: Afghanistan, Argentina, Bahrain, Ireland, Panama, Paraguay and the Republic of Korea. It also adopted a list of issues prior to reporting with regard to one State party, Mali, that had accepted the simplified reporting procedure for overdue initial reports.
28.In the Committee’s view, the fact that only 4 of the 137 States parties that are at the periodic reporting stage declined to report under the simplified reporting procedure indicates the success of the procedure. Of the other 133 States parties, 105 have expressly accepted to report under it and the remaining 28 have not yet answered or have not yet been invited to report under it. In addition, the fact that other treaty bodies have also adopted that procedure indicates its clear added value for the reporting system. Since 2016, a number of States with long-overdue initial reports have been offered the simplified reporting procedure. In the period under review, Malawi and Somalia submitted such reports, and Botswana and Mali accepted the simplified procedure for their overdue initial reports (see sect. II.D).
29.Updated information relating to the procedure is available from a dedicated web page (www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CAT/Pages/ReportingProcedures.aspx).
C.Reminders for overdue initial and periodic reports
30.At its fifty-third session, the Committee decided to send reminders to all States parties whose initial reports were overdue and to all States parties whose periodic reports were four or more years overdue.
31.The Committee drew the attention of those States parties to the fact that delays in reporting seriously hampered the implementation of the Convention in the States parties and the ability of the Committee to carry out its function of monitoring that implementation. The Committee requested information on the progress made by those States parties in fulfilling their reporting obligations and on any obstacles that they might be facing in that respect. It also informed them that, in accordance with rule 67 of its rules of procedure, the Committee might proceed with a review of the implementation of the Convention in the State party in the absence of a report, and that the review would be carried out on the basis of information that was available to the Committee, including sources from outside the United Nations. In its annual reports, the Committee also reminds States parties of their reporting obligations under the Convention. At its sixty-third session, the Committee held a meeting with States with long-overdue initial reports so as to receive their feedback on the challenges they faced in the drafting of initial reports and related needs. The Committee reiterates its support for the Convention against Torture Initiative, which is actively engaged in the universal ratification of the Convention and its full implementation, including the compliance of States with their reporting obligations. The Committee attended several activities organized by the Convention against Torture Initiative.
D.Examination of measures taken by a State party in the absence of a report
32.The Committee continued to take action with regard to States parties whose initial reports were long overdue, in accordance with the decision taken at its fifty-second session to do so (A/69/44, para. 46). The Committee followed its well-established practice of sending specific reminders to States parties to remind them to submit their long-overdue initial reports and to offer them the simplified reporting procedure. If they did not accept the simplified reporting procedure or if initial reports were not received pursuant to article 67 of its rules of procedure, the Committee arranged to conduct, at a future session, an examination, in the absence of a report. As at 15 May 2020, 13 States with long-overdue initial reports (Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Côte dʼIvoire, the Dominican Republic, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, the Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles and Somalia) had been offered the simplified reporting procedure, and the Committee had examined the situation of two of those States (Antigua and Barbuda and Cabo Verde) in the absence of a report (A/74/44, para. 33).
33.In the context of that practice, the Committee received three reports during the period under review. Bangladesh submitted an initial report on 23 July 2019. Malawi, which had accepted the simplified reporting procedure on 8 December 2016, submitted its initial report on 14 October 2019. Somalia, which had accepted the simplified reporting procedure on 2 February 2016, submitted its initial report on 16 December 2019.
34.At its sixty-seventh session, the Committee examined the initial report of Bangladesh. At the same session, the Committee decided to send specific reminders to Botswana, Mali and Nigeria to submit their long-overdue initial reports and to offer them the simplified reporting procedure. If they did not accept the simplified reporting procedure or if reports under the traditional reporting procedure were not received pursuant to article 67 of its rules of procedure, the Committee would at a future session conduct an examination, in the absence of a report. Botswana and Mali accepted the simplified reporting procedure for their overdue initial reports on 27 September 2019 and 26 July 2019, respectively.
35.At its sixty-eighth session, the Committee decided to examine the situation in Nigeria in the absence of its initial report at the November 2020 session.
III.Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 19 of the Convention
36.At its sixty-seventh and sixty-eighth sessions, the Committee considered reports submitted by 10 States parties under article 19 (1) of the Convention and adopted 10 sets of concluding observations. The review of the reports of Cuba, Kenya, Iceland, Montenegro, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, scheduled for the sixty-ninth session, was postponed due to the COVID-19 situation.
37.The reports considered by the Committee at its sixty-seventh session and the concluding observations thereon are available from the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org) under the symbols indicated below.
|
Party |
Country rapporteurs |
Report |
Concluding observations |
|
Bangladesh |
Felice GaerJens Modvig |
Initial report (CAT/C/BGD/1) |
CAT/C/BGD/CO/1 |
|
Greece |
Diego Rodríguez-PinzónAbdelwahab Hani |
Seventh periodic report (CAT/C/GRC/7) |
CAT/C/GRC/CO/7 |
|
Poland |
Ana RacuBakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov |
Seventh periodic report (CAT/C/POL/7) |
CAT/C/POL/CO/7 |
|
Togo |
Sébastien TouzéClaude Heller |
Third periodic report (CAT/C/TGO/3) |
CAT/C/TGO/CO/3 |
38.The reports considered by the Committee at its sixty-eighth session and the concluding observations thereon are available from the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org) under the symbols indicated below:
|
Party |
Country rapporteurs |
Report |
Concluding observations |
|
Burkina Faso |
Sébastien TouzéClaude Heller |
Second periodic report (CAT/C/BFA/2) |
CAT/C/BFA/CO/2 |
|
Cyprus |
Jens Modvig Abdelwahab Hani |
Fifth periodic report (CAT/C/CYP/5) |
CAT/C/CYP/CO/5 |
|
Latvia |
Diego Rodríguez-PinzónAna Racu |
Sixth periodic report (CAT/C/LVA/6) |
CAT/C/LVA/CO/6 |
|
Niger |
Abdelwahab HaniEssadia Belmir |
Initial report(CAT/C/NER/1) |
CAT/C/NER/CO/1 |
|
Portugal |
Claude Heller Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov |
Seventh periodic report(CAT/C/PRT/7) |
CAT/C/PRT/CO/7 |
|
Uzbekistan |
Felice Gaer Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón |
Fifth periodic report (CAT/C/UZB/5) |
CAT/C/UZB/CO/5 |
39.The reports of Cuba (CAT/C/CUB/3), Kenya (CAT/C/KEN/3), Iceland (CAT/C/ISL/4), Montenegro (CAT/C/MNE/3), United Arab Emirates (CAT/C/ARE/1) and Uruguay (CAT/C/URY/4), initially scheduled for the sixty-ninth session, were not considered during the period under review due to the COVID-19 situation. They are available from the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org).
40.In accordance with rule 68 of the Committee’s rules of procedure, representatives of each reporting State were invited to attend the meetings of the Committee when their report was examined. All of the States parties whose reports were considered sent representatives to participate in the examination of their respective reports. The Committee expressed its appreciation for that in its concluding observations.
41.Two country rapporteurs were designated by the Committee for each of the reports considered, as reflected in the tables above.
IV.Follow-up to concluding observations on States parties’ reports
42.At its thirtieth session, in May 2003, the Committee developed a procedure to provide for follow-up subsequent to the adoption of the concluding observations on reports of States parties under article 19 of the Convention (A/58/44, para. 12). The Committee has presented information in each of its annual reports thereafter, outlining its experience in receiving information on follow-up measures taken by States parties, including substantive trends and further modifications that it has made in the procedure. A more detailed description of the procedure can be found in the guidelines for follow-up to concluding observations, adopted by the Committee at its fifty-fifth session (CAT/C/55/3).
43.In accordance with its rules of procedure, the Committee established the post of Rapporteur for follow-up to concluding observations under article 19 of the Convention. Over most of the period covered by the present annual report, Abdelwahab Hani continued to fill that post. In view of Mr. Hani’s end of term on 31 December 2019, Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov was appointed to serve as the Rapporteur for follow-up to concluding observations a.i. until the Committee’s sixty-ninth session.
44.From May 2003 to the end of period under review, the Committee had reviewed 257 reports from States parties for which it had identified follow-up recommendations. Of the 241 follow-up reports that had been due by 15 May 2020, 176 had been received by the Committee, for an overall response rate of 73 per cent. The status of the follow-up is compiled in a chart maintained on the web page of the Committee. Additional information, including submissions by States parties, communications sent by the Rapporteur for follow-up, State party responses and reports from national human rights institutions, NGOs and other civil society actors, are posted on that web page.
45.As at 15 May 2020, the following States had not yet supplied follow-up information that had fallen due: Albania (forty-eighth session), Antigua and Barbuda (sixty-first), Belarus (sixty-third), Cabo Verde (fifty-ninth), Cambodia (forty-fifth), Cameroon (sixty-second), Congo (fifty-fourth), Djibouti (forty-seventh), Gabon (forty-ninth), Ghana (forty-sixth), Guinea (fifty-second), Holy See (fifty-second), Indonesia (fortieth), Jordan (fifty-sixth), Madagascar (forty-seventh), Mozambique (fifty-first), Namibia (fifty-ninth), Paraguay (sixty-first), Peru (sixty-fifth), Philippines (fifty-seventh), Rwanda (sixty-second), Seychelles (sixty-fourth), Sierra Leone (fifty-second), Sri Lanka (fifty-ninth), Syrian Arab Republic (forty-eighth), Tajikistan (sixty-third), Uganda (thirty-fourth), Viet Nam (sixty-fifth), Yemen (forty-fourth) and Zambia (fortieth).
46.The Rapporteur sent reminders requesting the outstanding information to each State party for which follow-up information was due, but had not yet been submitted. During the period under review, such reminders were sent in letters dated 21 May 2019 to the Republic of Moldova and Rwanda; in letters dated 4 June 2019 to Cameroon and Saudi Arabia; in letters dated 9 October 2019 to Belarus, Qatar and Tajikistan; in letters dated 29 November 2019 to Mauritania and Seychelles; and in letters dated 30 April 2020 to Peru and Viet Nam.
47.From 18 May 2019 to 15 May 2020, follow-up reports were received from the following States parties, in the order of receipt: Pakistan (CAT/C/PAK/CO/1/Add.1, 31 May 2019); Saudi Arabia (CAT/C/SAU/FCO/2, 27 June 2019); Czechia (CAT/C/CZE/CO/6/Add.1, 28 June 2019); Italy (CAT/C/ITA/CO/5-6/Add.2, 30 July 2019); Republic of Moldova (CAT/C/MDA/CO/3/Add.1, 31 July 2019); Italy (CAT/C/ITA/CO/5-6/Add.3, 5 August 2019); the Russian Federation (CAT/C/RUS/CO/6/Add.1, 13 August 2019); Chile (CAT/C/CHL/CO/6/Add.1 and annexes, 14 August 2019); Qatar (CAT/C/QAT/FCO/3, 14 October 2019); Maldives (CAT/C/MDV/CO/1/Add.1, 25 October 2019); the Netherlands (CAT/C/NLD/FCO/7, 6 December 2019); Guatemala (CAT/C/GTM/FCO/7, 24 December 2019); Mauritania (CAT/C/MRT/FCO/2, 2 January 2020); and Canada (CAT/C/CAN/FCO/7, 21 February 2020).
48.The Rapporteur expressed appreciation for the information provided by those States parties regarding measures taken to implement their obligations under the Convention. He assessed the responses received as to whether all the issues identified by the Committee for follow-up had been addressed by the State party and whether the information provided responded to the Committee’s concerns and recommendations. The Rapporteur communicated with States parties under the follow-up procedure once their report was received and assessed. Such communications reflected the analysis carried out by the Rapporteur and specified the pending issues. During the period under review, such communications were sent in letters dated 21 May 2019 to Ireland and Turkmenistan; in letters dated 27 June 2019 to Bulgaria, Italy, Lebanon, Mauritius, Republic of Korea and Timor-Leste; in letters dated 9 October 2019 to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Norway, Pakistan and Senegal; in letters dated 29 November 2019 to Chile and the Republic of Moldova; in a letter dated 6 December 2019 to Czechia; in letters dated 18 December 2019 to Qatar and Maldives; in a letter dated 3 March 2020 to the Russian Federation; and in a letter dated 30 April 2020 to the Netherlands.
49.The Rapporteur also expressed appreciation for the information submitted by national human rights institutions, human rights NGOs and civil society groups under the follow-up procedure. As at 15 May 2020, the Committee had received follow-up reports from such sources in relation to the reports on the following, in the order of receipt: Saudi Arabia; the Russian Federation; Pakistan; Belarus; the Holy See; Hong Kong, China; Tajikistan; Guatemala; Canada; and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
50.At the sixty-seventh and sixty-eighth sessions, the Rapporteur for follow-up to concluding observations presented oral progress reports on the procedure to the Committee, as had been done at previous sessions.
V.Activities of the Committee under article 20 of the Convention
51.The Committee’s work under article 20 of the Convention continued during the period under review.
52.In the framework of the Committee’s follow-up activities, the rapporteurs on article 20 continued to carry out activities aimed at encouraging States parties on which enquiries had been conducted and the results of such enquiries had been published to take measures to implement the Committee’s recommendations.
VI.Consideration of complaints under article 22 of the Convention
A.Introduction
53.Under article 22 of the Convention, individuals who claim to be victims of a violation by a State party of the provisions of the Convention may submit a complaint to the Committee for consideration, subject to the conditions laid down in that article. Sixty-nine States parties to the Convention have declared that they recognize the competence of the Committee to receive and consider complaints under article 22 of the Convention. No complaint may be considered by the Committee if it concerns a State party to the Convention that has not recognized the Committee’s competence under article 22.
54.In accordance with rule 104, paragraph 1, of its rules of procedure, the Committee established the post of Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures, which is currently held by Mr. Rodríguez-Pinzón.
55.Complaints under article 22 of the Convention are considered in closed meetings. All documents relating to the work of the Committee under article 22, that is, submissions from the parties and other working documents of the Committee, are confidential.
56.The Committee decides on a complaint in the light of all the information made available to it by the parties. The findings of the Committee are communicated to the parties and are made available to the public. The text of the Committee’s decisions declaring complaints inadmissible or discontinuing the examination of a case are also made public, without disclosing the identity of the complainant, but identifying the State party concerned.
B.Interim measures of protection
57.Complainants frequently request preventive protection, particularly in cases concerning imminent removal or extradition, where they allege a risk of violation of article 3 of the Convention. Pursuant to rule 114, paragraph 1, of its rules of procedure, at any time after the receipt of a complaint, the Committee, through its Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures, may transmit to the State party concerned a request that it take such interim measures as the Committee considers necessary to avoid irreparable damage to the victim(s) of the alleged violation(s). The State party is to be informed that such a request does not imply a determination of the admissibility or the merits of the complaint. During the reporting period, requests for interim measures of protection were received in 63 complaints that were registered, of which 26 were granted by the Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures, who regularly monitors the compliance by States parties with such requests.
C.Progress of work
58.As at 15 May 2020, the Committee had registered, since 1989, 1,003 complaints concerning 39 States parties. Of those, 300 complaints had been discontinued and 113 had been declared inadmissible. The Committee had adopted final decisions on the merits on 398 complaints and found violations of the Convention in 158 of them. During the reporting period, the Committee adopted two decisions of admissibility, and postponed the examination of three complaints. Some 192 complaints were pending consideration. All the Committee’s decisions on the merits, those declaring a complaint inadmissible and discontinuance decisions can be found in the treaty body case law database (http://juris.ohchr.org/), on the OHCHR website (www.ohchr.org/) and the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org/prod/ods.nsf/home.xsp).
59.At its sixty-seventh session, the Committee adopted decisions on the merits in respect of five communications. In A v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (CAT/C/67/D/854/2017), the Committee found a violation of article 14 (1), in conjunction with article 1 (1), of the Convention as the State party had failed to provide redress, including fair and adequate compensation, for the complainant, who had been found to be a victim of rape as a war crime against the civilian population committed during the armed conflict. In Ayaz v. Serbia (CAT/C/67/D/857/2017), the Committee concluded that the State party’s removal of the complainant to Turkey, despite a request for interim measures, constituted a violation of articles 3 and 22 of the Convention. The Committee found that the forcible returns of the complainants would not constitute a violation of article 3 of the Convention by the States parties in its decisions in V.M. v. Australia (CAT/C/67/D/723/2015), X v. Switzerland (CAT/C/67/D/775/2016) and X, Y and others v. Sweden (CAT/C/67/D/816/2017).
60.The Committee also found four communications, V.P. v. Russian Federation (CAT/C/67/D/780/2016 and Corr.1), X v. Canada (CAT/C/67/D/791/2016), M.Z. v. Belgium (CAT/C/67/D/813/2017) and B.K. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/67/D/828/2017), inadmissible, and one communication, A v. Morocco (No. 871/2018), admissible, and discontinued the consideration of J.S. v. Canada (CAT/C/67/D/665/2015), J.D. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/67/D/700/2015), G.S. v. Canada (CAT/C/67/D/786/2016), M.S. v. Canada (CAT/C/67/D/787/2016), S.S. v. Netherlands (CAT/C/67/D/800/2017), J.N. v. Australia (CAT/C/67/D/806/2017), D.M. v. Finland (CAT/C/67/D/844/2017), B.S. v. Canada (CAT/C/67/D/849/2017) and J.E. et al. v. Sweden (CAT/C/67/D/906/2018). The Committee also decided to postpone the examination of two complaints, E.C. v. Ireland (No. 879/2018) and E.I.M. et al. v. Sweden (No. 773/2016) for the subsequent session.
61.At its sixty-eighth session, on 29 November 2019, the Committee held an exchange of views with the European Court of Human Rights, represented by Judge Carlo Ranzoni, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, represented by Judge Rafâa Ben Achour (via videoconference) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, represented by Carlos E. Gaio (via videoconference). At that meeting, which was generously supported by the René Cassin Foundation/International Institute of Human Rights, participants discussed the extraterritorial effects of the conventions and ratione temporis competence of the organs to assess admissibility requirements, and the relevant jurisprudence. During the session, the Committee adopted decisions on the merits in respect of 10 communications. In Khater v. Morocco (CAT/C/68/D/782/2016), the Committee concluded that the extradition of the complainant to Egypt by the State party would constitute a violation of article 3 of the Convention, and that the lack of fundamental legal safeguards and the detention conditions of the complainant amounted to a violation of article 16 of the Convention. In Aarrass v. Morocco (CAT/C/68/D/817/2017), the Committee found that the detention conditions of the complainant, including the de facto solitary confinement imposed on the complainant amounted to a violation of article 16 and of article 2 (1), read in conjunction with articles 1 and 11 of the Convention, and that the lack of redress provided to the complainant for his ill-treatment amounted to a violation of article 14 of the Convention. In Bakay v. Morocco (CAT/C/68/D/826/2017), the Committee concluded that the complainant’s extradition to Turkey would constitute a violation of article 3 of the Convention. In E.L.G. v. Spain (CAT/C/68/D/818/2017), concerning police ill-treatment of a detainee, followed by lack of prompt and impartial investigation, the Committee found violations of article 2 (1), read in conjunction with article 16, article 11, read alone and in conjunction with article 2, and article 16, read alone. In Zentveld v. New Zealand (CAT/C/68/D/852/2017), the Committee considered that the State party’s failure to conduct an effective investigation into the circumstances surrounding the acts of torture and ill-treatment suffered by the complainant while he was at the Child and Adolescent Unit of the Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital amounted to a violation of articles 12, 13 and 14 of the Convention. In Calfunao Paillalef v. Switzerland (CAT/C/68/D/882/2018), the Committee considered that the deportation of the complainant to Chile would amount to a violation of article 3 of the Convention. The Committee found that the forcible return of the complainants would not constitute a violation by the States parties of article 3 of the Convention in its decisions on S.P. v. Australia (CAT/C/68/D/718/2015), S.W.R. v. Australia (CAT/C/68/D/855/2017), X v. Netherlands (CAT/C/68/D/863/2018) and T.M. v. Sweden (CAT/C/68/D/860/2018).
62.The Committee also found one communication, H.S. v. Canada, (CAT/C/68/D/568/2013), inadmissible, and one communication, E.C. v. Ireland (No. 879/2018), admissible, and discontinued the consideration of M.B. v. Australia (CAT/C/68/D/646/2014), P.P. v. Australia (CAT/C/68/D/746/2016), D.M.D. v. Australia (CAT/C/68/D/763/2016), E.I.M. et al. v. Sweden (CAT/C/68/D/773/2016), B. v. Australia (CAT/C/68/D/815/2017), B.B. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/68/D/821/2017), Y v. Canada (CAT/C/68/D/848/2017), A.A. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/68/D/850/2017), N.M. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/68/D/864/2018), S.B. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/68/D/894/2018), A.S. v. Sweden (CAT/C/68/D/897/2018) and N.G. v. Sweden (CAT/C/68/D/924/2019). The Committee also decided to postpone the examination of one complaint, D.L. v. Sweden (No. 785/2016), for the subsequent session.
D.Follow-up activities
63.At its twenty-eighth session, in May 2002, the Committee established the function of Rapporteur for follow-up on decisions adopted under article 22, which is currently held by Mr. Heller. At its 527th meeting, on 16 May 2002, the Committee decided that the Rapporteur should engage, inter alia, in the following activities: monitoring compliance with the Committee’s decisions by sending notes verbales to States parties enquiring about measures adopted pursuant to the Committee’s decisions; recommending to the Committee appropriate action upon the receipt of responses from States parties, in situations of non-response, and upon the receipt henceforth of all letters from complainants concerning non-implementation of the Committee’s decisions; meeting with representatives of the permanent missions of States parties to encourage compliance and to determine whether advisory services or technical assistance by OHCHR would be appropriate or desirable; conducting with the approval of the Committee follow-up visits to States parties; and preparing periodic reports for the Committee on his or her activities.
64.During its sixty-seventh session, the Committee reviewed submissions related to eight cases that are currently monitored through the Committee’s follow-up procedure. The Committee decided to close the follow-up dialogue, despite an unsatisfactory resolution, with regard to the decision on A.M.D. et al. v. Denmark (CAT/C/60/D/653/2015). The Committee reviewed the information received with regard to seven other decisions and decided to keep the follow-up dialogue ongoing. The Committee also decided to mention the instances of non-implementation of the decisions on Aarrass v. Morocco (CAT/C/52/D/477/2011) and on Asfari v. Morocco (CAT/C/59/D/606/2014) in its annual report presented to the General Assembly.
65.During its sixty-eighth session, the Committee reviewed submissions related to 11 decisions that are currently monitored through the Committee’s follow-up procedure. The Committee decided to close the follow-up dialogue, with a note of satisfactory resolution, in regard to four decisions: R.G. et al. v. Sweden (CAT/C/56/D/586/2014), A.N. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/64/D/742/2016), Harun v. Switzerland (CAT/C/65/D/758/2016) and M.G. v. Switzerland (CAT/C/65/D/811/2017). The Committee reviewed the information received with regard to seven other decisions: Aarrass v. Morocco, Ramírez Martínez et al. v. Mexico (CAT/C/55/D/500/2012), F.K. v. Denmark (CAT/C/56/D/580/2014), Asfari v. Morocco, I.A. et al. v. Sweden (CAT/C/66/D/729/2016), Yrusta and del Valle Yrusta v. Argentina (CAT/C/65/D/778/2016) and A v. Bosnia and Herzegovina (CAT/C/67/D/854/2017) and decided to keep the follow-up dialogue ongoing. The Committee also decided to request a follow-up visit to monitor the lack of implementation of the decision on Asfari v. Morocco, and to send follow-up letters with a request to accelerate implementation of the decisions on Aarrass v. Morocco and Ramírez Martínez et al. v. Mexico. Further to that, it decided to request a meeting with the Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office and other international organizations regarding the decision on Ramírez Martínez et al. v. Mexico and with the Permanent Representative of Morocco to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva regarding the decision on Asfari v. Morocco. The Committee also decided to continue to mention the instances of persistent non-implementation of the decisions on Aarrass v. Morocco, Ramírez Martínez et al. v. Mexico and Asfari v. Morocco in its annual report presented to the General Assembly.
66.Also at its sixty-eighth session, Ms. Racu presented to the Committee an oral report on reprisals. The Committee received updates regarding reprisals in the context of pending complaints and follow-up to decisions.
67.Due to the postponement of the sixty-ninth session, during the period under review the Committee considered no further submissions related to cases that were being monitored through the Committee’s follow-up procedure.
68.As at 15 May 2020, the Committee had closed the follow-up dialogue with a note of satisfactory or partially satisfactory resolution with regard to 70 communications, out of a total of 158 communications where it had found violations of different provisions of the Convention. Additional information may be found in documents CAT/C/67/3 and CAT/C/68/3.
VII.Meetings of the Committee in 2020
69.Further to General Assembly resolution 68/268, the Committee is to hold two further regular sessions in 2020: the sixty-ninth session (13–30 July 2020) and the seventieth session (9 November–4 December 2020).
VIII.Adoption of the annual report of the Committee on its activities
70.In accordance with article 24 of the Convention, the Committee is required to submit an annual report on its activities to the States parties and to the General Assembly. Since the Committee holds its third regular session of each calendar year in November, which coincides with the regular sessions of the General Assembly, it adopts its annual report at the end of its spring session, for transmission to the General Assembly during the same calendar year. Accordingly, the Committee considered and adopted the report on its activities at the sixty-seventh and sixty-eighth sessions.
Annex I
Membership, officers and mandates from 18 May to 31 December 2019
|
Name of member |
Country of nationality |
Term expires on 31 December |
|
Essadia Belmir(Vice-Chair) |
Morocco |
2021 |
|
Felice Gaer (Vice-Chair) |
United States of America |
2019 |
|
Abdelwahab Hani(Rapporteur on follow-up under article 19) |
Tunisia |
2019 |
|
Claude Heller (Vice-Chair)(Rapporteur for follow-up on decisions adopted under article 22) |
Mexico |
2019 |
|
Jens Modvig(Chair) |
Denmark |
2021 |
|
Ana Racu(Rapporteur on reprisals) |
Republic of Moldova |
2019 |
|
Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón |
Colombia |
2021 |
|
Sébastien Touzé (Rapporteur)(Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures) |
France |
2019 |
|
Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov |
Russian Federation |
2021 |
|
Honghong Zhang |
China |
2021 |
Annex II
Membership (from 1 January 2020), and officers and mandates (from 1 January to 12 July 2020)
|
Name of member |
Country of nationality |
Term expires on 31 December |
|
Essadia Belmir(Vice-Chair) |
Morocco |
2021 |
|
Claude Heller (Vice-Chair)(Rapporteur for follow-up on decisionsadopted under article 22) |
Mexico |
2023 |
|
Erdoğan İşcan |
Turkey |
2023 |
|
Liu Huawen |
China |
2021 |
|
Jens Modvig(Chair) |
Denmark |
2021 |
|
Ilvija Pūce |
Latvia |
2023 |
|
Ana Racu |
Republic of Moldova |
2023 |
|
Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón(Acting Rapporteur)(Acting Rapporteur on new complaints and interim measures) |
Colombia |
2021 |
|
Sébastien Touzé(Acting Vice-Chair) |
France |
2023 |
|
Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov(Acting Rapporteur on follow-up under article 19) |
Russian Federation |
2021 |
Annex III
Measures for focusing the dialogue with States parties
1.The Committee against Torture will make efforts to ensure that dialogues with and recommendations for States parties are more focused and coordinated with other treaty body reviews. To that end, the Committee will implement the steps listed below, to be followed for the sixty-ninth session, on a pilot basis.
Coordination of lists of issues prior to reporting
2.When lists of issues prior to reporting are drafted, the country rapporteurs are to be provided with the lists of issues prior to reporting issued by other treaty bodies for the same State party within the last year. This will allow the country rapporteurs to decide how to coordinate possible overlapping topics in the Committee against Torture lists of issues prior to reporting, for instance by deleting, adapting or reinforcing such topics. Hereafter, draft lists of issues prior to reporting will be sent to rapporteurs in the other relevant treaty bodies with a five-day deadline for comments.
Focusing of lists of issues prior to reporting
3.Lists of issues prior to reporting may be focused by means of setting a maximum number of questions. This will inevitably imply that some topics will have to be sacrificed. Establishing a limited number of questions will likely force both the secretariat and the Committee members to apply stricter prioritization and to use more precise language. It is suggested that the number of questions be limited to 25 to 30.
Coordination of concluding observations
4.In the country index provided by the secretariat, references are to be given to the most recent concluding observations issued by other treaty bodies. When drafting concluding observations for the Committee against Torture, the secretariat will make comparisons, highlighting possible overlapping topics. Country rapporteurs of the Committee against Torture process such topics by deleting, adapting or reinforcing the concluding observations, as appropriate.
Focusing of concluding observations
5.The formulation of more specific recommendations is encouraged, which provides better guidance to States parties in terms of how to implement those recommendations. To further this objective, the secretariat and the Chair of the Committee will collect illustrative examples of recommendations used in previous concluding observations.