A/HRC/55/52 I. Activities of the mandate holder 1. The Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Alice Jill Edwards, carried out two official country visits, to Ukraine from 4 to 10 September 2023 1 and Chile from 16 to 27 October 2023. 2 She issued a total of 52 communications to States and non-State actors, and 42 press statements, either individually or jointly with other mandate holders. 3 2. During the reporting period, the Special Rapporteur presented a report to the Human Rights Council on good practices in national criminalization, investigation, prosecution and sentencing for offences of torture; 4 and a report to the General Assembly, containing an annual overview of the state of torture in the world, alongside a thematic study on the global trade in weapons, equipment and devices used by law enforcement and other public authorities that are capable of inflicting torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.5 3. The Special Rapporteur undertook 15 public engagements, in multiple jurisdictions, to raise awareness and offer technical advice on the prohibition of torture, and met with a range of government delegations and other stakeholders throughout the year. During the reporting period, the Special Rapporteur’s work was referred to in more than 250 publications in approximately 60 countries. 4. Between 1 and 3 November 2023, the Special Rapporteur was honoured to hear the testimonies of 15 torture survivors from across Latin America in a “hearing for healing”, held in Bogotá, organized by the Colombia Centre of Psychological Assistance Corporation, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and the World Organisation Against Torture. This was the first of several regional hearings that the Special Rapporteur intends to hold during her mandate to ensure that her work is informed by the experiences of survivors. 5. The Special Rapporteur expresses her gratitude to the Governments of Australia and Switzerland for providing financial support to her mandate, and to the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights for hosting her research work. 6. A full list of the mandate holder’s activities is available on the webpage of the Special Rapporteur’s.6 II. Current issues and good practices in prison management A. Introduction 7. Too many people are imprisoned for too long, especially during pretrial detention, and in conditions that do not meet minimum international standards. A perfect storm of overcrowding, chronically neglected infrastructure and high incarceration rates creates the conditions for cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including in its most severe form, as torture. 8. Prisons are under pressure in many countries, as a result of too many demands and insufficient resources, and consequently administrators struggle to manage facilities safely, humanely and respectfully. The Special Rapporteur reminds the Human Rights Council of the heightened duty of care owed by States to persons deprived of their liberty. 1 2 3 4 5 6 2 A/HRC/55/52/Add.1. Preliminary observations from the visit to Chile are available athttps://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/un-expert-praises-chiles-human-rights-architectur e-warns-shadow-torture. See https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/. A/HRC/52/30. A/78/324. The Special Rapporteur’s activities will be available at https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/srtorture/annex-sr-torture-march-2024.pdf. GE.24-01501