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Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The prohibition of torture is one of the few absolute and non-derogable human rights standards, a peremptory norm of customary international law or jus cogens. In addition, international law acknowledges the need for special protections for children and detained persons.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- States frequently detain children who are refugees, asylum seekers or irregular migrants for a number of reasons, such as health and security screening, to verify their identity or to facilitate their removal from the territory. Sometimes, children may be inadvertently detained because there is a failure to distinguish between child and adult migrants, such as when children are unable to prove their age. The Special Rapporteur has previously noted with concern that unaccompanied child migrants are systematically held in detention at police stations, border guard stations or migration detention centres instead of being held in reception centres, which are in practice often not numerous enough or are overcrowded (see A/HRC/16/52/Add.4, paras. 68-69). Most of the unaccompanied minors are not adequately informed about asylum procedures or their rights, do not have access to legal counsel or guardians, and are generally ignorant of the system. Furthermore, the procedure to identify minors and to assess their age and vulnerability appears to be completely inadequate, as many children reported being registered as adults (see A/HRC/16/52/Add.4, paras. 68-73 and CAT/C/USA/CO/3-5, para. 19).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Many child migrants witness or suffer harsh physical abuse while detained. Reports indicate that children in immigration detention have been tied up or gagged, beaten with sticks, burned with cigarettes and given electric shocks, and that the use of solitary confinement of children in immigration detention is common around the globe. In other instances, migrant children have suffered from severe anxiety and mental harm after having witnessed sexual abuse and violence against other detainees. In some countries, encampment policies have led to the kidnapping, captivity and torture of child refugees. Child migrant detainees too often face lengthy detainment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- In addition, many child migrants suffer appalling and inhuman conditions while detained including overcrowding, inappropriate food, insufficient access to drinking water, unsanitary conditions, lack of adequate medical attention, and irregular access to washing and sanitary facilities and to hygiene products, lack of appropriate accommodation and other basic necessities. In some cases, detention centres refuse to keep migrant children with their families also being detained, and have denied migrant children's right to communicate with their families. Such practices effectively isolate child detainees from social support groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Movement
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- According to the European Court of Human Rights, even short term detention of migrant children is a violation of the prohibition on torture and other ill-treatment, holding a child's vulnerability and best interests outweigh the Government's interest in halting illegal immigration. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights further noted that, when assessing the possibility to return, expel, deport, repatriate, reject at the border, or not to admit or in any way transfer or remove a child to a State, the best interests of the child must be determined, which also incorporate the component of adequate development and survival of the child.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- An essential safeguard against torture and other forms of ill-treatment is the availability of multidisciplinary and qualified staff working in children's institutions. Inside the law enforcement, institution and migration systems, children are more vulnerable to human rights violations than adults because of the manner in which judicial and other officials deal with children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- A significant number of States lack an independent mechanism to monitor human rights violations not only in detention facilities but also in medical and social care institutions. Moreover, even when legislation exists to provide for the monitoring of such institutions, inadequate human and financial resources and weak legal enforcement mechanisms are no excuse for failure to prevent abuse.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Effective complaint procedures are an important safeguard against torture and other ill-treatment in all places of detention for children. According to article 37 (d) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, children, including migrant children, have the right to prompt access to legal aid and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of their liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Children deprived of their liberty from the perspective of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment 2015, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- With regard to migrant children, authorities routinely impede their access to lawyers, non-governmental organizations, service providers, interpreters and other sources of information and protection. Furthermore, children often never meet with their appointed guardian because they are deported before their representative arrives. In some cases, the report of a child's ill-treatment is routinely ignored by the official guardians. States have similarly failed to implement a legal right to representation for children detained in health-care settings. Even when States provide a legal right to review, it generally does not cover children placed with parental consent.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- The Council of Europe has set up commissions of inquiry with a variety of mandates, under the authority of various bodies. In 2006, a 46-member European Parliament inquiry was established to investigate the alleged use of European countries by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States for the transportation and illegal detention of prisoners. In a speech before the European Parliament in 2009, the international law expert Antonio Cassese called for the establishment of a permanent commission of inquiry within Europe to facilitate expeditious investigations into whether torture or other international crimes had been perpetrated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The Gibson Inquiry was established to examine whether and to what extent State security and intelligence agencies were involved or otherwise complicit in the improper treatment or rendition of detainees held by other States in counter-terrorism operations in the aftermath of the attacks of 11 September 2001. Some non-governmental organizations have criticized the inquiry for its lack of transparency and lack of opportunities for the participation of victims and other third parties.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Commissions of inquiry 2012, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The Arar Commission was established to investigate the detention in 2002 of Maher Arar while in transit through New York and his subsequent rendition to the Syrian Arab Republic, where he was subjected to torture. In its report, the Commission acknowledged the wrongs perpetrated against Mr. Arar and recommended possible remedies; it also reviewed the policies and activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and made recommendations on information-sharing and oversight mechanisms for national security agencies, including specific directives aimed at ensuring accountability and preventing any possible future complicity in torture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Of particular concern are a lack of specialist care, including access to gynaecologists and obstetric health-care professionals; discriminatory access to services like harm-reduction programmes; lack of private spaces for medical examinations and confidentiality; poor treatment by prison health staff; failures in diagnosis, medical neglect and denial of medicines, including for chronic and degenerative illnesses; and reportedly higher rates of transmission of diseases such as HIV among female detainees. The absence of gender-specific health care in detention can amount to ill-treatment or, when imposed intentionally and for a prohibited purpose, to torture. States' failure to ensure adequate hygiene and sanitation and to provide appropriate facilities and materials can also amount to ill-treatment or even torture. It is essential to engage in capacity-building and adequate training for detention centre staff and health-care personnel with a view to identifying and addressing women's specific health-care and hygiene needs.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Migrants, asylum seekers and refugees worldwide face grave human rights violations during the migration process. Physical violence, threats and abductions by smugglers, traffickers and organized criminal groups are common. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, exploitation and slavery along migration routes. Such abuses can amount to torture and ill-treatment and States' failure to properly screen migrants and refugees, identify victims of torture and provide appropriate care and support can retraumatize victims and inflict additional mistreatment.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- Upon interception or rescue, migrants and refugees tend to be criminalized and detained in substandard and overcrowded conditions amounting to torture or ill-treatment. Unsanitary conditions and inadequate medical care, including lack of access to reproductive care, affect women in particular. Many facilities fail to separate female and male prisoners, leading to heightened risks of sexual violence from other detainees or guards (A/HRC/20/24). Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender migrants are also vulnerable to abuse on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- LGBTQI+
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Gender perspectives on torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment 2016, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Child and other forms of forced marriage increase during conflict and among displaced populations living in refugee or internally displaced persons camps. In 2015 the practice has been documented as being enforced by both State actors and non-State or rebel factions in Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic and elsewhere, with victims being repeatedly raped, compelled to carry multiple pregnancies and subjected to other forms of physical and psychological violence over prolonged periods. While rape commonly occurs in the context of forced marriage, girls and women can also be forced into marriage as a consequence of rape or fear of sexual violence, as a form of "restitution" or "reparation". Like rape, forced marriage is used as a tactic of war and to fulfil strategic objectives such as domination, intimidation and degradation. It has been recognized as a crime against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture 2010, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Despite the fact that, in many cases, detainees have visible signs of ill-treatment, the authorities generally fail to initiate investigations. Medical examinations are often not conducted, nor are detainees provided with medical treatment. In Paraguay, the Special Rapporteur was concerned to see that officials completely disregarded their duty to initiate ex officio investigations. In Georgia, judges or procurators have an obligation to make inquiries or investigate allegations ex officio; however, no action is taken in the vast majority of cases. The same applies in the Republic of Moldova, where the legal provision calling for ex officio investigations is not applied in practice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture 2010, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- The lack of funding for rehabilitation centres is by no means limited to poor States or States where torture may be rife, but also holds true for States which are generally considered to be relatively safe and affluent, for example EU member States. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur notes with concern the upcoming phasing-out of EU support for centres located within its area and the simultaneous failure of European Governments to step up their support for their own domestic institutions. Rehabilitation centres within the EU assume a crucial role in providing services to thousands of individuals who have had to flee their home countries and seek refuge after experiencing war, persecution and torture. While these survivors may have succeeded in escaping from imminent persecution and from their torturers, their experiences are still very much present and continue to haunt them. Often alone in a foreign country, confronted with xenophobic resentment, general suspicion that there is abuse of the asylum system, and concerns about the outcome of protracted and increasingly restrictive asylum procedures, survivors of torture find themselves in an environment which is far from conducive to a process of healing. The availability in those States of well-functioning rehabilitation centres where many refugees can open up and receive medical treatment for the first time is essential and their value cannot be overestimated. The Special Rapporteur calls for a change of the perception prevalent in many Western countries that torture is a distant issue. Many Europeans would be surprised to learn that their immigrant neighbour is in fact one of many survivors of torture who have found refuge in their country.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture 2010, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- The ultimate aim must be to prevent acts of torture and ill-treatment before they occur. There are numerous methods of prevention that have been developed in the past, which, if adequately implemented by States, could easily eradicate torture: abolition of secret and incommunicado detention; proper registration of every detainee from the moment of arrest or apprehension; prompt access to legal counsel within 24 hours; access to relatives; prompt access to an independent judge; presumption of innocence; prompt and independent medical examination of all detainees; video/audio recording of all interrogations; no detention under the control of the interrogators or investigators for more than 48 hours; prompt, impartial and effective investigation of all allegations or suspicions of torture; inadmissibility of evidence obtained under torture; and effective training of all officials involved in the custody, interrogation and medical care of detainees. As previously emphasized by the Special Rapporteur and his predecessors, the most effective preventive measure against torture and ill-treatment is the regular inspection of places of detention. Regular inspections can ensure the adequate implementation of the above-mentioned safeguards against torture, create a strong deterrent effect and provide a means to generate timely and adequate responses to allegations of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officials.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture 2010, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Many countries already have national mechanisms in place for the inspection of places of detention, such as visiting judges and prosecutors, inspection boards subordinate to relevant ministries, and national human rights institutions, or they allow non-governmental organizations to carry out monitoring visits. In addition, there are independent regional mechanisms such as the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and international mechanisms such as the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on torture that can inspect places of detention.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture 2010, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- In view of the great importance of systematic, independent external monitoring for the prevention of torture, and in response to the shortcomings of the existing mechanisms, the General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture in 2002. The rationale behind the Optional Protocol is based on the experience that torture mainly happens in places of detention, owing to their opaqueness to the outside world and lack of external scrutiny. The Optional Protocol is intended to introduce a shift from a paradigm of opacity, in which detainees are locked away from the outside world and the outside world is kept away from the detainees, to one of transparency. Through the opening up of places of detention, the entire system of detention can be exposed to public scrutiny, made more transparent, and its officials deterred from abusive treatment by being held accountable for their actions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Impunity as a root cause of the prevalence of torture 2010, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- The Optional Protocol does not prescribe a specific form for national preventive mechanisms but leaves it to States parties how to "maintain, designate or establish … one or several independent national preventive mechanisms". However, the Optional Protocol and the related Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (The Paris Principles) prescribe clear minimum criteria for national preventive mechanisms. Any national preventive mechanism is to be provided with a broad mandate to regularly visit all places of detention with a view to examining the treatment of detainees, to make recommendations to the relevant authorities and to submit draft legislative proposals and observations. It must have unrestricted access, without prior notification, to all places of detention and enjoy the right to hold private interviews with detainees. It must be granted full institutional, functional, personal and financial independence from the State authorities, be pluralistically composed to have the "required capabilities and professional knowledge" and provide for a balanced gender and adequate minority representation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur is unable to think of any other mechanism where the gap between the protection required by international instruments and the actual situation is as glaring. One of the most vivid, indicative and telling situations he encountered during one of his missions was where he found more than 70 detainees crammed into a small, badly lit and filthy cell, who had been there up to more than two years, and who had not once left the cell since their arrival. They were held incommunicado, some secretly, and many reported how they were most seriously tortured by the police during arrest and interrogation. None of them had received any medical treatment. This was just a few metres behind a human rights desk, which had been set up to receive complaints by detainees. Several officers were on duty at the desk, their workplace was adorned with a complaints box and posters on the rights of detainees. They had never received a single complaint from a detainee. These human rights desks are only one example of numerous utterly ineffective complaints mechanisms. Whenever the Special Rapporteur receives information from officials that torture is not an issue in their country because no complaint has ever been filed, that has, in practice, been a clear signal that the opposite is the case - that torture is routine and that detainees are too afraid or simply unable to complain.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has ample grounds to believe that the vast majority of violations are never reported by detainees, including because they are often not aware of their right to complain. In a context of detention frequently characterized by violence and other abuse, it seems beyond imagination for many detainees that someone could listen to their allegations. If detainees know about their right to complain and the actual existence of a complaints mechanism, the fear of reprisals and lack of confidence in the overall functioning of the system may silence them. Normally, there is no complaints body sufficiently independent from the authority which is in charge of holding the detainees.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Detainees are at a high risk of being ill-treated during the first hours of deprivation of liberty. Suspects mostly find themselves in the hands of the officers in charge of investigating the crime of which they are accused. The officers therefore have an interest in obtaining a confession or other relevant information. In order to keep this critical phase as short as possible, international human rights law requires the minimization of the period before a person is brought before a judge or another officer authorized by law to exercise judicial powers. However, suspects are frequently held in police custody for much longer than international human rights law allows, sometimes for weeks or months, and find themselves in a situation which is generally dominated by a feeling of vulnerability and fear. In many of the police stations the Special Rapporteur has visited, there was a palpable level of fear which manifested itself inter alia in the strong reluctance of detainees to speak with him.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 54
- Paragraph text
- Given that most cases of abuse take place during the very early stages of detention, immediate access to an independent lawyer is crucial. In many countries, however, detainees are arrested, interrogated and indicted without having been able to access counsel. Even access to a lawyer at a later stage remains a hypothetical option for most detainees since they lack the financial resources to pay for it. Since persons from poorer social strata make up the majority of detainees, the inability to effectively access legal aid affects the majority of persons deprived of their liberty. The lack of legal counsel is in sharp contrast to the basic principles of equality before the law and fairness. Detainees are often not aware of their rights, even when it comes to which treatment is actually permissible during interrogations. However, even in States with legal aid schemes, many detainees voiced doubts regarding the independence of their State-appointed lawyers or reported that they requested additional payment, since State-provided remuneration did not meet the lawyers' fees.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- As the Special Rapporteur has previously stated, the most effective way of preventing torture therefore is to expose all places of detention to public scrutiny. However, in too many countries, no public monitoring exists or external monitors rarely have access to all places of deprivation of liberty, and the preconditions for effective monitoring, such as unannounced visits and confidential interviews with detainees, are often not granted. Moreover, a recurring problem faced by public monitoring is a lack of human and financial resources.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- In its pervasiveness, impact on the victim and justifications put forward by its proponents, corporal punishment of children in the home and in educational settings differs from corporal punishment that is administered as part of a judicial sentence in a number of States. A separate problem is the corporal chastisement of detainees as a disciplinary sanction that the Special Rapporteur has witnessed in many countries. What is common to all these forms of corporal punishment, however, is that physical force is used intentionally against a person in order to cause severe pain. Furthermore, without exception, corporal punishment has a degrading and humiliating component. Corporal punishment must therefore without exception be considered to amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or torture in violation of international treaty and customary law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Deprivation of personal liberty, which is one of the most precious human rights, is an indispensible tool of criminal justice. However, what is often forgotten, is that detainees should continue to enjoy all other liberties and human rights, unless further restrictions are absolutely necessary for upholding prison discipline or for similar justified reasons. As the Special Rapporteur described in his most recent report to the General Assembly, the reality in most countries is totally different. Since it is an essential element of fact-finding during country missions to visit prisons, police lock-ups, closed psychiatric institutions and other places of detention, the Special Rapporteur had a fairly comprehensive insight into the conditions of detention around the world. In many countries, he was shocked by the way human beings are treated in detention. In this regard, he is most concerned about the structural deprivation of most human rights, notably the rights to food, water, clothing, health care and a minimum of space, hygiene, privacy and security necessary for a humane and dignified existence. It is the combined deprivation and non-fulfilment of these existential rights which amounts to a systematic practice of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and, around the world, there is an urgent need to ensure more respect for detainees and improve conditions of detention: the respect shown for the detainees is a mirror of a country's general human rights culture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Overview of main observations of five years fact-finding and research 2010, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Although there are similarities between the two, the refoulement procedure is not to be equated with the asylum procedure. While there are limitations to asylum in terms of the Refugee Convention, article 3 of the Convention against Torture and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights apply to every person and are not subject to any limitation or exclusion clauses. Consequently, the non-refoulement principle is absolute. While doubts about the credibility of the facts provided by the applicant can result in the refusal of asylum, the State has to ensure that the security of the applicant is not endangered, as continuously upheld by the Committee against Torture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph