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Title | Date added | Template | Body | Legal status | Document type | Year | Document code | Original document | Paragraph text | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 25 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Securing the victim's right to redress requires that a State party's competent authorities promptly, effectively and impartially investigate and examine the case of any individual who alleges that she or he has been subjected to torture or ill-treatment. Such an investigation should include as a standard measure an independent physical and psychological forensic examination as provided for in the Istanbul Protocol. Undue delays in initiating or concluding legal investigations into complaints of torture or ill-treatment compromise victims' rights under article 14 to obtain redress, including fair and adequate compensation and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 26 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Notwithstanding the evidentiary benefits to victims afforded by a criminal investigation, a civil proceeding and the victim's claim for reparation should not be dependent on the conclusion of a criminal proceeding. The Committee considers that compensation should not be unduly delayed until criminal liability has been established. Civil liability should be available independently of criminal proceedings and the necessary legislation and institutions for such purpose should be in place. If criminal proceedings are required by domestic legislation to take place before civil compensation can be sought, then the absence of or undue delay in those criminal proceedings constitutes a failure on the part of the State party to fulfil its obligations under the Convention. Disciplinary action alone shall not be regarded as an effective remedy within the meaning of article 14. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 42 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Similarly, granting immunity, in violation of international law, to any State or its agents or to non-State actors for torture or ill-treatment, is in direct conflict with the obligation of providing redress to victims. When impunity is allowed by law or exists de facto, it bars victims from seeking full redress as it allows the violators to go unpunished and denies victims full assurance of their rights under article 14. The Committee affirms that under no circumstances may arguments of national security be used to deny redress for victims. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 45 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | States parties shall establish a system to oversee, monitor, evaluate, and report on their provision of redress measures and necessary rehabilitation services to victims of torture or ill-treatment. Accordingly, States parties should include in their reports to the Committee data disaggregated by age, gender, nationality, and other key factors regarding redress measures afforded to victims of torture or ill-treatment, in order to meet their obligation as recalled in general comment No. 2 to provide continual evaluation of their efforts to provide redress to victims. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 30 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Judicial remedies must always be available to victims, irrespective of what other remedies may be available, and should enable victim participation. States parties should provide adequate legal aid to those victims of torture or ill-treatment lacking the necessary resources to bring complaints and to make claims for redress. States parties shall also make readily available to the victims all evidence concerning acts of torture or ill-treatment upon the request of victims, their legal counsel, or a judge. A State party's failure to provide evidence and information, such as records of medical evaluations or treatment, can unduly impair victims' ability to lodge complaints and to seek redress, compensation and rehabilitation. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 46c | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | [On the implementation of article 14, the Committee has observed the need to provide adequate information on the implementation of article 14 in States parties' reports. Therefore, the Committee wishes to underscore that specific information should be provided on the following:] The rehabilitation facilities available to victims of torture or ill-treatment and the accessibility thereof, as well as the budget allocation for rehabilitation programmes and the number of victims who have received rehabilitative services appropriate to their needs; |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 46l | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | [On the implementation of article 14, the Committee has observed the need to provide adequate information on the implementation of article 14 in States parties' reports. Therefore, the Committee wishes to underscore that specific information should be provided on the following:] The legal aid and witness protection available to victims of torture or ill-treatment as well as witnesses and others who have intervened on behalf of victims, including how such protection is made known and how it is made available in practice; the number of victims who have been granted legal aid; the number of persons who have been protected by State witness protection; and the State party's evaluation of the effectiveness of such protection. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 7 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The Committee also understands that the concept of "any territory under its jurisdiction," linked as it is with the principle of non-derogability, includes any territory or facilities and must be applied to protect any person, citizen or non-citizen without discrimination subject to the de jure or de facto control of a State party. The Committee emphasizes that the State's obligation to prevent torture also applies to all persons who act, de jure or de facto, in the name of, in conjunction with, or at the behest of the State party. It is a matter of urgency that each State party should closely monitor its officials and those acting on its behalf and should identify and report to the Committee any incidents of torture or ill-treatment as a consequence of anti-terrorism measures, among others, and the measures taken to investigate, punish, and prevent further torture or ill-treatment in the future, with particular attention to the legal responsibility of both the direct perpetrators and officials in the chain of command, whether by acts of instigation, consent or acquiescence. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 18 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The Committee has made clear that where State authorities or others acting in official capacity or under colour of law, know or have reasonable grounds to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment are being committed by non-State officials or private actors and they fail to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such non-State officials or private actors consistently with the Convention, the State bears responsibility and its officials should be considered as authors, complicit or otherwise responsible under the Convention for consenting to or acquiescing in such impermissible acts. Since the failure of the State to exercise due diligence to intervene to stop, sanction and provide remedies to victims of torture facilitates and enables non-State actors to commit acts impermissible under the Convention with impunity, the State's indifference or inaction provides a form of encouragement and/or de facto permission. The Committee has applied this principle to States parties' failure to prevent and protect victims from gender-based violence, such as rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, and trafficking. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 43 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The Committee considers reservations which seek to limit the application of article 14 to be incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention. States parties are therefore encouraged to consider withdrawing any reservations to article 14 that limit its application so as to ensure that all victims of torture or ill-treatment have access to redress and remedy. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 46b | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | [On the implementation of article 14, the Committee has observed the need to provide adequate information on the implementation of article 14 in States parties' reports. Therefore, the Committee wishes to underscore that specific information should be provided on the following:] The measures taken to assist victims in the direct aftermath of torture; |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 2 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Article 2, paragraph 1, obliges each State party to take actions that will reinforce the prohibition against torture through legislative, administrative, judicial, or other actions that must, in the end, be effective in preventing it. To ensure that measures are in fact taken that are known to prevent or punish any acts of torture, the Convention outlines in subsequent articles obligations for the State party to take measures specified therein. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 29 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The Committee highlights the importance of the State party affirmatively ensuring that victims and their families are adequately informed of their right to pursue redress. In this regard, the procedures for seeking reparation should be transparent. The State party should moreover provide assistance and support to minimize the hardship to complainants and their representatives. Civil proceedings, or other proceedings, should not impose a financial burden upon victims that would prevent or discourage them from seeking redress. Where existing civil proceedings are unable to provide adequate redress to victims, the Committee recommends implementing mechanisms that are readily accessible to victims of torture and ill-treatment, including the establishment of a national fund to provide redress for victims of torture. Special measures should be adopted to ensure access by persons belonging to groups which have been marginalized or made vulnerable. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 46a | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | [On the implementation of article 14, the Committee has observed the need to provide adequate information on the implementation of article 14 in States parties' reports. Therefore, the Committee wishes to underscore that specific information should be provided on the following:] The number of victims of torture or ill-treatment who have sought compensation through legal, administrative and other means and the nature of the violations alleged; the number of victims who have been awarded compensation; and in what amounts; |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 3 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The obligation to prevent torture in article 2 is wide-ranging. The obligations to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (hereinafter "ill-treatment") under article 16, paragraph 1, are indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. The obligation to prevent ill-treatment in practice overlaps with and is largely congruent with the obligation to prevent torture. Article 16, identifying the means of prevention of ill-treatment, emphasizes "in particular" the measures outlined in articles 10 to 13, but does not limit effective prevention to these articles, as the Committee has explained, for example, with respect to compensation in article 14. In practice, the definitional threshold between ill-treatment and torture is often not clear. Experience demonstrates that the conditions that give rise to ill-treatment frequently facilitate torture and therefore the measures required to prevent torture must be applied to prevent ill-treatment. Accordingly, the Committee has considered the prohibition of ill-treatment to be likewise non-derogable under the Convention and its prevention to be an effective and non-derogable measure. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 4 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | States parties are obligated to eliminate any legal or other obstacles that impede the eradication of torture and ill-treatment; and to take positive effective measures to ensure that such conduct and any recurrences thereof are effectively prevented. States parties also have the obligation continually to keep under review and improve their national laws and performance under the Convention in accordance with the Committee's concluding observations and views adopted on individual communications. If the measures adopted by the State party fail to accomplish the purpose of eradicating acts of torture, the Convention requires that they be revised and/or that new, more effective measures be adopted. Likewise, the Committee's understanding of and recommendations in respect of effective measures are in a process of continual evolution, as, unfortunately, are the methods of torture and ill-treatment. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 3 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Victims are persons who have individually or collectively suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that constitute violations of the Convention. A person should be considered a victim regardless of whether the perpetrator of the violation is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted, and regardless of any familial or other relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. The term "victim" also includes affected immediate family or dependants of the victim as well as persons who have suffered harm in intervening to assist victims or to prevent victimization. The term "survivors" may, in some cases, be preferred by persons who have suffered harm. The Committee uses the legal term "victims" without prejudice to other terms which may be preferable in specific contexts. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 5 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The obligations of States parties to provide redress under article 14 are two-fold: procedural and substantive. To satisfy their procedural obligations, States parties shall enact legislation and establish complaints mechanisms, investigation bodies and institutions, including independent judicial bodies, capable of determining the right to and awarding redress for a victim of torture and ill-treatment, and ensure that such mechanisms and bodies are effective and accessible to all victims. At the substantive level, States parties shall ensure that victims of torture or ill-treatment obtain full and effective redress and reparation, including compensation and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 6 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | As stated in paragraph 2 above, redress includes the following five forms of reparation: restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. The Committee recognizes the elements of full redress under international law and practice as outlined in the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law (Basic Principles and Guidelines). Reparation must be adequate, effective and comprehensive. States parties are reminded that in the determination of redress and reparative measures provided or awarded to a victim of torture or ill-treatment, the specificities and circumstances of each case must be taken into consideration and redress should be tailored to the particular needs of the victim and be proportionate to the gravity of the violations committed against them. The Committee emphasizes that the provision of reparation has an inherent preventive and deterrent effect in relation to future violations. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 8 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Restitution is a form of redress designed to re-establish the victim's situation before the violation of the Convention was committed, taking into consideration the specificities of each case. The preventive obligations under the Convention require States parties to ensure that a victim receiving such restitution is not placed in a position where he or she is at risk of repetition of torture or ill-treatment. In certain cases, the victim may consider that restitution is not possible due to the nature of the violation; however the State shall provide the victim with full access to redress. For restitution to be effective, efforts should be made to address any structural causes of the violation, including any kind of discrimination related to, for example, gender, sexual orientation, disability, political or other opinion, ethnicity, age and religion, and all other grounds of discrimination. |
| 2012 | |||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 13 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Certain basic guarantees apply to all persons deprived of their liberty. Some of these are specified in the Convention, and the Committee consistently calls upon States parties to use them. The Committee's recommendations concerning effective measures aim to clarify the current baseline and are not exhaustive. Such guarantees include, inter alia, maintaining an official register of detainees, the right of detainees to be informed of their rights, the right promptly to receive independent legal assistance, independent medical assistance, and to contact relatives, the need to establish impartial mechanisms for inspecting and visiting places of detention and confinement, and the availability to detainees and persons at risk of torture and ill-treatment of judicial and other remedies that will allow them to have their complaints promptly and impartially examined, to defend their rights, and to challenge the legality of their detention or treatment. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 21 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The protection of certain minority or marginalized individuals or populations especially at risk of torture is a part of the obligation to prevent torture or ill-treatment. States parties must ensure that, insofar as the obligations arising under the Convention are concerned, their laws are in practice applied to all persons, regardless of race, colour, ethnicity, age, religious belief or affiliation, political or other opinion, national or social origin, gender, sexual orientation, transgender identity, mental or other disability, health status, economic or indigenous status, reason for which the person is detained, including persons accused of political offences or terrorist acts, asylum-seekers, refugees or others under international protection, or any other status or adverse distinction. States parties should, therefore, ensure the protection of members of groups especially at risk of being tortured, by fully prosecuting and punishing all acts of violence and abuse against these individuals and ensuring implementation of other positive measures of prevention and protection, including but not limited to those outlined above. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 23 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Continual evaluation is therefore a crucial component of effective measures. The Committee has consistently recommended that States parties provide data disaggregated by age, gender and other key factors in their reports to enable the Committee to adequately evaluate the implementation of the Convention. Disaggregated data permits the States parties and the Committee to identify, compare and take steps to remedy discriminatory treatment that may otherwise go unnoticed and unaddressed. States parties are requested to describe, as far as possible, factors affecting the incidence and prevention of torture or ill-treatment, as well as the difficulties experienced in preventing torture or ill-treatment against specific relevant sectors of the population, such as minorities, victims of torture, children and women, taking into account the general and particular forms that such torture and ill-treatment may take. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 24 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Eliminating employment discrimination and conducting ongoing sensitization training in contexts where torture or ill-treatment is likely to be committed is also key to preventing such violations and building a culture of respect for women and minorities. States are encouraged to promote the hiring of persons belonging to minority groups and women, particularly in the medical, educational, prison/detention, law enforcement, judicial and legal fields, within State institutions as well as the private sector. States parties should include in their reports information on their progress in these matters, disaggregated by gender, race, national origin, and other relevant status. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 4 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The Committee emphasizes the importance of victim participation in the redress process, and that the restoration of the dignity of the victim is the ultimate objective in the provision of redress. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 46d | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | [On the implementation of article 14, the Committee has observed the need to provide adequate information on the implementation of article 14 in States parties' reports. Therefore, the Committee wishes to underscore that specific information should be provided on the following:] The methods available for assessing the effectiveness of rehabilitation programmes and services, including the application of appropriate indicators and benchmarks, and the result of such assessment; |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 46n | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | [On the implementation of article 14, the Committee has observed the need to provide adequate information on the implementation of article 14 in States parties' reports. Therefore, the Committee wishes to underscore that specific information should be provided on the following:] The safeguards available for the special protection of members of marginalized or vulnerable groups, including women and children seeking to exercise their rights guaranteed under article 14 of the Convention. |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 7 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Where State authorities or others acting in their official capacity have committed, know or have reasonable grounds to believe that acts of torture or ill-treatment have been committed by non-State officials or private actors and failed to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such non-State officials or private actors in accordance with the Convention, the State bears responsibility for providing redress for the victims (general comment No. 2). |
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| 2012 | ||||
Implementation of article 2 by States parties 2008, para. 10 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | The Committee recognizes that most States parties identify or define certain conduct as ill-treatment in their criminal codes. In comparison to torture, ill-treatment may differ in the severity of pain and suffering and does not require proof of impermissible purposes. The Committee emphasizes that it would be a violation of the Convention to prosecute conduct solely as ill-treatment where the elements of torture are also present. |
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| 2008 | ||||
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 22 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Committee against Torture | Non-negotiated soft law | General Comment / Recommendation | Under the Convention, States parties are required to prosecute or extradite alleged perpetrators of torture when they are found in any territory under its jurisdiction, and to adopt the necessary legislation to make this possible. The Committee considers that the application of article 14 is not limited to victims who were harmed in the territory of the State party or by or against nationals of the State party. The Committee has commended the efforts of States parties for providing civil remedies for victims who were subjected to torture or ill-treatment outside their territory. This is particularly important when a victim is unable to exercise the rights guaranteed under article 14 in the territory where the violation took place. Indeed, article 14 requires States parties to ensure that all victims of torture and ill-treatment are able to access remedy and obtain redress. |
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| 2012 |