News briefing
Translated and edited by: Committee for Justice
Geneva: 30 November 2021
The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) announced that it will visit Argentina, Ecuador, Lebanon, Turkey and Tunisia during 2022, and that it will hold high-level talks with the Brazilian authorities on the mechanism for the prevention of torture in the country.
In a statement by the SPT Chairperson, Suzanne Jabbour, published by the Media Center of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, she said: “We are very pleased to be able to recommence our visits in 2022 to help protect people deprived of liberty in police stations, prisons, closed refugee camps and immigration detention centres. We look forward to engaging with States parties and national torture oversight bodies on the ground to strengthen our cooperation to prevent torture.”
The statement stated that the upcoming visits were determined during the last secret session of the subcommittee held in Geneva in November, and more visits for 2022 will be announced in due course.
During the session, the Subcommittee also met with the Association for the Prevention of Torture on the recently adopted “Mendez Principles.”
The Subcommittee welcomed the adoption of these principles, noting that they provide guidance to the police and others on obtaining accurate and reliable information with full respect for the human rights of the person being interviewed, including through the implementation of legal and procedural safeguards in the first hours of police custody.
The Subcommittee also decided that it would engage directly and informally with the NPMs after its country visits, and that from now on, it would not request the publication of its NPM reports. The Committee also adopted the confidential report on its visit to Cabo Verde, which was sent to the state authorities.
