UN Special Rapporteur on torture returns to Georgia after
ten years
GENEVA (10 March 2015) – The United Nations human rights
expert Juan E. Méndez will undertake an information-gathering mission to
Georgia from 12 to 19 March 2015, ten years after the first visit to the
country by the former Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment*.
“In recent years, the Georgian Government has opened up to
the international community and engaged with human rights experts to try and
improve a wide range of issues within the criminal justice system,” Mr. Méndez
said.
“It is my hope to play a small part in this shift to a more
transparent society by having a constructive dialogue with a wide range of
stakeholders to assist the Government to identify ongoing challenges that it
may have with regards to upholding the rule of law, promoting accountability
for torture and ill-treatment, and fulfilling the right of reparations for
victims,” the expert stressed.
To this end, the Special Rapporteur will meet with relevant
authorities in the executive, the judiciary, parliamentary committee members,
national human rights institutions, civil society, international and regional
organizations, victims and their families.
During his eight-day visit, at the invitation of the
Government, the Special Rapporteur will travel to both Eastern and Western
Georgia to conduct unannounced visits to places of detention such as police
stations, temporary detention isolators, pre-trial facilities and
penitentiaries in a country which he anticipates has undergone significant
changes since his predecessor’s visit.
“I welcome the Government’s initiative to follow up on the
commitments made in 2005 with the accession to the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment and establishing a national preventative mechanism in 2009,” he
noted.
Mr. Méndez will share his preliminary comments and
recommendations at a press conference to be held on Thursday 19 March 2015, at
17:30, at the Courtyard Marriott Meeting Room 1 (address: 4 Freedom Square).
The Special Rapporteur will present a final report to the
Human Rights Council in March 2016.
(*) Check the 2005 report on Georgia by the former Special
Rapporteur on torture, Manfred Nowak:
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G05/160/45/PDF/G0516045.pdf?OpenElement
ENDS
Mr. Juan E. Méndez (Argentina) was appointed by the UN Human
Rights Council as the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment in November 2010. Mr. Méndez has dedicated
his legal career to the defense of human rights, and has a long and
distinguished record of advocacy throughout the Americas. He is currently a
Professor of Law at the American University – Washington College of Law and
Co-Chair of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association.
Learn more, log on to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/SRTorture/Pages/SRTortureIndex.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Georgia:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/ENACARegion/Pages/GEIndex.aspx
For more information and media requests please contact:
Sonia Cronin (+41 79 444 3993 / scronin@ohchr.org) or Petrine Leweson (+41 79
444 4078 / pleweson@ohchr.org) or write to sr-torture@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917
9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
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