UN experts encourage Turkey to fulfill commitments
through effective detention monitoring body
GENEVA (9 October 2015) – To strengthen torture
prevention, in Turkey it is crucial that the authorities adopt a strong and
comprehensive legal framework for the national monitoring body, said Mari Amos,
Head of the delegation of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture at the
end of its first official visit to the country.
The four-member delegation of the UN Subcommittee on
Prevention of Torture (SPT) visited Turkey from 6 to 9 October 2015 to provide
advice and formulate recommendations with regard to the country’s national
detention monitoring body and to the Turkish authorities.
“The need for torture prevention in Turkey has been
highlighted by various international bodies. Therefore, while ratification of
the Optional Protocol is an indicator of the will to fight torture, the
establishment of an OPCAT-compliant National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) which
is fully independent, well-resourced, multi-disciplinary, professional and
highly visible is an important step in the practical fulfillment of such a
commitment,” said Mari Amos, who led the delegation to Turkey.
“The Government expressed its strong will to make the NPM
fully operational. This commitment must now be translated into concrete action
by adopting a specific law that provides the NPM with a strong mandate and
makes it fully operational, functional, independent and well-resourced,” said
Amos.
Working to prevent and eliminate torture and cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, the Subcommittee monitors how
States implement provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against
Torture (OPCAT). The OPCAT requires, as one of its key provisions, that States
establish and guarantee the independent functioning of their National
Preventive Mechanisms.
For the SPT, the key to preventing torture and
ill-treatment lies in building constructive relations with States and NPMs, and
its guiding principles are cooperation and confidentiality.
“I sincerely hope that Turkey will take our
recommendations into account so that the country, together with partners
and civil society, lays the groundwork
for an effective torture prevention body in the country,” Ms. Amos said.
In addition to holding discussions with relevant
Government officials, including the Deputy Prime Minister, and the Human Rights
Institution of Turkey, which has been given the role of NPM, the delegation met
members of the Turkish Parliament and the civil society. The human rights
experts also carried out a capacity building exercise with NPM representatives
through joint visits to Ankara Sican Prison and to custodial cells at the
Ankara Police Department.
Following its visit, the Subcommittee will submit
separate, confidential reports to the Government of Turkey and to the Turkish
NPM, containing its observations and recommendations.
The SPT delegation to Turkey comprised Mari Amos (Head of
Delegation), Aisha Shujune Muhammad (Vice Chair of the Subcommittee), Hans-Jörg
Viktor Bannwart and June Caridad Pagaduan Lopez.
ENDS
For more information and interview requests, please
contact Mari Amos, +372 511 9348 / mari.amos@gmx.com
For other media inquiries, please contact Cécile Pouilly,
+41 22 917 93 10 / cpouilly@ohchr.org
Background:
The SPT has a mandate to visit all States that are
parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). The Optional
Protocol has to date been ratified by 80 countries. States parties are obliged
to set up a monitoring body, known as a National Preventive Mechanism within a
year of ratifying the Protocol.
In accordance with its mandate, the SPT undertakes
advisory visits to National Preventive Mechanisms. During such visits, the SPT
seeks to support and reinforce the NPM’s mandate and effective functioning by
providing technical advice and assistance to both the NPM and the State party,
and through practical capacity building activities.
More about the SPT:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/OPCAT/Pages/OPCATIndex.aspx
More about NPMs:
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