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Committee against Torture
Monitoring the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment
The Committee Against
Torture (CAT) is the body of independent experts that monitors
implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its
State parties.
All States parties are obliged to submit regular reports to
the Committee on how the rights are being implemented. States
must report initially one year after acceding to the
Convention and then every four years. The Committee examines
each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to
the State party in the form of “concluding
observations”.
In addition to the reporting procedure,
the Convention establishes three other mechanisms through
which the Committee performs its monitoring functions: the
Committee may also, under certain circumstances, consider individual complaints or
communications from individuals claiming that their rights
under the Convention have been violated, undertake inquiries, and consider inter-state complaints. The Optional Protocol to the Convention
creates the Subcommittee on Prevention and allows in-country
inspections of places of detention to be undertaken in
collaboration with national institutions. In order to elect
the first ten members of the Subcommittee, a meeting of States
party will take place on 18 December 2006.
The Committee meets in
Geneva and normally holds two sessions per year consisting of a
plenary (of three weeks in May and two weeks in November) and
a one-week pre-sessional working group.
The Committee also publishes its interpretation of the
content of human rights provisions, known as general comments on thematic issues.
For more information about the work of the Committee
Against Torture, click here.
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New Publication
Now available in PDF
Compilación de observaciones finales del Comité
contra la Tortura sobre países de América Latina y el Caribe
(1988-2005)
A compilation of CAT concluding observations for Latin
American and Caribbean countries in Spanish, from 1988 to
2005.
Published by OHCHR, IIDH and ASDI.
ISBN: 956-7097-08-9
To download a copy (1.06 MB), click on the cover page
A limited number of hard copies are available from the
Santiago regional office by contacting gmira@eclac.cl Subject to
availability of stock. | |
Forthcoming Events
Recent Developments and Events
6-24 November
2006: 37th session of CAT meets in Geneva -
Concluding observations now available
30 November 2005: Elected Members of the
Committee against Torture
Recent Ratifications
3 November 2006 : Liechtenstein
becomes the 29th State party to CAT Optional Protocol
26 September 2006 : Serbia becomes the
27th State party to CAT Optional Protocol
27 November 2006: San Marino becomes the
143rd State party to CAT
22 September 2006 : Andorra becomes the
142nd State party to CAT
Note: CAT and OPCAT entry into force occurs
on the 30th day after date of deposit of instrument of
ratification or accession. Dates given are for entry into
force.
OPCAT entered into force on 22 June 2006 after
20 States became party to the Protocol.
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