WUNRN
Attached is the Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to the
UN 2008, including Strengthening
the Protection of Women from Torture
______________________________________________________________
From OMCT Statement in this release: "We
stress the urgent need for states to promote regular scrutiny and
accountability of institutions where women are deprived of their liberty, by
means of independent visits and other monitoring mechanisms. We also encourage
the mainstreaming of gender by the newly-established UN Sub-Committee on the
Prevention of Torture."
Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The objective of the
present Protocol is to establish a system of regular visits undertaken by
independent international and national bodies to places where people are
deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment.
1. A Subcommittee on
Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment of the Committee against Torture (hereinafter referred to as the
Subcommittee on Prevention) shall be established and shall carry out the
functions laid down in the present Protocol.
______________________________________________________________
Human Rights Council
7th Session (3-28 March 2008)
Report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Manfred Nowak
Joint Statement Delivered by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
11 March 2008
(List of
Co-Signatories Below)
Mr/Madam
Chair,
The
undersigned organisations warmly welcome the Special Rapporteur on torture’s
thematic report on « Strengthening the Protection of Women from Torture »
and consider it a major step in the recognition of the specificities of acts of
torture and ill-treatment against women and of the requirement of adequate
responses thereto.
The
acknowledgement by the Rapporteur that gender-based violence is always
discriminatory strengthens and renders more concrete General Recommendation 19
of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
Accordingly, we call on states to apply a gender-sensitive definition of
torture in light of the elements contained in article 1 of the Convention
against Torture, discrimination being one of the purposes provided
for. Significantly, the Rapporteur also recognises the context in which
such violations occur, a context which tends to stigmatise the woman victim and
not the perpetrator or the State. This situation must be reversed.
The
Rapporteur sets a very high standard of due diligence so as to ensure that
states are held accountable for their failure to prevent and punish
gender-based violence, as well as to provide protection, rehabilitation and
redress to victims, irrespective of whether this violence takes place in the
public or private sphere. This responsibility requires strong positive
obligations, including inter alia, the adoption of adequate legal provisions to
combat such violence, criminalising gender-based torture as well as gender
discrimination, the setting-up of sensitive law-enforcement, legal support,
monitoring and rehabilitation mechanisms, and addressing the socioeconomic
impact of violence on women. More specifically, States have the duty to address
all obstacles to women’s reporting acts of violence that may amount to torture
or ill-treatment, be they societal – including family pressure or repudiation
–, gender bias by the police or judiciary, economic dependence upon the
perpetrator, the threat of loss of child custody or even, in some instances,
criminal prosecution.
States should allocate sufficient resources for the support and rehabilitation of torture victims. Furthermore, specific treatment and facilities are needed for victims of rape, including access to post-exposure prophylaxis against HIV, and universities should be encouraged to establish specific centres of expertise and research on acute rape victims.
We welcome
the Rapporteur’s conclusions and recommendations with regard to his own work
and that of national and international monitoring mechanisms, in particular
field visits. Such visits should include consulting and meeting with women’s
rights defenders and experts, visiting facilities where mainly women are
deprived of their liberty or taken care of (including medical and social
rehabilitation centres), as well as crisis centres and shelters, where women
victims can be interviewed in a safe environment and relate their cases
regardless of whether they suffered violence at hands of public officials,
their partners, family members or any other person. In this regard, we
congratulate the Rapporteur for addressing the issue of female genital
mutilation in his reports on his country visits to
We stress
the urgent need for states to promote regular scrutiny and accountability of
institutions where women are deprived of their liberty, by means of independent
visits and other monitoring mechanisms. We also encourage the mainstreaming of
gender by the newly-established UN Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture.
This development will require adequate support both from states and OHCHR.
As there is
a strong social and discriminatory component in the perpetuation of torture and
ill-treatment of women, we would like to ask the Rapporteur if he intends to
undertake or encourage the conduct of joint field missions and joint
consultations with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes
and consequences.
As the
introduction to the report presented by the Special Rapporteur calls for a
gender-specific interpretation of torture, we also encourage the Special
Rapporteur to explore other forms of gender-specific violence, such as rape
committed against men, as well as torture and ill-treatment perpetrated on the
basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.
Co-signatories in consultative status with
ECOSOC:
Asia-Pacific Forum on Women, Law and
Development (APWLD)
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network
Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL)
International Federation of Action by
Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT)
International Rehabilitation Council for
Torture Victims (IRCT)
Co-signatory without consultative status: ARC International
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