Originally published on the CGS blog on October 28, 2008.
October 23, 2008 – NEW YORK – On Friday, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly held an interactive discussion with the UN expert on torture. At the Assembly, Manfred Nowak , the UN Special Rapporteur on the subject, conveyed his disappointment that “torture is still a frequent or even standard practice in many countries, even 60 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
In the dialogue, Nowak articulated his belief that a lack of sustained public scrutiny is to blame for the continued practice of torture and inhumane treatment taking place largely behind closed doors.
To address these problems, Nowak called on all nations to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and to establish well-resourced National Preventive Mechanisms (NPM). These mandates are designed to develop a system which would oversee the maintenance of human rights by establishing “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.” Such provisions would create and maintain a public climate of observation that could do a lot to prevent torture from happening.
In his report, Mr. Nowak paid particular attention to the torture of persons with disabilities . Since such persons are often deprived of their liberty, being placed in prisons, social care centers, orphanages, and mental health facilities, they are particularly vulnerable to ill-treatment and torture. Nowak argued for the protection of such people from maltreatment, sexual exploitation and medical experimentation.
In addition, the UN Special Rapporteur raised concern over the disproportionate use of solitary confinement as a method to put psychological pressure on detainees. From his findings, Nowak concluded that “solitary confinement should only be used in very exceptional cases, for as short a time as possible and only as a last resort.”
Perhaps with the oversight Mr. Nowak suggests, we can begin to work towards a future free from torture and ill-treatment in all spheres of life.
