Committee against Torture Adopts Concluding Observations on Albania, Argentina, Bahrain and Israel
The Committee against Torture this morning closed its eighty-third session after adopting its concluding observations on the reports of Albania, Argentina, Bahrain and Israel, which were reviewed during the session.
Committee Chairperson, Claude Heller, read out excerpts of the concluding observations on the reports of the four countries. On Albania, the Committee remained concerned at the prevalence of limited data on the investigation of torture and ill-treatment and unlawful use of force by the police, and the absence of independent and effective investigations into these events. It recommended that Albania take all appropriate measures to ensure that all allegations of torture and ill-treatment by the police were investigated promptly and compile accurate and disaggregated data on the investigation of torture and ill-treatment and unlawful use of force by the police. The Committee also expressed its concern about the 2023 Protocol between the Governments of Albania and Italy on migrant detention facilities in Albania, managed by Italian authorities, and recommended that Albania work to ensure that the Protocol fully complied with the Convention.
Regarding Argentina, the Committee expressed its concern regarding the situation of persons held in prolonged detention in police stations and other law enforcement facilities, noting that some individuals had been held for more than six months or even over a year, as well as the poor material conditions in these facilities. The Committee called on Argentina to adopt urgent measures to put an end to the use of police facilities for long-term deprivation of liberty and to strengthen institutional mechanisms to ensure the effective enforcement of this prohibition. The Committee also voiced concern about the provisions of several resolutions adopted by the Ministry of Security with respect to the use of force and non-lethal weapons, and particularly about the Protocol for maintaining public order in the event of roadblocks. The Committee asked Argentina to consider revising those resolutions and bringing them into line with international standards in this area, and to continue to provide training in this regard to police and security forces officers
Commenting on Bahrain, the Committee expressed its concern about consistent reports indicating that torture was routinely used to extract confessions. The Committee called on the State party to ensure that confessions and other statements obtained through torture or ill-treatment were not admitted as evidence in practice, except against persons accused of committing torture, and that, when it was alleged that a statement was obtained through torture, the allegation was investigated immediately, and that alleged perpetrators were punished. The Committee also expressed its concern about reports according to which human rights defenders, members of civil society, journalists, political opponents and other Government critics had been subjected to retaliation, such as intimidation, harassment, travel bans, revocation of citizenship, excessive use of force, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearance and extrajudicial execution, and urged the State party to take the measures necessary to ensure that these persons were adequately protected and that all human rights violations perpetrated against them were thoroughly investigated
On Israel, the Committee unequivocally condemned the attack perpetrated by Hamas and other groups on 7 October 2023 against Israel and acknowledged the security threat faced by the State party. It expressed its concern over the disproportionate nature of Israel’s response to these attacks, which resulted in a massive loss of life and profound suffering for the Palestinian people. The Committee expressed concern over reports indicating a de facto State policy of organised and widespread torture and ill-treatment which had gravely intensified since 7 October 2023. The Committee also expressed its concern that the policies put in place by the State party amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading circumstances of life for the Palestinian population. The Committee recommended that Israel consider establishing an independent, ad hoc investigatory commission to review and investigate all allegations of torture and ill-treatment committed during the course of the current armed conflict, and to facilitate the immediate entry of all necessary humanitarian aid and aid workers to Gaza. Other matters of concern for the Committee included settler violence and the use of administrative detention.
The Chair said that during the session, the Committee also adopted lists of issues prior to reporting for Australia, Chad, El Salvador, Malawi, Nigeria, Somalia and Uganda.
Mr. Heller said the Committee had still not been informed whether the next session scheduled for April-May 2026 would take place, due to the ongoing financial situation of the United Nations, and as a result was unable to announce the dates of its future sessions, or the States whose reports would be reviewed. At its next sessions, the Committee would adopt lists of issues prior to reporting for Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Luxembourg, Slovakia, New Zealand, Romania, Spain and Switzerland.
Turning to the complaints procedure, Mr. Heller noted that during the eighty-third session, the Committee had examined 17 individual complaints, with five deemed inadmissible and one admissible. Additionally, 11 cases were decided on merits: in six cases the Committee found no violations while in five other cases the Committee determined a violation by the State party. The Committee also adopted four discontinuance requests.
Mr. Heller reported that the Committee undertook its activities on follow-up under articles 19 and 22 of the Convention and in relation to reprisals. He said that Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov, the Committee’s Rapporteur on follow-up to concluding observations under article 19 of the Convention, presenting his report, said that during the period under review, the Committee had received follow-up reports from North Macedonia, Finland, Honduras, Austria, Liechtenstein, Ecuador, Türkiye, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Colombia and Azerbaijan. Armenia also submitted comments on the concluding observations regarding the State party’s fifth periodic report.
Mr. Heller said Huawen Liu, the Committee’s Rapporteur on follow-up to communications under article 22 of the Convention, informed that the Committee had adopted a progress report on decisions relating to communications submitted under article 22 of the Convention, addressing nine communications. The Committee closed the follow-up dialogue for three cases, with satisfactory resolution.
Mr. Heller said Ana Racu, the Committee’s Rapporteur on follow-up to reprisals, said that in the context of the country reviews held during this session, the Committee had not received any new allegations of reprisals from individuals, civils society organizations or other stakeholders. The Committee remained vigilant about reprisals and was committed to protecting all individuals and organizations cooperating with it within its reporting procedure and other monitoring procedures established by the Convention.
In closing, Mr. Heller thanked all non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions, Committee Experts, members of the secretariat and other stakeholders for their contributions to the session.
The full concluding observations of the Committee’s eighty-third session will be available on the session’s webpage. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, and webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.
The Committee is scheduled to hold its eighty-fourth session in April/May 2026 with dates to be confirmed.
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