HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ADDRESSES OPENING OF FORTY-SEVENTH SESSION OF THE COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE

The Committee against Torture this morning opened its forty-seventh session, hearing a statement from Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which was followed by a discussion between her and the Committee’s Experts.

In her opening address, the High Commissioner highlighted new and important developments of interest to the Committee which had taken place since their last session in May. She referred to treaty body strengthening, the Inter-Committee Meeting, and the recent establishment of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances. Ms. Pillay highlighted the adoption of a resolution on capital punishment by the last Human Rights Council session and concluded by saying that the session would be the Committee’s busiest ever. The agenda was a very heavy burden for a Committee with such a small membership, and a clear sign of the Committee’s commitment to the cause they had embraced: an effective fight against torture and ill-treatment throughout the world.

The Committee also adopted its agenda this morning, with note that a dialogue must be held on the current situation in Syria. During the session, the Committee is scheduled to examine the reports of Belarus, Bulgaria, Djibouti, Germany, Greece, Madagascar, Morocco, Paraguay and Sri Lanka. It will adopt its concluding observations and recommendations on those reports before it concludes the session on 25 November.

The next public meeting of the Committee will be on Tuesday, 1 November at 10 a.m. when it will consider the fourth periodic report of Morocco (CAT/C/MAR/4).

Statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights

NAVI PILLAY, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, highlighted new and important developments of interest to the Committee which had taken place since the last session in May. The process of treaty-body strengthening was advancing. The consultation process which started in Dublin in November 2009 continued in Marrakech in June 2010, in Poznan in September 2010, Seoul in April, Sion in May and Pretoria in June 2011. The Committee Against Torture had been playing a crucial role in the treaty body strengthening process, although budget limitations continued to have a negative impact on the organization of treaty body sessions.

The Inter-Committee Meeting took place from 27 to 29 June, during which it focused on enhancing the effectiveness of the treaty bodies and looked at the harmonization of working methods. The challenges that treaty bodies faced were namely harmonization and resources. In respect of harmonization, the Committee could only bring about change through the shared vision that was progressively emerging. An optional harmonization of treaty bodies working methods had to be reached, including an improved management of meeting time. Resources were clearly the responsibility of States, and Ms. Pillay was certain that despite the financial and economic crisis, States could not avoid their responsibilities. It was unacceptable that the treaty body system functioned with a 30 per cent reporting compliance rate, that treaty bodies were the victims of their own success and that lack of resources weakened States parties’ accountability under international human rights laws.

A number of interesting decisions were taken by the Treaty Bodies’ Chairpersons during its twenty-third meeting, in which they decided to engage in a drafting process of guidelines on the independence and expertise of members of treaty bodies, but also to hold their next meeting (June 2012) in Africa in order to interact with the regional mechanisms and other actors. They also recommended that Chairpersons be empowered to adopt measures on working methods and procedural matters which were common to all treaty bodies, although they would consult with their respective committees in advance.

On 31 May 2011, at the United Nations in New York, during the first meeting of the States parties to the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the 10 inaugural members of the newly established Committee on Enforced Disappearances were elected. The establishment of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances was a significant development, and the Committee would hold its first session on 8 November 2011.

The Human Rights Council held its eighteenth session from 12 to 30 September, and of specific interest to the Committee was the consideration by the Council of the Secretary-General’s report on the death penalty. The Council adopted a resolution requesting him to continue to submit to the Human Rights Council a yearly supplement to his quinquennial report on capital punishment, paying special attention to the imposition of the death penalty on persons younger than 18 years of age at the time of the offence, on pregnant women and on persons with mental or intellectual disabilities.

Ms. Pillay concluded by saying that this would be the Committee’s busiest session ever, in which nine State party’s reports, 15 individual communications and future lists of issues would be considered. In addition there would be a discussion on a draft General Comment on article 14 of the Convention, article 20 would also be considered, as would follow-up on previous concluding observations. The Committee would also meet with the Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture. The agenda was a very heavy burden for a Committee with such a small membership, and a clear sign of the Committee’s commitment to the cause they had embraced, an effective fight against torture and ill-treatment throughout the world.

Discussion

CLAUDIO GROSSMAN, Chairperson of the Committee, welcomed the High Commissioner’s address, saying that the exchange of views was beneficial to the Committee. He said that he and his colleagues would take note of her remarks, especially of the important new Committee on Enforced Disappearances, as enforced disappearances constituted both torture towards the individual concerned and his or her family, and were a crime against humanity. The important Human Rights Council initiative on the death penalty was noted; the Secretary-General’s report was welcomed.

Commenting on the High Commissioner’s presentation, Committee members said it had been specific and helpful, and would make implementation of the work programme more serene.

A member commended the High Commissioner for her courage in tackling human rights issues around the world, in particular in the Arab world and around the Arab Spring. She said horrendous instances of torture had happened, particularly in the Arab world, and that those instances must be pointed out to the Committee.

A member recalled previous High Commissioners who had addressed the Committee in the past, usually calling for reform and the need for easing the reporting burden among States. However Ms. Pillay was the first to talk about implementation of treaty bodies strengthening, and the member thanked her for that important change in focus. Did Ms. Pillay have any thoughts on how, on her travel and interactions, the Committee might be able to help her in her work?

NAVI PILLAY, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, replied that the advanced levels of cooperation between treaty bodies enabled her to have a stronger dialogue with States on the issues. Ms. Pillay said that she was returning fresh from New York where she had witnessed huge interest in treaty bodies. Some voices asked for more exchange with Member States. Ms. Pillay had made it clear that providing resources was the responsibility of Member States. In all her travels she addressed the implementation of recommendations made by the treaty bodies and the Universal Period Review. The next cycle of the Universal Periodic Review would bring in treaty bodies recommendations. The implementation was always taken seriously by Heads of State and senior Ministers, although often recommendations from treaty bodies had not been brought to their attention. An important milestone was showing precise examples of human rights abuses in New York, for instance the situation of one person who was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for writing a letter to the Secretary-General.

Concerning the agenda for the forty-seventh session, a Committee member said that the Committee should schedule a discussion for the session on the current situation in Syria.

CLAUDIO GROSSMAN, Chairperson of the Committee replied that Syria certainly was a topic that would be discussed in the session.

For use of the information media; not an official record

CAT11/027E