UNITED
NATIONS
E
Economic and Social
Distr.
GENERAL
Council
E/CN.4/1996/35
9 January 1996
Original: ENGLISH
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-second session
Item 8 (a) of the provisional agenda
QUESTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF ALL PERSONS SUBJECTED TO ANY FORM
OF DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT, IN PARTICULAR: TORTURE AND OTHER
CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT
Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Nigel S. Rodley, submitted pursuant
to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/37
CONTENTS
Paragraphs
Page
Introduction
1- 2 4
I. MANDATE AND METHODS OF WORK . . . . 3 - 17
II. INFORMATION REVIEWED BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR
WITH RESPECT TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES 18 - 195 10
6
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Austria
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bolivia
20-23
24-25
26-27
28-29
10
11
11
11
30 11
31- 33 12
34-35 12
36
Brazil . . . . . . 37
Bulgaria 38
Burundi
39
12
13
13
13
GE.96-10156 (E)
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 2
CONTENTS ( continued)
Paragraphs Page
Canada . . . . 13
Chile . . . . 13
China . . . . 13
Colombia . . . 14
Côte d'Ivoire . . 16
Cuba 16
Denmark 16
Dominican Republi 16
Ecuador 16
Egypt 16
Equatorial Guinea 17
Ethiopia . 17
France . . 17
Gambia . . 17
Germany . 18
Greece . . 18
India . . 18
Indonesia 20
Iran (Islami 20
Iraq . . . 21
Israel . . 22
Italy . . 23
Jamaica . 23
Japan . . 23
Kenya . . 23
Latvia . . 24
Libyan Arab . 24
Mauritania . 24
Mexico . . . 24
Mongolia . . 25
Morocco . . 26
Myanmar . . 26
Nepal . . . 26
Norway . . . 26
Pakistan . . 26
Peru . . . . 28
Philippines . 30
Republic of . 30
Romania . . 30
Russian Federation . 30
Saudi Arabia . . . . 33
Slovak Republic . . 34
c
c Republic of)
Jamahiriya
Korea
40
41- 42
43-47
48-54
55
56
57
58
59
60-63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70- 77
78- 79
80- 81
82- 87
88- 92
93
94
95
96 - 100
101
102
103
104 - 107
108 - 111
112
113 - 114
115
116
117 - 123
124 - 136
137
138
139
140 - 150
151 - 153
154
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 3
CONTENTS ( continued)
Paragraphs Page
South Africa
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Syrian Arab Republic . .
Switzerland
Togo
Tunisia
Trinidad and Tobago . .
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates . .
United Republic of Tanzania
United States of America
Uzbekistan
Venezuela
Yemen
Yugoslavia
Zaire
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
155 - 158
159
160
161 - 164
165 - 169
170
171
172
173
174 - 178
179
180
181
182 - 185
186
187 - 188
189 - 190
191 - 194
195
34
35
35
35
36
37
37
37
37
37
39
39
39
39
40
40
40
41
41
III.
196 - 201 42
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 4
Introduction
1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on torture, assigned since
April 1993 to Mr. Nigel S. Rodley (United Kingdom) , was renewed for three more
years by the Commission in its resolution 1995/37 B. In conformity with this
resolution the Special Rapporteur hereby presents his third report to the
Commission. Chapter I deals with a number of aspects pertaining to the
mandate and methods of work. Chapter II consists mainly of a review of the
information transmitted by the Special Rapporteur to Governments, as well as
the replies received, from 20 December 1994 to 15 December 1995. Chapter III
contains conclusions and recommendations.
2. In addition to the above-mentioned resolution, several other resolutions
adopted by the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-first session are also
pertinent to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and have been taken into
consideration in examining and analysing the information brought to his
attention with regard to the different countries. These resolutions are, in
particular:
(a) Resolution 1995/24, entitled “Rights of persons belonging to
national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities”, in which the
Commission urged the special rapporteurs, within their respective mandates,
to continue to give due regard to the Declaration on the Rights of Persons
Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities;
(b) Resolution 1995/40, on the promotion of the right to freedom of
opinion and expression, in which the Commission invited the special
rapporteurs to pay attention, within the framework of their mandates, to the
situation of persons detained, subjected to violence, ill-treated or
discriminated against for having exercised the right to freedom of opinion and
expression;
(c) Resolution 1995/41, entitled “Human rights and the administration
of justice, in particular of children and juveniles in detention”, in which
the Commission called upon the special rapporteurs to continue to provide,
wherever appropriate, specific recommendations relating to the effective
protection of human rights in the administration of justice;
(d) Resolution 1995/43, entitled “Human rights and terrorism”, in which
the Commission urged all thematic special rapporteurs to address as
appropriate the consequences of the acts, methods and practices of terrorist
groups in their reports to the Commission;
(e) Resolution 1995/53, entitled “Advisory Services and the Voluntary
Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights”, in which the
Commission invited the special rapporteurs to continue to include in their
recommendations, whenever appropriate, proposals for specific projects to be
realized under the programme of advisory services;
(f) Resolution 1995/57, entitled “Internally displaced persons”, in
which the Commission called upon relevant rapporteurs, in accordance with
their mandates, to seek information on situations which had already created or
could lead to internal displacement;
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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(g) Resolution 1995/75, entitled “Cooperation with representatives of
United Nations human rights bodies”, in which the Commission requested all
representatives of human rights bodies to continue to take urgent steps, in
conformity with their mandates, to help prevent the hampering of access to the
United Nations human rights procedures in any way and to help prevent the
occurrence of intimidation and reprisals against persons who seek to
cooperate, or have cooperated with United Nations human rights procedures, as
well as relatives of victims of human rights violations, and to continue to
include in their reports to the Commission on Human Rights a reference to
allegations of intimidation or reprisal and of hampering of access to
United Nations human rights procedures, as well as an account of action taken
by them in that regard;
(h) Resolution 1995/79, entitled “Rights of the Child”, in which the
Commission recommended that special rapporteurs pay special attention to
particular situations in which children were in danger;
(i) Resolution 1995/80, entitled “Comprehensive implementation of and
follow-up to the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action”, in which the
Commission called upon all special rapporteurs to take fully into account the
recommendations contained in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action
within their mandates;
(j) Resolution 1995/85, entitled “The elimination of violence against
women”, in which the Commission requested other special rapporteurs to
cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur on violence against women in
the performance of the tasks and duties mandated, and in particular to respond
to requests for information on violence against women, its causes and its
consequences;
(k) Resolution 1995/86, entitled “Question of integrating the human
rights of women into the human rights mechanisms of the United Nations”, in
which the Commission requested the special rapporteurs regularly and
systematically to include in their reports information on violations of the
human rights of women;
(1) Resolution 1995/87, entitled “Human rights and thematic
procedures”, in which the Commission requested the thematic special
rapporteurs to include in their reports comments on problems of responsiveness
and the result of analyses, as appropriate, in order to carry out their
mandates even more effectively, and to include also in their reports
suggestions as to areas where Governments might request relevant assistance
through the programme of advisory services administered by the Centre for
Human Rights; the Commission also called on the special rapporteurs to include
in their reports gender-disaggregated data and to address the characteristics
and practice of human rights violations that were specifically or primarily
directed against women, or to which women were particularly vulnerable;
(m) Resolution 1995/88, entitled “Human rights and mass exoduses”, in
which the Commission invited the special rapporteurs to seek information,
where appropriate, on problems resulting in mass exoduses of populations or
impeding their voluntary return home.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 6
I. MANDATE AND METHODS OF WORK
3. The Special Rapporteur has continued to follow the methods of work
described in the first report of his tenure (E/CN.4/1994/31, chap. I)
and approved by the Commission in its resolutions 1994/37, paragraph 13,
and 1995/37 B, paragraph 6.
4. Continuing the practice, reported on last year, of seeking to avoid
unnecessary duplication of the activities of the thematic mechanisms
(E/cN.4/1995/34, paras. 8 and 9), either among themselves or with country
rapporteurs, the Special Rapporteur has been involved in a number of
cooperative initiatives. These include joint urgent appeals and requests for
joint missions. In respect of the former, such appeals have addressed the
effects of proposed or enacted legislation (see communication to the
Government of Peru, paras. 133-134) ; concerns regarding a general situation
or an incident (see below, appeals to Burundi, para. 39, Israel, para. 91,
Colombia, para. 48, the Russian Federation, para. 141, Turkey, para. 177 and
the United Republic of Tanzania, para. 181) ; or concerns in regard to
individual cases (see below, appeals to Cuba, para. 56 and the Sudan,
para. 163) . As for joint missions, the Special Rapporteur has found,
unexpectedly, that some Governments with which he and other thematic
mechanisms have been in touch with a view to a possible joint mission, have
responded less than enthusiastically to the idea, despite the benefits of
avoidance of duplicative demands on official time and resources.
5. The Special Rapporteur is pleased to state that the Government of Chile
rapidly acceded to his request to visit the country and the mission took place
from 21 to 27 August 1995. The report of the visit is contained in Addendum 2
to this report. At the time of preparation of the present report he was also
due to visit Pakistan in December after the Government, following approaches
from the Special Rapporteur (see E/CN.4/1995/34, paras. 11 and 552), had
agreed to a visit. However, the Government decided once more to postpone the
visit four days before it was due to begin. On the other hand, none of the
other member States which he had previously approached (see E/CN.4/1995/34,
para. 11) , that is, Cameroon, India and Indonesia have as yet invited him to
visit their countries. Despite the Government of Venezuela having agreed to a
visit early in 1995 (see E/cN.4/1995/34, para. 865), it did not offer any
dates for a visit, nor otherwise communicate its intentions to the Special
Rapporteur. During the year he approached the Governments of China, Mexico
and Turkey with a view to receiving an invitation to visit their countries.
He is still awaiting responses from these Governments.
6. Within the framework of related activities of the Commission on Human
Rights, the Special Rapporteur participated in the second Meeting of special
rapporteurs/special representatives/experts and chairpersons of working groups
of the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights and of the
advisory services programme, which took place from 29 to 31 May 1995. The
report of the meeting, of which he was Rapporteur, is contained in document
E/CN.4/1996/5O. The Special Rapporteur was unfortunately prevented by lack of
financial resources from attending the Commission's open-ended working group
on a draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. However, he requested
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 7
the Secretariat to make again available to the working group his views on
certain issues, which had already been before it in written form the previous
year (E/CN.4/1994/WG.11/WP.2).
7. Bearing in mind Commission resolution 1995/37 B in which the Commission
considered it desirable that the Special Rapporteur should pursue cooperation
with relevant United Nations programmes, notably that on crime prevention and
criminal justice, the Special Rapporteur attended the Ninth United Nations
Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in
Cairo from 29 April to 8 May 1995. At the Congress, he participated in an
ancillary meeting organized by Penal Reform International (PRI) on a draft
manual prepared by PRI with the aim of making the Standard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners more accessible, especially to prison staff. He
also attended the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing,
from 4 to 15 September 1995, during which he participated in a seminar
organized by the Centre for Human Rights. He drew attention to the position
taken by the meeting of special procedures (see para. 7 above) on the issue of
integration of women's rights into their work and explained how he had sought
to give effect to the policy in his own work. In addition, he was able to
attend the United Nations fiftieth anniversary meeting of the International
Scientific Professional Advisory Council of the United Nations Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme (ISPAC), held in Courmayeur, Italy,
from 15 to 17 October 1995. Although participating on behalf of the
University of Essex Human Rights Centre, he addressed the gathering on the
evolution of United Nations thematic machinery, with particular reference to
his own mandate.
8. The Special Rapporteur considers his annual reports to the Commission
among his most crucial activities. In previous years, the structure, format
and content of the reports have elicited favourable comments in the
Commission. It is with some regret, therefore, that he has been constrained
by limits imposed by the Conference Services Division of the Secretariat on
the length of reports to amend the format this year. The main change is in
chapter II. In the past, this chapter contained increasingly succinct
summaries of information transmitted to Governments, urgent appeals made to
them and their responses, if any, as well as observations in respect of those
countries where allegations suggested that torture might be taking place
extensively. This year the chapter will consist only of brief summaries of
general allegations, statistics of numbers of individual cases transmitted and
responses received and, as relevant, observations. More complete summaries
are to be found in an addendum to the present report (E/CN.4/1996/35/Add.1)
Owing to the heavy burden which has been placed on its resources, the
Conference Service has been unable to provide translation of that addendum,
which is a multilingual document. The information it contains, organized on a
country by country basis, following the order of the main report, is available
only in the language in which the dialogue with each Government has taken
place. This will doubtless cause substantial inconvenience to Governments,
non-governmental organizations and other interested and concerned readers.
The Special Rapporteur shares the dismay that this will be bound to cause.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 8
Follow-up to paragraph S of Commission resolution 1994/3 7 B
9. In paragraph S of its resolution 1994/37 B the Commission on Human Rights
invited the Special Rapporteur to examine questions concerning torture
directed primarily against women and children and conditions conducive to such
torture, and to make appropriate recommendations concerning the prevention of
gender-specific forms of torture and the torture of children. In his report
to the Commission in 1995, the Special Rapporteur addressed the issue of
torture as it pertains to women (E/CN.4/199 5/34, paras. 15-24) . In the
paragraphs below the issue of torture and children is considered.
10. The Special Rapporteur has received information regarding a significant
number of cases where the victims of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment are children. While there is no evidence to suggest
that children suffer torture or ill-treatment in disproportionate frequency
compared with adults or that children are generally subjected to particular
forms of torture or ill-treatment applied uniquely to them in their status as
children, there remains none the less a clear and compelling necessity to
make a separate comment on the issue. This necessity derives from the
consideration that children are necessarily more vulnerable to the effects of
torture and, because they are in the critical stages of physical and
psychological development, may suffer graver consequences than similarly
ill-treated adults.
11. By far the most frequently expressed concerns with respect to children
that have been conveyed to the Special Rapporteur are those relating to
conditions of detention. The Special Rapporteur has received information
indicating that some children have been subjected to lengthy periods of
pre-trial confinement in police lock-ups and other places of detention. In
this context, it should be noted that, as is true with respect to adult
detainees, conditions of pre-trial detention may be particularly conducive to
torture or ill-treatment. Another problem, reported to be widespread in many
regions of the world, is that of overcrowding of children's cells, both in
places of pre-trial detention and in prisons. Some facilities are said to
hold a number of children that is more than three times the officially
proclaimed capacity. The lack of adequate space and facilities has in some
situations resulted in children being held together with adult detainees or
prisoners, a circumstance which leaves them vulnerable to violent attacks, as
well as damaging influence. Even in situations where children are held
separately, prison personnel may often lack the training to deal with the
special requirements of juvenile detention.
12. Children are reportedly often detained in unsanitary conditions, leaving
them exposed to the risk of disease and other health problems. In some cases,
the provision of food is inadequate, resulting in instances of malnutrition
and, in extreme cases, starvation. This problem is manifested in the not
uncommon practice of child detainees being left dependent on family members
bringing food to places of detention or of the detainees or their families
being required to make payments to the authorities in order to receive
adequate and decent food. Many prisons and other detention centres where
children are kept are also bereft of any or adequate medical facilities.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 9
Moreover, the absence of recreational and educative facilities may adversely
effect the mental and emotional well-being and development of detained
children.
13. One class of children that has notably been targeted for torture and
ill-treatment by some police units are the so-called street children. Such
children, in order to survive, live and sometimes work on the streets without
adult supervision or companionship. In various operations aimed at “socially
cleansing” the streets of such children, police have allegedly resorted to
such abuse as severe beatings, sexual assault and, in extreme cases,
extrajudicial executions.
14. In a few countries, corporal punishment may be administered to children
convicted of certain offences. In one country, it was reported that children
as young as 12 years old have been subjected to flogging.
15. Children may be tortured or ill-treated in a surrogate capacity, where
the intended target is in fact the child's parents or other relatives or a
friend. In such cases, the motive for attacking the child may be to induce a
suspect to come out of hiding, to prompt a confession or the provision of
information by an individual connected to the child or to inflict punishment
upon that person.
16. In addition to the international instruments which proscribe torture
generally, the Special Rapporteur would draw attention to the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, particularly article 37, wherein State Parties are
required to ensure, inter alia , that “no child shall be subjected to torture
or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”; that “every
child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the
inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account
the needs of persons of his or her age”; and that “every child deprived of
liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's
best interest not to do so”
17. The recommendations aimed at preventing the practice of torture made in
the report of the Special Rapporteur to the Commission at its fifty-first
session (E/CN.4/1995/34, para. 926) are of course applicable to the situation
of children held in custody. For such children, these recommendations should
be supplemented with the relevant provisions of the United Nations Rules for
the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty and the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the
“Beijing Rules”). Of particular importance in the former instrument are the
provisions of article 17, including that the detention of children “before
trial shall be avoided to the extent possible and limited to exceptional
circumstances”, and of article 67, including that “all disciplinary measures
constituting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment shall be strictly
prohibited, including corporal punishment, placement in a dark cell, closed or
solitary confinement or any other punishment that may compromise the physical
or mental health of the juvenile concerned”. Also to be emphasized are
articles 31 to 37, concerning conditions of the physical environment and
accommodation; articles 49 to 55, concerning the right to adequate medical
care; articles 63 to 65, concerning the strict limitations that are to be
placed on physical restraint and the use of force by authorities; articles 66
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 10
to 71, concerning disciplinary procedures, and articles 81 to 87, concerning
the personnel of institutions of detention, including the requirement of
specialists and staff trained to deal with juveniles. The “Beijing Rules”
contain similar and parallel provisions to the above (see, in particular,
rules 10, 11, 13, 26)
II. INFORMATION REVIEWED BY THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR WITH RESPECT
TO VARIOUS COUNTRIES
18. During the period under review, the Special Rapporteur transmitted 113
urgent appeals to 43 Governments concerning some 410 individuals (at
least 31 known to be women) , as well as several groups of persons, with
regard to whom fears of torture had been expressed. He also sent 55 letters
to 48 Governments containing some 750 cases (about 120 known to be women) or
incidents of alleged torture. If the information received from the sources
contained a critical analysis of a more general nature regarding the
phenomenon of torture, this information was also brought to the attention
of the Governments concerned. In addition, 41 countries provided the
Special Rapporteur with replies on some 330 cases submitted during the current
year, whereas 26 did so with respect to some 330 cases submitted in previous
years.
19. This chapter contains brief summaries of the general allegations
transmitted by letter to Governments, as well as a numerical breakdown of the
individual cases of alleged torture and urgent appeals transmitted to the
respective country, and the cases of allegations and urgent appeals to which
replies were received from Governments. Observations by the Special
Rapporteur have also been included where applicable.
Albania
20. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
information according to which torture or ill-treatment of persons in the
custody of the police was widespread. Such abuse was said to be facilitated
by the frequent failure of the police to bring arrested persons before a judge
within the 24-hour period required by law. The prosecution of police officers
for such misconduct was said to be rare.
21. The Special Rapporteur has in particular received information concerning
the alleged ill-treatment of hunger strikers in August 1994. The strike
had been called by the National Council of the Association of Former
Political Prisoners, Internees and Persecuted Persons in support of demands
for economic compensation for persons formerly imprisoned for political
reasons. On 5 August, after about 2,500 persons had commenced the hunger
strike, the Tirana District court ordered an end to the strike. Police
officers allegedly beat hunger strikers in Pogradec, Durrés and Fier.
On 12 August a gathering of hunger strikers was broken up in Tirana, with
police beating many persons.
22. The Special Rapporteur has also received information according to which
the police have targeted members of the Socialist Party for ill-treatment,
especially in the run-up to and during the national referendum on a draft
constitution conducted in November 1994.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 11
23. In addition, the Special Rapporteur transmitted 27 individual cases.
Algeria
24. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
reports according to which, since the establishment of the state of emergency
in 1992, the security forces have resorted to the torture of detainees during
garde a vue detention, the length of which is often illegal. Whilst in
garde a vue detention, detainees are completely cut off from the outside
world, and their families and lawyers are unable to locate their place of
detention. The method of torture most commonly used by the security forces is
the chiffon (cloth), whereby a detainee is tied to a bench and a cloth is
stuffed into his mouth and large quantities of dirty water mixed with
detergent or other chemicals is poured into his mouth. Other methods used are
burning of the skin with a blowtorch ( chalumeau ) , electric shocks, suspension
by the wrist, sexual abuse, etc.
25. In addition, the Special Rapporteur transmitted three individual cases.
He also sent an urgent appeal on behalf of one person. The Government replied
to all of them.
Argentina
26. The Special Rapporteur received from the Government replies
to 15 individual cases transmitted in 1994.
Observations
27. The Special Rapporteur took note of the comment made by the Government
in its reply to the effect that the responses could not be considered as
definitive since, in most of the cases, the investigations were still under
way. However, during 1995 the Special Rapporteur did not receive additional
information from the Government.
Austria
28. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
reports indicating that a number of foreigners, some of them asylum-seekers,
had been subjected to ill-treatment by police or prison officers. During
periods of pre-expulsion detention ( Schubhaft) , which under law may last for
up to six months, foreigners were said to be most vulnerable to ill-treatment.
Asylum-seekers subjected to ill-treatment were typically reluctant to make any
formal complaints for fear that their asylum applications would be prejudiced.
29. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted one individual case to the
Government.
Bahamas
30. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one urgent appeal to the Government on
behalf of two persons.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 12
Bahrain
31. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information according to which persons arrested by the security forces for
political reasons since December 1994 had been tortured in order to extract
information or “confessions”. The forms of torture reported include severe
beatings, suspension from the limbs for prolonged periods and sexual abuse.
At least 700 persons were said to have been arrested, mainly from the
predominantly Shi'a Muslim districts in Sitra, Jidd Hafs and the
Northern Region. The detainees were typically held incommunicado for
prolonged periods, without charge or trial, in al-Qala and Jaw prisons. A
large number of persons, including many women, were also allegedly beaten or
otherwise ill-treated during house-to-house searches and peaceful protests.
32. With respect to those allegations, the Government replied that from
December 1994 to April 1995 Bahrain had been subjected to a foreign backed
campaign of terror aimed at destabilizing the country with the objective of
creating a fundamentalist regime under foreign control. Under Bahraini law,
torture is a criminal offence and aggrieved persons have the right to seek
redress in the courts. However, no complaints about torture had been filed in
Bahrain.
33. In addition, the Special Rapporteur communicated five individual cases,
to which the Government provided replies. He also transmitted four urgent
appeals on behalf of nine persons and the Government replied to one of those
appeals on behalf of two persons. The Government also replied to an urgent
appeal on behalf of two persons which had been transmitted last year.
Bangladesh
34. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
information according to which local village arbitration councils, known as
salish , had convicted and sentenced a number of persons to public flogging or
death. The salish were said to be traditional institutions without legal
standing established on an ad hoc basis for the purposes of dispute
resolution. The defendants appearing before the salish were almost always
women whose behaviour did not conform to religious or socially accepted norms.
Local clerics play a primary role in the salish and apply Sharia law, often in
contravention to the civil law comprising the Bangladesh Penal Code. The
salish reportedly operate with little interference from legally established
official institutions.
35. In addition, the Special Rapporteur transmitted eight individual cases,
as well as a number of cases transmitted in 1994 regarding which no reply had
been received.
Bolivia
36. The Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf
of 22 trade-unionists arrested in April 1995 in various areas of the
country and the Government replied to it. He also sent an urgent appeal
on behalf of 12 other persons.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 13
Brazil
37. The Special Rapporteur received a reply from the Government with respect
to an urgent appeal he had transmitted in 1994.
Bulgaria
38. The Special Rapporteur transmitted 20 individual cases to the Government.
Burundi
39. The Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf of 12 persons. He
also sent, together with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions, an appeal regarding the situation of refugees in the
border area between Tanzania and Burundi.
Canada
40. The Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of one
person, to which he received a reply from the Government.
Chile
41. The Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government 48 new cases, as
well as three cases updated with further information received from the source.
The Government provided replies with respect to 25 cases. The rest were
transmitted in the month of November and, therefore, the Government did not
have enough time to prepare a reply that could be included in the present
report.
Observations
42. The number of allegations received over the years of treatment falling
within his mandate led the Special Rapporteur to request the Government to
invite him to visit the country. The Government responded promptly and
favourably, the mission taking place in August 1995. The report is contained
in Addendum 2 to the present report.
China
43. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had continued to
receive information indicating that the use of torture and ill-treatment
against persons held in police stations, detention centres, prisons and labour
camps was occurring with frequency. According to the reports, many persons
detained for political reasons were convicted of offences partly or wholly on
the basis of “confessions” that had been obtained through the application of
torture during interrogation.
44. Reports were received of numerous instances of ill-treatment at
Guangzhou No. 1 Reeducation-through-Labour-Centre, Hua county, Guangdong
Province. Production quotas had reportedly been set at levels which in
effect required prisoners, including the sick or disabled, to work for
E/CN. 4/1996/35
page 14
approximately 14 hours per day, seven days per week, performing such tasks as
carrying and loading heavy stones onto boats. Food provisions were reported
to be inadequate and ill prisoners were said to be provided with little or no
medical treatment.
45. The Special Rapporteur was also informed that juveniles detained for
political reasons in Gutsa Detention Centre in Lhasa Tibet were held together
with adult prisoners rather than in the juvenile section of the facility. In
Drapchi prison in Lhasa, adults and juveniles are reportedly kept together
because no separate juvenile section exists. Juveniles are allegedly forced
to do hard labour and to work in unsanitary conditions with adults in
prisons, detention centres, reform-through-labour detachments or
reeducation-through-labour detachments.
46. The Special Rapporteur transmitted 25 individual cases to the Government.
He also sent an urgent appeal on behalf of one person, to which he received a
reply. In addition, he received replies from the Government with respect to
two urgent appeals he had transmitted in 1994.
Observations
47. The Special Rapporteur continues to be concerned by the persistence of
the allegations reaching him. He has written to the Government requesting an
invitation to visit the country. At the time of writing, he was still
awaiting a response.
Colombia
48. The Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government 35 new cases and
retransmitted 50 on which no reply had been received yet. The Government sent
responses regarding most of them. He also sent an urgent appeal, in
conjunction with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions, regarding the situation in the areas of Segovia and Remedios, in
the department of Jthtioquia.
Follow-up to the recommendations included in the report on the visit to the
country carried out by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture in October 1994
( E/cN. 4/1995/111 )
49. By communication dated 28 February 1995, the Government of Colombia
stressed its intention to reinforce its human rights policy, as well as to
establish a commission charged with analysing and giving advice on the
implementation of the recommendations addressed to the Government by the
Special Rapporteurs. In the same letter the Government invited the
Special Rapporteurs to undertake a follow-up visit to the country. It also
invited other thematic rapporteurs and working groups of the Commission to
visit Colombia in the course of 1995. With the same letter the Government
sent a copy of the Presidential Decree setting up a commission charged with
drafting a new code of military criminal justice.
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page 15
50. On 25 April 1995, the Government submitted a tentative schedule for the
visit of each of the different mechanisms. By letter dated 15 May 1995, the
Government reiterated the invitation and sent a document containing the main
guidelines of the human rights policy under the current Government.
51. In a note verbale dated 31 May 1995, the Centre for Human Rights informed
the Government that the special rapporteurs and chairmen of working groups
invited to visit the country wished to obtain, as a question of priority,
detailed information from the Government on the steps taken to implement the
recommendations made in the past by several of them, as well as the obstacles
encountered in implementing them. In the light of the response received, they
would decide on the most appropriate follow-up action.
52. On 13 November 1995 the Government sent information regarding the
composition and the first meeting of the Commission charged with analysing and
giving advice on the implementation of the recommendations made in the
framework of the various international human rights mechanisms.
Observations
53. The Special Rapporteur wishes to express his appreciation to the
Government of Colombia for having replied to most of his communications and
for the invitation to carry out a follow-up visit to the country. He remains
concerned, however, at reports received from non-governmental organizations,
in particular towards the end of the year, which contain allegations of
torture carried out in the course of 1995. The Special Rapporteur is aware
that the Government of Colombia has now begun taking, as yet limited, steps
towards implementing the recommendations included in the above-mentioned
report on the visit to the country, as well as the recommendations made in the
framework of other mechanisms of the United Nations or the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights. These steps, however, have not resulted in an
improvement of the overall situation in the country and they will have to be
pursued in depth. In particular, the Special Rapporteur notes the conclusions
and recommendations of the Committee against Torture at its fifteenth session,
to the effect that information before it appears to indicate the existence of
a systematic practice, that the crime of torture is hardly punished and that
the law of Colombia is not in accordance with several of its obligations under
the Convention against Torture.
54. In view of these considerations the Special Rapporteur concludes that
there is an urgent need to set up a permanent international human rights
mechanism with enough resources to report publicly on the human rights
situation and to monitor human rights violations in situ , as well as to assist
the Government and non-governmental organizations in this field. Such a
mechanism would desirably be complemented by the appointment of a special
rapporteur for Colombia by the Commission on Human Rights. Jth appointment of
this nature should not be seen as a hostile measure against the Government of
Colombia but as a measure in conformity with the seriousness of the human
rights situation. Such a special rapporteur could cooperate with the
permanent mechanism which might be set up by the High Commissioner for Human
Rights at the request of the interested parties, and with any other national
mechanism established by the Government of Colombia.
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Côte d'Ivoire
55. The Special Rapporteur sent one urgent appeal to the Government on behalf
of nine persons.
Cuba
56. The Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government details of 25
individual cases. He also sent two urgent appeals, one on behalf of one person
and the other on behalf of four persons. The latter was transmitted in
conjunction with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Cuba.
Denmark
57. The Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf of one person, to
which the Government provided a reply. The Special Rapporteur also received
further information from the Government in respect to general allegations he
had transmitted the previous year.
Dominican Republic
58. The Special Rapporteur received from the Government replies regarding
four cases transmitted in previous years.
Ecuador
59. The Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government information
on 24 individual cases and received replies on three of them. He also sent
one urgent appeal, to which the Government replied. The Government also
replied to 12 cases that had been transmitted in previous years.
Egypt
60. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had continued to
receive reports indicating that the practice of torture against persons
detained for political reasons was systematic. Such torture was said to occur
at the Headquarters of the Security Services Investigation (SSI) in Lazoghly
Square and at SSI branch offices, as well as in the High Security Prison
(al- ‘Aqrab (Scorpion) Prison) at Tora. Many civilian defendants tried in
recent military court cases allegedly had been coerced through torture to make
incriminating statements. Although a Human Rights Unit was established in
November 1993 within the Public Procurator's Office to investigate reports of
torture, the Unit was said to have failed to make public any information on
the conduct of any investigations that it had undertaken. Few complaints
submitted to the Human Rights Unit by human rights organizations or lawyers
had reportedly been investigated.
61. The Special Rapporteur also notified the Government that he had received
information according to which detainees at police stations throughout Egypt
were frequently subjected to torture or ill-treatment. The methods of torture
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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reported included beatings with leather straps, sticks and electric cables;
suspension in various positions accompanied by heavy beatings; beatings with
solid objects and application of electric shocks. During pre-trial detention
many suspects were allegedly forced to sign police records without knowing
their contents. The practice of such torture was said to be facilitated by
the following factors: the Code of Criminal Procedure did not guarantee an
arrested person the right to seek legal assistance in the stages of
identification and during investigations carried out by police station
officers; under the Emergency Law in effect since 1981 the Ministry of the
Interior was granted full powers to carry out administrative arrests without
judicial or prosecutorial interference; and under recent legal amendments,
police might detain a suspect for up to 11 days without charge or judicial
supervision before presenting the detainee before a court or allowing him or
her to consult a lawyer.
62. The Special Rapporteur transmitted 87 individual cases to the Government.
A reply to those cases provided by the Government was not received in time for
inclusion in this report. The Special Rapporteur also sent one urgent appeal
on behalf of one person, to which the Government provided a reply.
Observations
63. The Special Rapporteur is dismayed that there appears to be no let-up in
allegations suggesting a widespread, persistent incidence of torture. The
observations he made in his previous report (E/CN.4/1995/34, para. 242)
regrettably remain fully applicable.
Equatorial Guinea
64. The Special Rapporteur transmitted three urgent appeals on behalf
of 24 persons. The Government sent replies regarding two of the persons.
Ethiopia
65. The Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of one
person, to which the Government replied. The Government also sent replies
with respect to five cases that had been transmitted by the Special Rapporteur
the previous year.
France
66. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one case, to which the Government
replied. The Government also replied to five cases transmitted the previous
year.
Gambia
67. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one urgent appeal on behalf of
six persons.
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Ge rma fly
68. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
reports indicating that some persons, mostly foreigners, asylum-seekers or
members of ethnic minorities, had been subjected to ill-treatment or torture
by police officers. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted three individual
cases, to which the Government provided replies. In addition, he sent one
urgent appeal, to which the Government provided a reply.
Greece
69. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one urgent appeal on behalf of one
person, to which the Government provided a reply.
India
70. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that torture was practised routinely by the army, the
Border Security Force (BSF) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
against the vast majority of persons arrested for political reasons in Jammu
and Kashmir. Official investigations into allegations of torture, including
those that resulted in custodial deaths, were said to be rare. On the few
occasions when such investigations had taken place, they were carried out by
the security forces themselves, rather than by an independent body. The
investigations were said frequently to conclude that the victim had died in
such circumstances as “cross-fire”, without elaborating upon the evidence on
which the conclusion was based. The Human Rights Cell, established by the
Jammu and Kashmir State Government in June 1994, was reported to be headed by
an inspector general of police who was also in charge of the Kashmir
intelligence service and to incorporate members of the paramilitary forces
and army who themselves had been accused of committing serious human rights
violations.
71. Torture victims or their relatives have reportedly had difficulty in
filing complaints because local police were issued instructions not to file a
First Information Report (FIR) without the permission of higher authorities.
In addition, section 7 of the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers
Act provides that unless approval is obtained from the central Government, “no
prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted . . . against
any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of
the powers of the Act”. This provision was said to allow the security forces
to act with virtual impunity.
72. Doctors treating torture victims in Jammu and Kashmir were reported to
have observed numerous cases of acute renal failure and to have named the
phenomenon “Physical Torture Nephropathy” . The direct cause of the renal
failure is a combination of dehydration during torture and the breakdown of
soft tissue. The condition may lead to chronic kidney damage or even death.
One common means of torture reported is “the roller”, whereby the victims are
forced to lie on their backs and a round pole is rolled over their legs and
bodies with substantial force, often by two officials standing on each end of
the pole and “walking” it over the victim. Rape was said to be carried out
frequently so as to punish women suspected of being sympathetic or related to
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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alleged militants, and to intimidate the local population. Other methods of
torture reported include beatings, forced distortion of joints, application of
electric shocks, suspensions, burns, insertion of metal objects in the body,
plunging into freezing water, dousing with boiling water, amputation of body
parts, such as fingers, and mock executions.
73. In a reply dated 8 December 1995, the Government informed the
Special Rapporteur of the existence in India of various legal provisions
which provided safeguards against the use of torture. These provisions
include: the constitutional right of a person subjected to torture to move
the higher courts for a remedy; the requirement under the Criminal Procedure
Code (CPC) that the police register and investigate complaints of torture; the
right of an arrested person under the CPC to receive a medical examination
upon request to a magistrate; the inadmissibility in court of confessions to
police officers and the requirement that a magistrate ensure that confession
or statements made by an accused are voluntary; the mandate under the CPC that
an inquiry be conducted by a magistrate into any death in police custody; and
the prohibition under the CPC of causing hurt to extort confessions or
information from a person. The Government was currently considering making
legal provisions for payment of financial relief to victims or their families
of certain custodial crimes and the courts had in certain cases ordered such
payments to made. In addition, the National Human Rights Commission had made
several recommendations under its mandate for such compensation, which had
been accepted by the Government.
74. With respect to allegations regarding Jammu and Kashmir, section 7 of the
Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act was aimed at protecting
members of the security forces from vexatious complaints. Nevertheless, the
Government had, without exception, accorded its sanction for the launching of
a prosecution wherever investigations had established the prima facie
culpability of any security forces personnel. Allegations as to the routine
nature of torture, including rape, by the BSF, the CRPF and the Army were
false and part of a propaganda campaign by terrorists to divert the attention
of the international community from the issue of terrorism. This was not to
suggest that no human rights violations had occurred, but any such cases were
promptly investigated and stringent action was taken where appropriate. Any
allegation of a cognizable offence had to be registered by the State police.
Such cases were investigated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)
which functioned independently without interference or influence from the
security forces and State police. The security forces, including the Army and
BSF maintained their own statutes prescribing severe punishment for acts of
indiscipline by their members. They also had their own courts of inquiry to
try cases such as torture, deaths in custody and rape.
75. Contrary to the allegations, the Human Rights Cell of Jammu and Kashmir
was not headed by a police officer, but rather by the Division Commissioner,
Kashmir, a member of the Civil Service. A representative of the CID had also
been included, as the CID was the primary agency for investigating complaints.
The Security Forces were represented on the Cell so as to provide for better
coordination and effective follow-up action on investigations. The allegation
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that police had instructions not to file an FIR without the permission of
higher authorities was incorrect, as no such orders had ever been issued.
Rather, the police were duty-bound to register such complaints and were
subject to legal and departmental action if they failed to do so.
76. The Special Rapporteur transmitted 50 individual cases and received
replies to 43 of these cases. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted two
urgent appeals on behalf of two persons and the Government replied to both
appeals. The Government also provided replies with respect to 13 cases
transmitted the previous year.
Observations
77. The Special Rapporteur considers that the observations he made in his
previous report (E/CN.4/1995/34, para. 379) continue to be applicable. While
cognizant of the misgivings expressed concerning the National Human Rights
Commission, the Special Rapporteur believes that it may have both the will and
the power to bring redress in certain cases. He continues to believe,
however, that the situation remains such that a visit to the country would be
desirable and he regrets that the Government has not yet deemed it appropriate
or opportune to invite him.
Indonesia
78. The Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government information
on 20 individual cases. He also sent five appeals on behalf of six persons.
The Government replied to two of those appeals.
Observations
79. The Special Rapporteur considers that the information he continues
to receive makes the observations contained in his previous report
(E/cN.4/1995/34, para. 401) of continued applicability. He notes the
December 1995 visit to the country by the High Commissioner for Human Rights
and hopes that the Government of Indonesia will now respond positively to the
Special Rapporteur's repeated requests to undertake a visit himself.
Iran (Islamic Republic of )
80. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information according to which persons detained for political reasons were
often held incommunicado, sometimes for years, and were almost always denied
access to lawyers. The procedures under which such persons were detained and
tried typically went unpublicized, but many detainees were said to be held
without charge or trial. Most such detainees had allegedly been tortured and
a number had been denied access to medical care.
81. The Special Rapporteur also reminded the Government of a number of cases
transmitted in 1994, regarding which no reply had been received. In addition,
he transmitted 2 urgent appeals on behalf of 10 persons.
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Iraq
82. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information concerning the enactment by the Revolutionary Command Council of a
number of criminal penalties involving physical mutilation, including
amputation of the hands, feet and ears and branding of marks on the forehead.
Several thousand offenders were said to have had such punishment carried out
against them. It was reported that persons sentenced to receive a tattoo had
instead had marks branded upon them with hot instruments. Doctors were often
allegedly forced to carry out amputation or branding without anaesthesia and
doctors refusing to perform such mutilation were reported to have been
targeted for punishment.
83. The Special Rapporteur also informed the Government of cases he had
received of reported execution of members of the political opposition. In
each case, when family members received the bodies of the alleged victims,
they reportedly observed marks of torture, including gouging out of the eyes.
84. The Government provided a reply to the Special Rapporteur with respect to
the issue of amputation. It asserted that the penalty of amputation of the
hand or the ear and tattooing, which was imposed on thieves and evaders of
military service, could not be viewed in isolation from the general situation
in Iraq, including the devastating effects on all aspects of life caused by
the economic embargo. Theft and armed robbery gravely threatened the
security, property and lives of citizens. In those circumstances, which
needed to be viewed within the social context of Iraq, the penalties were
needed as a deterrence. Amputation of the hand for theft was permissible
under Islamic Sharia, which constituted one of the sources in the Iraqi legal
system. The penalty had been applied only in situations of extreme necessity
and in a limited number of cases. The measure was provisional and linked to
the current situation. The purpose of tattooing was to distinguish criminals
from persons who had been mutilated in the recent war. There had been a
substantial reduction in the number of offences to which the penalties
applied.
85. The Government maintained that allegations concerning the imprisonment of
medical practitioners who refused to implement the decrees were unfounded and
false. In this regard the Government sent copies of five letters signed by
doctors stating that they had not been subjected to any form of harassment or
pressure by the authorities or their agents and that they practised their
medical professions and enjoyed a normal life with their families.
86. The Special Rapporteur also sent 28 individual cases, and the Government
replied to S of those cases.
Observations
87. The Special Rapporteur notes the conclusion of the Special Rapporteur on
Iraq, in his interim report to the General Assembly (A/5O/734, para. 61) , that
the amputation decrees “remain gross violations of human rights and an offence
to the population as a whole and, in particular, to the individuals who must
endure their cruel and unusual punishments”. He is not convinced by the
Government's denial of coercing doctors to perform the amputations, as he
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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cannot bring himself to believe that any physician would willingly perform
acts so repugnant to hallowed norms of professional ethics. Even to request
such acts is an unwarranted offence to the ethics of the medical profession.
Israel
88. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had continued to
receive information according to which Palestinians undergoing interrogation
by the General Security Service (GSS or Shin Bet ) are often subjected to
torture or ill-treatment. The methods of torture reported include: beatings
all over the body, sometimes with cables; hooding, sometimes with dirty and
wet sacks which interfere with respiration; prolonged standing or sitting in
painful and contorted positions (shabeh); sleep deprivation; confinement in
closet shaped rooms ( kahzana ) ; food deprivation; threats of disablement; and
continuous subjection to loud music.
89. Israeli Criminal Procedure Law permits persons charged with State
security offences to be held incommunicado for up to 30 days, the first 15
of which may be kept secret. Such periods of incommunicado detention create
conditions which facilitate the practice of torture. Military orders
applying to the occupied territories were said to permit detention without
judicial review for up to 11 days and denial of access to a lawyer for a
total of 90 days on security grounds.
90. The Landau Commission guidelines sanctioning “the exertion of a moderate
measure of physical pressure” were allegedly applied in a way so as to allow
for torture and ill-treatment. Because the guidelines are secret, it was
impossible to assess the extent to which the above-mentioned practices were
consistent with or a departure from them. The ministerial committee which
meets monthly to review the guidelines was said to have allowed for the
increased use of physical pressure in the aftermath of the October 1994
suicide bombing in Tel Aviv.
91. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted to the Government seven
individual cases and an urgent appeal on behalf of one person, to which the
Government provided a reply. In addition, he transmitted an urgent appeal in
conjunction with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions and the Chairman of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention,
concerning the situation of prisoners held at the Al-Khyam prison, in the
Marjouyun region of south Lebanon.
92. Finally, the Special Rapporteur made an appeal regarding the content of
proposed legislation which reportedly was due to come before the Israeli
Parliament (Knesset) , the purpose of which was to incorporate the Convention
against Torture in the domestic law of Israel. The Special Rapporteur
expressed concern that an unofficial translation of the text of the proposed
legislation, which defined torture as “severe pain or suffering, whether
physical or mental, except for pain or suffering inherent in interrogation
procedures or punishment according to law”, could have the effect of
legalizing practices that were irreconcilable with the purposes of the
Convention (to prohibit, prevent and punish both the crime of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) . The Government
replied that the above-cited text was only a proposal for a draft and that it
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would have to go through various stages of the legislative process before it
could be tabled in the Knesset in the form of a bill. Internal governmental
discussions on the proposal would address the points raised by the Special
Rapporteur.
Italy
93. The Special Rapporteur transmitted three individual cases, to which the
Government sent replies. The Government also provided the Special Rapporteur
with follow-up information to a number of cases he had transmitted the
previous year.
Jamaica
94. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that children as young as 9 and 10 years old were held
in police lock-ups, including Halfway Tree and Central Lock-up in Kingston,
for long periods, sometimes in the same cells as adults. At the time of
arrest and while detained in lock-ups, some children were allegedly subjected
to physical and/or mental abuse during interrogation and were beaten and/or
placed in dark cells, often in solitary confinement, as methods of discipline.
Children are reportedly held in cells for up to 24 hours a day without
adequate diet, bedding or sanitary facilities, recreation or any other
activities. It was also reported that at the above-mentioned lock-ups the
cells are overcrowded; that children are forced to defecate into waste buckets
that often overflow in their cells; that sewage systems outside the cells are
inoperative; that children have to sleep on wet floors without any form of
bedding; and that insect and vermin infestation is rampant. In addition,
children were said to have little or no access to legal aid and social
assistance while in the lock-ups and those injured or otherwise suffering
ill-health appeared to be denied prompt medical attention.
Japan
95. The Government provided a reply to the Special Rapporteur with respect to
one case transmitted the previous year.
Kenya
96. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that the use of torture by police to obtain
“confessions” was almost systematic. The methods of torture reported include:
beatings and whippings on different parts of the body, especially the feet;
suspension in a contorted position, accompanied by beatings; submersion in
water; rape; genital abuse, including by insertion of objects into the vagina
and pulling the penis or pricking it with pins.
97. Police officials reportedly often refuse to bring torture victims to
hospital for medical treatment. When such victims are taken to hospital, they
are allegedly kept chained to their beds. Persons so hospitalized were said
to be treated usually by government doctors who were under pressure to
downplay the nature of a victim's injury or to falsify death certificates and
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post-mortem reports. Some doctors who had criticized the police were said to
have suffered adverse repercussions, including loss of job or government
housing, or transferral to another post.
98. Women were reported to be particularly vulnerable to torture or
ill-treatment. Cases of rape by the police or security forces allegedly often
go uninvestigated or are inadequately investigated. Prosecutions of officials
for rape were said to be rare and any punishment was limited to dismissal or
transfer to another post. Women in police custody were sometimes placed in
the same cell as men, rendering them potential targets of sexual abuse by male
detainees.
99. In a reply dated 28 November 1995 the Government stated that it
categorically denied that torture was systematically used by police to obtain
confessions from persons under arrest, persons in police custody or persons
facing criminal charges. The Constitution of Kenya explicitly forbade
torture, confessions obtained thereby were excluded from evidence in criminal
trials and a right of redress by way of a direct petition to the High Court of
Kenya was available to alleged victims. These considerations served as a
deterrent against the use of torture by law enforcement officers, who were
also forbidden by police law and regulations from subjecting suspects to
torture. Contrary to the allegation, women in police custody were placed in
separate cells from men.
100. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted six individual cases and the
Government replied to two of those cases. He also reminded the Government of
a number of cases transmitted in 1994, regarding which no reply had been
received.
Latvia
101. The Special Rapporteur transmitted allegations with respect to a group
of asylum-seekers who had allegedly been ill-treated in detention.
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
102. The Special Rapporteur made one urgent appeal to the Government on
behalf of a group of persons.
Mauritania
103. The Special Rapporteur transmitted two urgent appeals on behalf
of 12 persons and the Government sent replies regarding 6 of the persons.
Mexico
104. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information according to which torture continues to be largely practised in
the framework of judicial investigations, with the purpose of intimidating the
detainees and obtaining confessions. Such treatment was said to occur in
spite of reforms introduced in the federal law in 1992 designed to prevent and
punish torture by inter alia increasing the penalties against those found
responsible for such practices.
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105. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted to the Government 21 new cases.
The Government replied to three cases and sent a report of the National Human
Rights Commission on its activities with regard to the conflict in Chiapas.
106. In addition, the Special Rapporteur transmitted 4 urgent appeals on
behalf of 23 persons, and the Government provided replies with respect
to 22 of them.
Observations
107. The Special Rapporteur appreciates the responses received from the
Government, especially in the cases where the National Human Rights Commission
has concluded that torture has taken place, and he looks forward to learning
of progress in the cases initiated against those accused of responsibility.
His continuing concern about the situation led him to request an invitation
from the Government to visit the country. At the time of writing he was still
awaiting a response.
Mongolia
108. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that a number of persons held in prisons in Mongolia
had starved to death or were suffering from malnutrition because they had
received inadequate provisions of basic food. Of 90 deaths occurring in the
country's prisons from autumn 1993 to autumn 1994, between 15 and 30 were
officially cited as having resulted from starvation. In a number of other
cases of deaths caused by illness, malnutrition may have constituted a
contributing factor.
109. The starvation of prisoners was attributed in part to the implementation
of article 11.3 of the Law on the Prison Service and Custodial Sentence, which
provides that “prisoners ... will be responsible, through labour, for the cost
of food, clothing, bedding, and for power and heating of living quarters”. As
a consequence of Mongolia's transformation to a market oriented economy, many
prison industries had become non-viable and the ability of prisoners to work
for adequate rations was greatly hampered. The normal prison diet was said to
provide prisoners with a low-calorie and unbalanced nutritional intake.
110. Many of those persons who had died in penitentiaries from starvation
reportedly had been starving or malnourished already when they arrived from
pre-trial custody. Their condition allegedly resulted from the practice of
using food deprivation as a means to coerce a detainee into confessing to a
crime. Prisoners failing to confess under interrogation were allegedly
returned to their cells on reduced or no rations for several days before being
returned for a further round of interrogation. The State Prosecutor
reportedly found that 274 of 700 remand prisoners detained at Gants Hudag
prison from April 1994 until late 1994 were suffering from malnutrition,
and 7 had died.
111. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted one individual case of alleged
death from starvation.
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Morocco
112. The Special Rapporteur transmitted nine cases to the Government, to
which it provided responses. He also transmitted one urgent appeal on behalf
of 18 persons.
Myanmar
113. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information according to which torture and ill-treatment of ethnic minorities
was occurring in the course of counter-insurgency operations against armed
opposition groups. Persons performing forced unpaid labour on construction
projects and forced porter duty for the army ( tatmadaw ) were also said to be
vulnerable to such abuses.
114. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted 38 individual cases to the
Government. In addition, he sent S urgent appeals on behalf of 13 persons and
the Government replied to 3 appeals on behalf of 9 persons.
Nepal
115. The Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal concerning the alleged
deportation of a substantial number of Tibetans from Nepal to Tibet, to which
the Government provided a reply.
Norway
116. The Government provided follow-up information with respect to an urgent
appeal concerning three persons which had been transmitted the previous year.
Pakistan
117. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
reports indicating that torture continued to occur routinely in police
stations and frequently in military or paramilitary detention centres
and jails throughout Pakistan. Torture was allegedly inflicted to gain
information, to punish, humiliate or intimidate, to take revenge or to extract
money from detainees or their families. The methods of torture reported
include rape; beatings with sticks, hose pipes, leather belts and rifle butts;
kicking with heavy boots; upside down hangings; electric shocks applied to the
genitalia and knees; cheera (forced stretching apart of the victim's legs,
sometimes in combination with kicks to the genitalia) ; sleep deprivation;
prolonged blindfolding; and boring of holes with an electric drill into parts
of the victim's body.
118. Police reportedly often use excessive and disproportionate force during
crowd control operations. While conducting house-to-house searches during
operations in Karachi between June 1992 and November 1994 and beginning again
in May 1995, the army would cordon off entire sections of the city, most
frequently Liaqatabad, Lines Area, Shah Faisal Colony and Paposh Nagar, and
allegedly round up, detain, blindfold and beat persons. Activists of the
Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM) political party were reported to be targeted
particularly during such operations.
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119. Police and other law enforcement personnel were alleged frequently to
disregard legal safeguards contained in the Police Rules and the Code of
Criminal Procedure of Pakistan concerning arrest and detention procedures.
Arrested persons were sometimes held incommunicado and without charge, their
arrest or detention going unrecorded, rendering them vulnerable to torture or
ill-treatment. In many instances, victims of torture or ill-treatment
reportedly were unable effectively to register complaints with the police,
as officials either refused to register First Information Reports (FIRs)
distorted the complaint contained in the FIR or delayed investigatory
proceedings. Many persons were dissuaded from registering complaints for fear
of retaliation and further abuse from police. Medical reports and post-mortem
reports were in some cases allegedly falsified so as to support the police
version of events.
120. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted to the Government 18 individual
cases, as well as 2 urgent appeals on behalf of 4 persons. The Government
replied to 29 cases which had been transmitted by the Special Rapporteur the
previous year.
121. The Government responded to the general allegations transmitted by the
Special Rapporteur in his letter of 21 July 1994. The Government noted that
individual cases of excesses occurred in Pakistan, but that such cases did not
represent the official policy of the Government. Allegations of torture were
immediately investigated by the appropriate authorities and action was taken
against those found guilty. Many of the cases transmitted by the Special
Rapporteur occurred before the present Government had assumed office and the
incidents of human right violations had decreased during the tenure of the
present Government. The Government had taken steps to ensure protection of
and respect for human rights, including the establishment of the Human Rights
Cell. Under its mandate, the Human Rights Cell was empowered, inter alia ,
to submit opinions, recommendations, proposals and reports on legislative,
administrative and certain judicial provisions for the protection of human
rights; to draw the attention of the Government to situations in the country
where human rights were violated and to make proposals to remedy the
situation; to promote and ensure the harmonization of national legislation,
regulations and practices with those international human rights instruments to
which the State was a party; to assist in the formulation of programmes for
human rights education and research; and to monitor specific incidents of
human rights violations as and when desired by the Government.
122. With regard to general allegations transmitted by the Special Rapporteur
concerning the prevalence of sexual abuse, including rape, of women held in
police custody, the Government had taken measures to provide for the
protection of women during interrogation, including the establishment of
women's police stations where the police officials were all women. Despite
financial constraints, the Government was planning to open other such stations
throughout the country. The Government had also incorporated in the Pakistan
Penal Code an executive order that women should not be held in police stations
overnight and should only be interrogated in the presence of their husbands or
close relatives.
/CN. 4/1996/35
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Observations
123. At the time of writing of the present report, the Government had
just informed the Special Rapporteur that a visit planned to take place
from 14 to 23 December 1995 had to be postponed because of the unexpected
unavailability of the Interior Minister and other concerned officials. It was
hoped that alternate dates for the visit early in 1996 would be proposed to
the Special Rapporteur. He will inform the Commission at its fifty-second
session of developments in the oral presentation of his report.
Peru
124. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had continued to
receive reports of repeated use of torture by the security forces as a means
of punishment, intimidation or obtaining a confession, especially against
persons detained on charges of terrorism or related offences. This practice
has been facilitated by emergency criminal legislation that restricts rights
to defence and expands police powers to detain individuals and hold them
incommunicado for a period of 15 days or more.
125. The new Penal Code, in force since 1991, has not explicitly incorporated
the offence of torture as such. The new criminal legislation has even
repealed provisions punishing unlawful harassment and coercion.
126. According to information received, the main instrument the State has
been using to deal with the armed subversion has been systematic recourse to
states of emergency in extensive areas of the country, where the armed forces
exercise not only military but also political control. In these areas army
personnel, sometimes accompanied by self-defence patrols, together with police
officers, especially from the National Jthti-Terrorism Department (DINCOTE)
frequently resort to torture, including rape and sexual abuse.
127. It has also been reported that, as part of armed counter-subversive
operations conducted by the security forces, some of their members have
repeatedly harassed members of the non-combatant civilian population. This
behaviour is not only designed to obtain information on the movements of armed
guerrilla columns or confessions of membership of armed organizations, but to
serve as reprisals against villagers believed to have supported the armed
opposition groups.
128. The remedy of habeas corpus, for its part, has been ineffective in
protecting individuals from arbitrary detention and protecting their physical
and mental integrity. Most habeas corpus applications in the areas declared
to be under a state of emergency have been ruled inadmissible on the grounds
that under a state of emergency a constitutional remedy for protecting
restricted rights cannot be admitted.
129. In these circumstances, prosecutors and judges have appeared incapable of
guaranteeing detainees' physical and psychological integrity, inter alia for
the following reasons. Most judges and prosecutors of first instance are
temporary and fear that investigating or bringing charges of torture will
create conflicts with the police or military authorities; inertia discourages
attempts to resolve an extremely complex problem which, if attacked at the
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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root, might even call the validity and legality of many criminal trials into
question. Provincial prosecutors who attempt to investigate charges of human
rights violations, including torture, particularly in the emergency areas,
have often been thwarted by members of the armed forces. In addition, cases
of this type generally come under the jurisdiction of the military courts, in
which investigations are rarely completed.
130. Furthermore, the injured party himself often fails to bring charges for
fear of reprisals during detention or even after release. His top priority is
to recover his freedom, and for the sake of his own freedom and that of his
family he is not usually prepared to subject himself to new investigations.
131. According to the complainants, the foregoing circumstances explain why
practically no member of the army or National Police has been punished for
practising torture in recent years.
132. In addition, the Special Rapporteur transmitted 19 individual cases.
The Government replied to 14 of them, as well as to 4 cases that had been
transmitted the previous year.
133. The Special Rapporteur, in conjunction with the Special Rapporteurs on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and on the independence of
judges and lawyers, as well as the Chairman of the Working Group on Enforced
or Involuntary Disappearances, sent a communication to the Government
regarding the amnesty laws promulgated in June and July 1995. The first of
these laws grants general amnesty to all military, police or civil officials
who are under investigation or have been condemned for human rights violations
in the framework of detentions carried out for terrorist activities. The
second declares that the amnesty is not subject to judicial review and does
not constitute a breach of the Constitution or of international obligations.
According to the information received, following the promulgation of these
laws several members of the security forces already sentenced or under
investigation for human rights violations that fall under the above-mentioned
mandates were released.
134. The Special Rapporteurs considered inter alia that these laws denied
the right to an effective remedy for victims of human rights violations and,
therefore, were contrary to the spirit of various international human rights
instruments.
135. The Government replied that the amnesty law had been promulgated as
part of the peace process and in conjunction with the “reformed terrorist law”
which benefited more than 5,000 persons who had been found guilty and
sentenced. It was enacted by Congress on the basis of article 102,
paragraph 6 and article 139, paragraph 13 of the Constitution, which
give Congress the power to grant amnesty. Article 55 of the Constitution
stipulates that international treaties concluded by Peru are part of national
law and therefore subject to the constitutional regime. Thus, not only does
the constitutional power of Congress to grant amnesty not contradict the
relevant treaties, but those treaties do not expressly prohibit the
implementation of articles 102 and 139 of the Constitution.
/CN. 4/1996/35
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Observations
136. The Special Rapporteur appreciates the responses of the Government to the
information he has transmitted. Some of these are not, however, sufficient to
allay concern about the allegations. As regards the amnesty, the Special
Rapporteur would point out that, both under general international law and
under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, States are obliged to investigate allegations of
torture, ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice and provide means of
redress, including compensation, to victims. It is axiomatic that a State's
national law may not be invoked to avoid its obligations under international
law. Article 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties sets forth,
in this regard, that “a party may not invoke the provisions of its internal
law as justification for its failure to perform a treaty”.
Philippines
137. The Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government 11 individual cases
of alleged torture.
Republic of Korea
138. The Special Rapporteur made one urgent appeal on behalf of six persons.
The Government provided replies to 11 cases which had been transmitted by the
Special Rapporteur the previous year.
Romania
139. The Special Rapporteur transmitted two individual cases to the
Government.
Russian Federation
140. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
reports concerning the alleged torture or ill-treatment of persons in the
course of operations conducted by the armed forces in the Chechen Republic
since December 1994. According to the reports, many detainees held in prison
camps were beaten systematically in order to extract from them confessions
admitting support of or loyalty to Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev. Many such
incidents occurred in January and February 1995 at “filtration points” in
Grozny and Mozdok, as well as in investigation-isolation prisons established
in Pyatigorsk and Stavropol. It was reported that persons detained at
filtration points were not necessarily those involved in the armed conflict,
but rather anyone that might be used in exchange for captured Russian
soldiers.
141. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted six individual cases to
the Government. In addition, he sent two urgent appeals concerning the
situation in the Chechen Republic, in one of which he was joined by the
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
The Government provided a reply to the joint appeal.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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Follow-up to the mission of the Special Rapporteur to the Russian Federation
142. The Special Rapporteur undertook a mission to the Russian Federation
from 17 to 28 July 1994. His report on that mission is contained in document
E/CN.4/1995/34/Add.1. Pursuant to resolutions 1995/37 B, paragraph 11
and 1995/87 of the Commission on Human Rights, concerning follow-up work
relating to country visits, the Special Rapporteur transmitted a letter to the
Government on 10 July 1995 requesting information on measures it had taken to
implement the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur in his report.
In particular, the Special Rapporteur sought to ascertain whether steps had
been taken to remove from confinement in centres of detention on remand
(“isolators”) the approximately 71,000 persons detained in excess of the
officially proclaimed capacity of existing institutions (the possible release
pending trial of all non-violent first-time offenders had been suggested by
the Special Rapporteur) ; whether legislative measures had been taken in order
to overcome the existing restrictions on the release of suspects on bail or
on recognizance, especially as regards suspected first-time non-violent
offenders; whether the new Code of Criminal Procedure had been adopted and,
if so, whether it gave effect to article 22 of the Constitution, which places
all deprivation of freedom under judicial authority; whether any programme
to build new remand centres and/or to modernize the existing ones had been
established; and whether any measure had been taken to ensure that all inmates
in remand centres were provided with adequate food and medical assistance.
143. In communications dated 14 and 15 September and 13 October 1995, the
Government informed the Special Rapporteur as to the measures that had been or
were to be taken pursuant to the recommendations in his report. A summary of
some of the main points contained therein is provided in the paragraphs below.
144. In April 1995 the State Duma of the Federal Assembly, in commemoration
of the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War), adopted an amnesty
for 300,000 persons, falling within a number of categories, who had not
committed serious offences. In addition, a draft penal code was before the
State Duma, under which many existing offences would be decriminalized and
some 90 per cent of the articles of the existing Penal Code would be made more
humane. Non-custodial sentences were prescribed for almost 60 per cent of
offences and currently applied forms of punishment would be supplemented with
new non-custodial forms or punishment involving less harsh conditions of
imprisonment. Also, a new penal law enforcement code had passed the first
reading in the State Duma. That code had as its aim a shift of emphasis from
severe punitive measures to the encouragement of law-abiding behaviour on the
part of prisoners.
145. In reforming the Russian prison system, special attention had been
being given to improving conditions in remand centres, a process which
required substantial funding. Towards this end, a decision was made
on 30 December 1993 on measures to be taken during 1994 and 1995 to enhance
the material and technical resources available to remand centres and prisons
run by the Interior Ministry and to improve social benefits for the employees
of such institutions. A further decision was taken on 8 November 1994 for a
federal programme for the building and rebuilding of remand centres and
prisons run by the Interior Ministry and for construction of housing for
the staff of such institutions over the period to the year 2000. In
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pursuance of these decisions, the capacity of remand centres was in 1994
raised by 6,070 places, including 4,570 added as a result of new construction.
There were overall plans to increase the capacity of remand centres and
prisons by 113,200 places, including 33,600 places as a result of new building
and 29,700 as a result of rebuilding.
146. As the Special Rapporteur noted in his report, the fact that in many
cases investigating bodies and courts impose preventive detention without
sufficient grounds, or delay investigation or hearing of criminal cases,
constitutes a major reason for the overcrowding of remand centres. These
matters had been drawn to the attention of the Ministry of Justice, the
Supreme Court and the Office of the Procurator-General and, consequently, the
Ministry of Justice issued an order that the consideration of criminal cases
by the courts should be accelerated. On 29 September 1994 the Plenum of the
Supreme Court took a decision expressing concern at the shortcomings in the
judicial monitoring of compliance with legal procedures and the proper use by
investigating bodies and procurators of preventive detention and extensions of
detention, and outlining remedial measures. In addition, a decision agreed
with the appropriate State machinery was taken whereby some convicted
prisoners whose sentences had not yet been implemented would be removed from
overcrowded remand centres and prisons and transferred to temporary remand
centres set up within certain penal colonies, thus improving their conditions
of detention. During the first three months of 1995, 12,300 prisoners were
transferred in this way. Moreover, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of
Health and the country's medical industry were examining the possibility of
removing from various remand centres in-house psychiatric assessment units
located on prison premises and occupying a total area of about 2,000 square
metres. Finally, in order to remedy the overburdening of staffing resources,
the Government adopted a decision in August 1994 to raise the staffing ratio
in remand centres and prisons by 25 per cent, from a staff-prisoner ratio
of 1:6 to 1:4.
147. On 21 June 1995 the State Duma of the Federal Assembly adopted the
Federal Act on the detention of suspects and persons accused of having
committed crimes, which unified legal standards concerning the rules for the
detention of suspects and accused persons in various law enforcement agency
establishments. Under section 4 of the Act, “detention must conform with
the principles of lawfulness, the equality of all citizens before the law,
humane treatment and respect for human dignity, with the Constitution of the
Russian Federation, with the principles and standards of international law and
with international agreements signed by the Russian Federation, and must not
be accompanied by torture or other acts intended to cause physical or moral
suffering to suspects or accused persons who are being held in custody”
Under the Act, the detention of suspects and accused persons is to be based
exclusively on the presumption of innocence, and discrimination against
suspects is absolutely prohibited. The use of physical force, “special
means”, gas pistols or firearms is regulated. Detainees must be released
immediately upon the expiry of the statutory period of detention.
Implementation of certain clauses of the Act would be postponed
until 1 January 1998, because questions regarding the strengthening of the
material and technical base remained unsettled. These concern the allocation
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of individual bunks to all detainees, without exception, and the extension of
the standard space per person in a cell to four square metres (from the two
and a half square meters specified at present)
148. A joint group of experts from the Russian Federation and the
Council of Europe, was engaged in a project to harmonize Russian
legislation with European standards. At the first meeting in Strasbourg
from 14 to 16 June 1995, the experts identified main areas of activity, which
will cover the expert evaluation of Russian legislation and judicial practice
in the application of criminal penalties and the drafting of recommendations
on the subject, as well as the provision of practical assistance in the
specific area of training. There are plans for expert visits to places of
detention, meetings with the staff of such institutions and lectures on
guaranteeing human rights in the prison system in accordance with European
practice. The group's work is to be carried out jointly with the activities
of two similar groups of experts from the Russian Federation and the Council
of Europe dealing with reform of the Russian legislation governing penal
matters and criminal procedure and the reform of the judicial system. Its
recommendations will be regularly reported to the State Duma of the Federal
Assembly of the Russian Federation, and will also be used in practical work to
improve the conditions in which detainees are held in the Russian Federation.
Observations
149. The Special Rapporteur very much appreciates the constructive responses
of the Government by way of follow-up to the report on his visit. He believes
that the object of various programmes referred to is to put an end to the
overcrowding in pre-trial detention centres. He does not, however, feel that
this problem, which results in appalling conditions for the detainees, will be
sufficiently rapidly alleviated by the measures so far taken. In this
respect, he draws the Commission's attention to the recommendations of the
Human Rights Committee urging the Government “to refrain from placing
first-time non-violent and petty offenders in detention centres”
(CCPR/C/79/Add.54, para. 35).
150. As far as the situation in Chechnya is concerned, the Special Rapporteur
shares the Human Rights Committee's “deep concern about the large number of
reported cases of torture [ and] ill-treatment of the persons . . . in ‘reception
centres' and ‘filtration camps'” (CCPR/C/79/Add.54, para. 29).
Saudi Arabia
151. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that the torture and ill-treatment of prisoners in
Priman Prison in Jeddah was widespread. It was reported that the prison had
insufficient space for detainees to sleep, that temperatures sometimes reached
as high as 54 degrees Celsius and that it lacked medical facilities to treat
prisoners, many of whom were ill.
152. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted to the Government 7 individual
cases and 3 urgent appeals on behalf of 13 persons.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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153. In addition, the Special Rapporteur received a reply to allegations of
ill-treatment of Iraqi refugees that he had transmitted the previous year
(E/cN.4/1995/34, paras. 615-626) . In this respect, the Government replied
that the authorities at the national and local levels had treated the refugees
in the same way as Saudi citizens and in some cases had accorded them special
privileges to help them to maintain their traditions and preserve their
identity. The refugees were treated in accordance with customary
international law and the Geneva Conventions concerning the law of war,
when they had been considered prisoners of war. After they were recognized
as refugees, the Government had treated them according to international
instruments concerning refugees, or Saudi national law, consisting of the
Islamic Sharia. Initially, there were a few incidents involving infringements
by some soldiers with little or no experience of refugee problems, but persons
responsible for those infringements were invariably punished in accordance
with the Islamic Sharia, as a result of which the situation at the camps had
been brought under control. Refugees suspected of committing offences were
investigated under the normal procedures in force in the country, in
accordance with the Islamic Sharia. Contrary to allegations, no refugees had
died as a result of the investigation methods applied. Corporal punishment
might have been required under the terms of legal judgements handed down
against law-breakers. However, the authorities had endeavoured to restrict
and even avoid its application to the refugees in the light of their
particular status, and the penalty had been commuted and not used against
any of the refugees.
Slovak Republic
154. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one individual case, to which the
Government provided a reply.
South Africa
155. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that, despite the advent of a number of reforms in
the operations of the South African Police Service (SAPS) , torture and
ill-treatment of persons in police custody continued to occur in the country.
Most incidents of torture were said to take place during the 48 to 72 hour
period during which police are authorized under the Criminal Procedure Act to
detain an arrested person before presenting him or her to court. The methods
of torture reported include beatings, rape and indecent assault, blindfolding,
gagging, partial suffocation, tear-gassing, administration of electric shocks,
prolonged suspension, painful handcuffing, sleep deprivation, food
deprivation, enforced standing, withholding of medical treatment, subjection
to mock executions and exposure to the torture of other persons. Torture was
reportedly employed to obtain “confessions”, to elicit information by
“breaking down” persons physically and psychologically, and to inflict
informal punishment.
156. A practice said to create conditions conducive to the occurrence of
torture was that of holding detainees in police vehicles or unofficial places
before taking them to police stations. Significant breaches of police
procedure regarding logging in the time of arrest, the identity of the
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arresting officer or the time of arrival at the police station were reported
to be common. In addition, detainees were also frequently denied the
opportunity to contact the outside world, resulting in de facto incommunicado
detention.
157. It was reported that many victims of torture or ill-treatment were
reluctant to file complaints against police officers for fear of reprisals,
that in some cases police had brought spurious criminal charges against
persons filing complaints and that in other cases police had refused outright
to register complaints. The Police Reporting Officer (PRO) , established
in 1992 to deal with the handling of such complaints, had been systematically
refused access to dockets and information in certain areas of the country and
had ceased to function entirely in other areas. Prosecutions were said to be
rare, as the Attorney-General's office frequently declined to prosecute
alleged perpetrators of assault or torture.
158. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted to the Government 18 individual
cases of alleged torture.
Spain
159. The Special Rapporteur transmitted 17 individual cases to the Government.
The latter sent a general comment regarding all of them, as well as details
with respect to three.
Sri Lanka
160. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one individual case and requested
follow-up information on a case transmitted the previous year. The Government
provided the Special Rapporteur with further information regarding measures
recently undertaken by the Government and already existent safeguards
concerning his mandate.
Sudan
161. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had continued to
receive information indicating that the torture of detainees by security
officials in the country was systematic. The methods of torture reported
include severe beatings, enforced lying on hot metal plates until the skin
is badly burnt, enforced standing for prolonged periods in the sun, physical
contortion and enforced repetitive exercising.
162. The Special Rapporteur also informed the Government that he had received
reports according to which torture was used by soldiers and military
intelligence officers to extract information from civilians in the course
of the conflict with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in the
Nuba mountains. Detainees held in army garrisons were said to be kept for
prolonged periods in deep covered holes, tied up without food and little
water. The rape of women by soldiers and militiamen during the conduct of
such operations and in government established “peace camps” was reported to
be widespread.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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163. The Special Rapporteur transmitted 17 individual cases to the Government.
In addition, he made 14 urgent appeals on behalf of 74 persons. Four of those
appeals were made jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of
human rights in the Sudan; three appeals jointly with the Chairman of the
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and one appeal with the Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The Government
replied to 3 appeals on behalf of S persons and also provided the names
of 58 persons released under a general amnesty.
Observations
164. As last year, the Special Rapporteur appreciates the Government's
responses on a small number of his urgent appeals, but notes an absence of
response on others, as well as on the more substantial cases transmitted to
the Government. Again he sees no reason to depart from the conclusion of
the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, in his
interim report to the General Assembly, that “systematic torture” continues
to be practised in the country (A/5O/569, para. 72) . The deplorable fact
that other parties to the armed conflict in the south of the country also
perpetrate serious and unjustifiable abuses in the areas under their control
should be noted, but cannot relieve the Government of its own responsibility
for torture perpetrated under its jurisdiction by its officials.
Syrian Arab Republic
165. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that the torture of persons detained for political
reasons in the country was systematic. Emergency legislation brought into
force in 1963 allowed for the preventive detention of persons suspected of
endangering public security and order. These powers were said to be exercised
outside any judicial control by a number of security branches, most often
by al-Amn al-Siyassi (Political Security) and al-Mukhabarat al- ‘Askariyya
(Military Intelligence) . Arrests by the security branches were generally made
without warrant. Persons arrested by the security branches were said usually
to be held incommunicado, without access to lawyers, medical doctors,
relatives, or the courts. Information as to an arrested person's place of
detention and the reasons for arrest reportedly were not usually communicated
to the family. Incommunicado detention was reported to occur for lengths
ranging from a few weeks to years.
166. The Supreme State Security Court (SSSC), which deals with political and
security cases, reportedly lacks independence from the executive branch. It
is accountable only to the Minister of the Interior and does not have the
power to supervise the activities of the security forces with respect to the
treatment of detainees. The SSSC reportedly admits routinely confessions
alleged to have been extracted under torture or ill-treatment. Most of
the 500 or more defendants on trial before the SSSC since July 1992 have
reportedly stated in court that they had been tortured. None of these
persons, however, was known to have been medically examined and no
investigations into their allegations were known to have been carried out.
E/CN. 4/1996/35
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167. Torture is allegedly practised to extract information or “confessions”
and as a form of punishment. The methods of torture reported include:
falaga (beating on the soles of the feet) ; dullab (tyre) , whereby the victim
is hung from a suspended tyre and beaten with sticks and cables; pouring cold
water over the victim's body; and al-Kursi al-Almani (the German Chair)
consisting of bending a metal chair on which the victim is seated so as
to cause extension of the spine, severe pressure on the neck and limbs,
respiratory difficulties, loss of consciousness and possible fracturing
of the vertebrae.
168. On 31 August 1995 the Government replied that torture was forbidden under
the Syrian Constitution and persons violating this prohibition were subject to
imprisonment for a period of from three months to three years. During the
previous year, about 40 officials had been prosecuted for violating, on their
own initiative, the rules concerning acceptable conduct towards detainees.
They had been sentenced to various penalties. There also existed an Office
for Grievances attached to the Office of the President of the Republic,
established under the terms of Presidential Decree No. 29 of 22 June 1971 to
receive any complaints from citizens and to follow up those complaints with
the competent authorities, with a view to enforcing the rights of the
complainants. Under the Decree, civil servants could be prosecuted if found
to have violated the provisions of the Constitution.
169. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted two individual cases, to which
the Government provided replies.
Switzerland
170. The Special Rapporteur received from the Government replies to
four individual cases that had been transmitted to it the previous year.
Togo
171. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one urgent appeal to the Government on
behalf of seven persons.
Tunisia
172. The Special Rapporteur retransmitted one case, to which the Government
replied. He also sent three urgent appeals on behalf of five persons and the
Government replied to two of them.
Trinidad and Tobago
173. The Special Rapporteur transmitted two urgent appeals on behalf of
two persons.
Turkey
174. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
reports indicating that the practice of torture in police stations and
gendarmeries remained widespread. According to the information, torture
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was applied in order to extract “confessions”, to elicit names of members
of illegal organizations, to intimidate detainees into becoming police
informants, to inflict informal punishment for assumed support of illegal
organizations and to force villagers in the south-east to become village
guards.
175. Persons detained on suspicion of offences under the Anti-Terror Law may
be held without access to family, friends or legal counsel for up to 30 days
in the 10 provinces presently under a state of emergency and for up to 15 days
in the rest of the country. Such periods of incommunicado detention create
conditions particularly conducive to the practice of torture. It was reported
that in the above-mentioned provinces, all of the local branches of the Human
Rights Association (HRA) had been closed by the authorities and many of its
members, including lawyers, had been arrested. HRA was therefore unable to
receive complaints, carry out investigations, or provide legal counsel to
persons arrested and subjected to ill-treatment.
176. Officials carrying out torture were said typically to take care to employ
methods which left little or no medical evidence. Such techniques include
hosing with cold pressurized water, suspension by the arms or by the wrists
bound behind the victim's back, electric shocks, sexual assault and death
threats.
177. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted 41 individual cases of alleged
torture and the Government replied to 30 of these cases. In addition, he
transmitted 25 urgent appeals on behalf of 80 persons and the Government
replied to 13 of these appeals concerning 36 persons. One such appeal was
transmitted in conjunction with the representative of the Secretary-General on
internally displaced persons, the Chairman of the Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions and the Chairman of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary
Disappearances on behalf of Turkish and Iraqi civilians of Kurdish ethnic
origin situated in areas affected by operations of the Turkish army in
northern Iraq. The Government further provided replies to 58 previously
transmitted cases and commented to the Special Rapporteur upon the
observations he had made on Turkey in his previous report. Lastly, the
Government sent to the Special Rapporteur statistical information concerning
legal complaints that had been registered with the Government for alleged
torture or ill-treatment during 1994 and the first half of 1995.
Observations
178. The Special Rapporteur, while appreciating the responses received from
the Government and aware of the terrorist atrocities committed by the Kurdish
Workers' Party (PKK) , considers that the observations contained in his
previous report (E/CN.4/1995/34, para. 826) remain applicable, reflecting
concerns that he shares with other intergovernmental bodies that have examined
the situation. As he always remains open to reviewing his understanding of
the facts, he has informed the Government of Turkey of his interest in
receiving an invitation to visit the country. At the time of writing, he was
still awaiting a response.
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Turkmenistan
179. The Special Rapporteur transmitted two individual cases and reminded the
Government of a number of cases transmitted the previous year regarding which
no replies had been received.
United Arab Emirates
180. The Special Rapporteur transmitted two urgent appeals on behalf of
two persons.
United Republic of Tanzania
181. The Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal in conjunction with
the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on
behalf of a group of refugees from Rwanda.
United States of America
182. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that a police practice of placing suspects face down
in restraints, usually while hogtied, had resulted in a substantial number
of injuries and deaths in police custody in the country. Such practices,
exercised in a number of jurisdictions, were said to restrict respiratory
movement and occasionally to lead to death from “positional asphyxia” . The
risk of death was said to be exacerbated when the restrained person was in an
agitated state or under the influence of drugs.
183. Conditions at certain maximum security facilities were said to result in
the inhuman and degrading treatment of the inmates in those facilities. At
the H-Unit in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, death row
inmates were reportedly confined for 23 or 24 hours per day in windowless,
sealed, concrete cells, with virtually no natural light or fresh air. The
only time spent outside these cells was 1 hour per day on weekdays,
when 4 prisoners at a time were able to exercise in a bare concrete yard
with 18 foot solid walls giving no view of the outside. There was very little
direct contact between prisoners and guards and no work, recreational or
vocational programmes. Similarly, at the Special Housing Unit (SHU) of
Pelican Bay prison in California, prisoners were reportedly confined, either
alone or with one other prisoner, for 22Y hours per day in sealed, windowless
cells with bare white concrete walls. The cell doors were made of heavy gauge
perforated metal which, according to a federal district court, “blocks vision
and light”. A substantial number of prisoners in SHU were said to be
suffering from mental illness, which had been caused or exacerbated by their
confinement in the unit. In recent litigation, the federal district court
concluded that conditions there “may press the outer bounds of what most
humans can psychologically tolerate” . A large number of prisoners were said
to be assigned to the unit indefinitely.
184. On 21 November 1995 the Government sent a reply regarding the general
concerns raised by the Special Rapporteur. The Constitution and laws of the
United States and those of its constituent states prohibited torture and any
form of cruel and unusual punishment; the Constitution protected every
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individual's right to bodily integrity and security of person, including
the right to be free from excessively forceful arrest; and the law of the
United States and of its constituent states provided numerous judicial,
administrative and other remedies and avenues of recourse for individuals who
claimed that, in the course of their arrest or detention, law enforcement
officials had inflicted torture or cruel and inhuman treatment or punishment.
In its reply, the Government went on to discuss and analyse particular legal
standards and practices applicable to issues concerning segregation and
solitary confinement, use of excessive force by prison guards, use of
excessive force by police officers, as well as criminal and civil remedies
available to alleged victims.
185. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted six individual cases.
Uzbekistan
186. The Special Rapporteur transmitted one urgent appeal on behalf of
two persons.
Venezuela
187. The Special Rapporteur transmitted to the Government 22 new cases, as
well as 8 transmitted in 1994 to which no reply had been received yet. He
also sent three urgent appeals on behalf of eight persons and the Government
sent a reply regarding one person.
Observations
188. Despite the invitation to visit the country mentioned in the previous
report (E/CN.4/1995/34, para. 865), the visit did not take place as
the Government failed to communicate a date for it or formally to convey any
explanation for the silence. The Special Rapporteur expresses his regret at
this turn of events and at the fact that he may have been induced to mislead
the Commission at its fifty-first session. If the invitation is not given
effect to in the coming year, he will be constrained to conclude that it has,
in effect, been withdrawn.
Yemen
189. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received
information indicating that torture and ill-treatment of both criminal
detainees and persons detained for political reasons was routine. Allegations
of torture were said generally to go uninvestigated. The incidence of torture
reportedly increased dramatically during and in the aftermath of the civil
armed conflict from May to July 1994. Methods of torture reported include
beatings all over the body with cables, application of electric shocks, actual
or threatened rape and “Kentucky Farruj” (suspension from a metal bar inserted
between the hands and knees which are tied together) . Military personnel
arrested during or after the conflict were allegedly tortured so as to force
them to divulge military information. Underground torture cells were said to
exist at the Political Security detention centre in Sana'a.
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190. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted three individual cases. In
addition, he transmitted one urgent appeal on behalf of one person, to which
a reply was received.
Yugoslavia
191. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
reports indicating that the practice of torture and ill-treatment of ethnic
Albanians in Kosovo by police officers, as described in his letter
of 21 July 1994 (see E/CN.4/1995/34, paras. 875-77, 892), was continuing. The
Government replied that the letter of the Special Rapporteur was replete with
unfounded allegations intended to create an erroneous picture of alleged mass
and systematic terror in Kosovo and Metohija. Contrary to the allegations,
there had been no “ethnic cleansing” within the Serbian police force. Ethnic
Albanians had left the police force at the behest of nationalist separatists
and secessionists and as they absented themselves from work and refused to
perform their duties, legal conditions were created for the cessation of their
employment. Accordingly, no discriminatory measure was taken against them;
only “law” was applied.
192. The Government also stated that “coercion measures” were applied
very selectively and in accordance with law and, as a rule, only when the
protection of the lives of police officers and citizens and their property
could not be ensured in any other way. Interventions during which “coercion
measures” were applied and cases of excessive use of force, i.e. of
unjustified use of force, were examined separately and, if found responsible,
police officers were disciplined and/or prosecuted.
193. The Special Rapporteur also transmitted 29 individual cases, to which the
Government provided replies. In addition, the Government replied to 96 cases
transmitted the previous year.
Observations
194. The Special Rapporteur appreciates the replies he has received this
year from the Government, both in respect of information transmitted to the
Government this year and in respect of cases included in previous reports.
He, nevertheless, finds it difficult to consider the generally unsubstantiated
assertions, that either no measures or no coercive measures were taken in the
overwhelming number of cases raised with the Government, as requiring him to
modify the assessment made last year that the thrust of the allegations
reflect an extensive practice of torture and similar ill-treatment, especially
in Kosovo.
Zaire
195. The Special Rapporteur informed the Government that he had received
information according to which more than 200 secret detention centres run
by the police or the armed forces existed in Kinshasa, where torture was
practised routinely and conditions of detention were appalling. At the
same time he transmitted 18 individual cases.
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III. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
196. It is clear that torture occurs in many countries, all too frequently on
an extensive basis. The Special Rapporteur continues to believe that, if
States were to comply with the recommendations that have been made over the
years and summarized in last year's report (E/CN.4/1995/34, para. 926), it
would occur only in isolated instances and it would be promptly redressed.
197. Responses from Governments to at least some of his letters and urgent
appeals tend now to be more the rule than the exception and the Special
Rapporteur welcomes this. Nevertheless, he feels entitled to treat a number
of the responses with scepticism, especially when they come from States that
do not comply, either in law or in practice, with many of the recommendations,
most of which are designed to provide structural bulwarks against perpetration
of the crime of torture. This is especially the case as regards those
recommendations that are aimed at putting an end to prolonged incommunicado
detention and impunity.
198. More specifically, he wishes to draw the attention of Governments to
difficulties he often encounters with the contents of responses. He does, of
course, appreciate any response. He is also aware of the difficulties faced
by many Governments, especially of developing countries, in locating and
assembling the necessary information, difficulties that are compounded in the
case of States with federal systems of jurisdiction. Nevertheless, some kinds
of response remain insufficient for him to evaluate the allegations
adequately. Thus, some responses merely contain blanket denials for all
cases. Some contain simple denials for individual cases or merely allege that
no complaint was made to a pertinent authority. Some make denials in respect
of individual cases on the basis of an investigation, without providing
details of the body that investigated or the nature of the investigation.
Others may refer to an investigation being under way, but no further
information is provided subsequently as to the results. Reference is
sometimes made to medical examinations, but certificates indicating the
institutional association of the practitioner and the results of the
examination are not provided. When they are provided, they may not be legible
or may contain general information about a cause of death (for example, heart
attack, renal failure, etc.), without giving any indications of what may have
led to these usually premature conditions, suggesting either a perfunctory
examination or autopsy, or a perfunctory certificate. Or they may indicate an
absence of physical sequelae, despite the fact that some physical sequelae,
for example of electric shocks, may not be easily identifiable and some forms
of torture or ill-treatment, such as mock executions, will have no physical
sequelae.
199. Some responses indicate that charges may have been made against the
officials concerned, but often without any subsequent indication of the
outcome of any trial. Indeed, while some Governments may provide statistics
on convictions and sentences of its personnel for abuses against persons
deprived of their liberty, it is most unusual for details to be given of
specific officials in respect of specific cases. Details of any compensation
are similarly rare.
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200. It is to ensure that the Special Rapporteur is in possession of
the relevant information that, in his standard letter of transmittal of
information to Governments, the Special Rapporteur requests the following
information where “it is pertinent to the cases in question” : (i) whether
the allegations are factually accurate; (ii) any other factual circumstances
which should be taken into account in assessing the implications of the
allegations; (iii) the court, agency or other competent body which was, or is,
responsible for investigation of the allegations and/or the prosecution of
those responsible; (iv) the result of any medical examination and the identity
of the person who performed it; (v) the identity of the person or persons,
group or unit responsible for the torture, if known, as well as the identity
of any military, police, paramilitary, civil defence or similar body, or
armed group not under government control, to which those responsible
belong; (vi) the decision on a complaint, the grounds for this decision and
any disciplinary or criminal sanctions imposed, as well as whether or not the
measure(s) imposed is (are) final; (vii) the present status of any
investigation or legal action not yet completed; (viii) the nature and amount
of any compensation made to the victim or his/her relatives; (ix) in the event
the investigation has not been completed, the responsible parties have not
been identified, prosecuted, or punished or compensation not paid, the reasons
why such is the case; and (x) any other information or observations which the
Government deems pertinent.
201. The Special Rapporteur, in full cognizance of the burden involved,
therefore respectfully urges Governments to do their utmost to provide the
information sought so as to enable him to improve his capacity accurately to
assess the situations with which he is called upon to deal. In this regard,
the Commission may once again wish to reiterate its frequently stated appeal
to Governments to supply all information requested.
