Combating torture and other forms of abuse

Tuol Sleng Museum in Phnom Penh documents the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge (picture-alliance/ dpa)

The German Government’s engagement in the fight against torture and abuse is resolute and untiring. Together with its EU partners, it is striving to strengthen the international mechanisms to combat torture. It is calling for the largest possible number of accessions to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture).

Germany ratified the UN Convention of 10 December 1984, to which 145 states have now acceded, on 1 November 1990. The German Government supports the common EU stand on an absolute ban on torture and other forms of abuse in international law, which is expressed in statements at UN level. It attaches paramount importance to the worldwide abolition of torture as well as the complete rehabilitation of torture victims.

The issue of combating torture is regularly the subject of resolutions dealt with both in the Third Committee of the General Assembly and in the UN Human Rights Council. Traditionally, Germany sponsors these resolutions together with its EU partners in UN bodies and plays an active part in the negotiations.

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly (A/RES/63/166) 18 December 2008 PDF | 54 KB

Human Rights Council resolution (10/24) of 27 March 2009

Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture

The adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture represented a major step forward in the global fight against torture. The Protocol provides for the establishment of national and international mechanisms which are intended to have an early preventative impact. By ratifying the Optional Protocol, states undertake to establish independent bodies at national level which must be granted unrestricted access to prisons. In Germany, the establishment of a federal agency and a commission at federal state level are envisaged.

The Optional Protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 2002 and entered into force on 22 June 2006. The Protocol has been in force in Germany since 3 January 2009. It was signed by Foreign Minister Steinmeier on 20 September 2006 during the 61st session of the UN General Assembly. To date, 40 states have ratified it and another 62 states have signed it.

International monitoring of Germany

Compliance with the UN Convention against Torture by the States parties is subject to strict international control. In addition to the UN mechanism for dealing with complaints from individuals within the scope of the UN Convention against Torture, the States parties must submit regular reports to the competent UN Committee against Torture. The submission of reports is part of the national implementation of the Convention. The states are called upon to report on the national measures they have taken to comply with the Convention. The Committee responds with recommendations aimed at improving the situation in individual countries. Germany has already submitted three country reports: in 1992, in 1998 and most recently in 2003. You can find Germany’s third country report, the Committee’s conclusions and the response of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Committee’s recommendations here:

www.2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats32.htm

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

The special rapporteurs are an important UN instrument for protecting and promoting human rights. Their mandate includes observing the situation in the States parties, visits and reports, as well as recommendations. The special rapporteurs rely on receiving an invitation from the state in question. Germany has issued a standing invitation to all UN Special Rapporteurs.

The mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur was extended for a further three years by a Human Rights Council resolution in June 2008. The Austrian Manfred Novak has held this office since 2004.

EU guidelines on torture

With the adoption of the guidelines for EU policy towards third countries on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment on 9 April 2001, the EU created an instrument which strengthened its commitment to the worldwide abolition of torture. A jointly developed global action plan, whose key points were implemented during Germany’s EU Presidency, consisted of numerous demarches in third states in which the EU addressed the problem of the use of torture and called for its abolition. The EU guidelines also help ensure that the fight against torture and its abolition is a fixture in dialogues with third states which the EU conducts as an organization and the member states at bilateral level. The German Government, too, is obliged to adhere to the EU guidelines in its actions. The focus is on individual cases.

The EU has adopted measures which provide the embassies of EU member states and the delegations of the EU Commission with orientation for implementing the guidelines for EU policy towards third countries on torture and adopted a revised version of the guidelines in 2008.

EU guidelines to combat torture

European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The basis for Council of Europe actions is the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which entered into force on 1 February 1989. In order to implement the Convention, the Council of Europe established the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, which comprises independent experts and whose task is to review the human rights situation of individuals in States parties who have been deprived of their freedom. To this end, visits are made to prisons, psychiatric institutions and other establishments in which people are detained. The reports on these visits, which contain concrete recommendations for action, are published with the consent of the state in question.

The Committee’s last visit to Germany took place at the end of 2005. The report on the visit, as well as the German Government’s response, can be found here:

 www.cpt.coe.int/en/states/deu.htm