Det Udenrigspolitiske Nævn 2006-07
Bilag 14
Offentligt
UN General AssemblySixtyfirst sessionThird Committee
November 17 2006Denmark
Adopted resolutionTorture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishmentThe General Assembly,Reaffirmingthat no one shall be subjected to torture or to other cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment,Recallingthat freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment is a non-derogable right that must be protected under all circumstances, includingin times of international or internal armed conflict or disturbance, and that the absoluteprohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment isaffirmed in relevant international instruments,Recalling alsothat a number of international, regional and domestic courts, including theInternational Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for SeriousViolations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the FormerYugoslavia since 1991, have recognized that the prohibition of torture is a peremptory norm ofinternational law and have held that the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatmentor punishment is customary international law,Recalling furtherthe definition of torture contained in article 1 of the Convention against Tortureand Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,Notingthat under the Geneva Conventions of 1949 torture and inhuman treatment are a gravebreach and that under the statutes of the International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia andof the International Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible forGenocide and Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in theTerritory of Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other SuchViolations Committed in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31December 1994, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court acts of tortureconstitute war crimes and can constitute crimes against humanity,Commendingthe persistent efforts by non-governmental organizations, including theconsiderable network of centers for the rehabilitation of victims of torture, to combat tortureand to alleviate the suffering of victims of torture,1. Condemnsall forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment, including through intimidation, which are and shall remain prohibited at any timeand in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and calls upon all States to
implement fully the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment;2. Emphasizesthat States must take persistent, determined and effective measures to prevent andcombat torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including theirgender-based manifestations, andstressesthat all acts of torture must be offences underdomestic criminal law;3. Also emphasizesthe importance of States ensuring proper follow-up to the recommendationsand conclusions from the relevant treaty bodies and mechanisms, including the Committeeagainst Torture, and the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on torture and othercruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;4. Condemnsany action or attempt by States or public officials to legalize, authorize or acquiescein torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under anycircumstances, including on grounds of national security or through judicial decisions;5. Stressesthat all allegations of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment must be promptly and impartially examined by the competent national authority,that those who encourage, order, tolerate or perpetrate acts of torture must be held responsibleand severely punished, including the officials in charge of the place of detention where theprohibited act is found to have been committed, and takes note in this respect of the Principleson the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman orDegrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Principles) as a useful tool in efforts tocombat torture; and of the Updated Set of Principles for he Protection of Human RightsThrough Action to Combat Impunity.6. Emphasizesthat acts of torture are serious violations of international humanitarian law and inthis regard constitute war crimes and can constitute crimes against humanity, and that theperpetrators of all acts of torture must be prosecuted and punished;7. UrgesStates to ensure that any statement that is established to have been made as a result oftorture shall not be invoked as evidence in any proceedings, except against a person accused oftorture as evidence that the statement was made;8. Stressesthat States must not punish personnel who are involved in the custody, interrogationor treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention, imprisonment or anyother form of deprivation of liberty for not obeying orders to commit or conceal actsamounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;9. UrgesStates not to expel, return (“refouler”), extradite or in any other way transfer a personto another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be indanger of being subjected to torture, and recognizes that diplomatic assurances, where used, donot release States from their obligations under international human rights, humanitarian andrefugee law, in particular the principle of non-refoulement;
10. Stressesthat national legal systems must ensure that victims of torture and other cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment obtain redress, are awarded fair and adequatecompensation and receive appropriate social and medical rehabilitation, urges States to takeeffective measures to this end, and in this regard encourages the development of rehabilitationcenters;11. Recallsits resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988 on the Body of Principles for theProtection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, and in this contextstresses that ensuring that any individual arrested or detained is promptly brought before ajudge or other independent judicial officer in person and permitting prompt and regularmedical care and legal counsel as well as visits by family members and independent monitoringmechanisms are effective measures for the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman ordegrading treatment and punishment;12. Remindsall States that prolonged incommunicado detention or detention in secret placesmay facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment, and urges all States to respectthe safeguards concerning the liberty, security and dignity of the person;13. Calls uponall States to take appropriate effective legislative, administrative, judicial and othermeasures to prevent and prohibit the production, trade, export and use of equipment that isspecifically designed to inflict torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment;14. Urgesall States that have not yet done so to become parties to the Convention againstTorture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment as a matter ofpriority;15. Invitesall States parties to the Convention that have not yet done so to make thedeclarations provided for in articles 21 and 22 of the Convention concerning inter-State andindividual communications, to consider the possibility of withdrawing their reservations toarticle 20 of the Convention and to notify the Secretary-General of their acceptance of theamendments to articles 17 and 18 of the Convention as soon as possible;16. UrgesStates parties to comply strictly with their obligations under the Convention,including, in view of the high number of reports not submitted in time, their obligation tosubmit reports in accordance with article 19 of the Convention, and invites States parties toincorporate a gender perspective and information concerning children and juveniles andpersons with disabilities when submitting reports to the Committee against Torture;17. Acknowledgeswith appreciation the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to theConvention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment orPunishment, andcalls uponStates parties to give early consideration to signing and ratifying theProtocol, which provides further measures for use in the fight against and prevention of tortureand other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
18. Welcomesthe work of the Committee against Torture and its report submitted in accordancewith article 24 of the Convention andrecommendsthe Committee to continue to includeinformation on the follow-up by States to its recommendations;19. Calls uponthe United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in conformity withher mandate established by the General Assembly in its resolution48/141of20December1993,to continue to provide, at the request of States, advisory services for the prevention oftorture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including for thepreparation of national reports to the Committee and for the establishment and operation ofnational preventive mechanisms, as well as technical assistance for the development,production and distribution of teaching material for this purpose;20. Notes with appreciationthe interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human RightsCouncil on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, andencourages the Special Rapporteur to continue to include in his recommendations proposals onthe prevention and investigation of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment, including its gender-based manifestations;21. Requeststhe Special Rapporteur to continue to consider including in his report informationon the follow-up by States to his recommendations, visits and communications, includingprogress made and problems encountered, and on other official contacts;22. Calls uponall States to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performanceof his task, to supply all necessary information requested by the Special Rapporteur, to fully andexpeditiously respond to and follow-up his urgent appeals, to give serious consideration toresponding favourably to requests by the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries and to enterinto a constructive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on requested visits to their countries aswell as with respect to the follow-up to his recommendations;23. Stressesthe need for the continued regular exchange of views among the Committee, theSubcommittee on Prevention, the Special Rapporteur and other relevant United Nationsmechanisms and bodies, as well as for the pursuance of cooperation with relevant UnitedNations programmes, notably the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal JusticeProgramme, with a view to enhancing further their effectiveness and cooperation on issuesrelating to torture, inter alia, by improving their coordination;24. Recognizesthe global need for international assistance to victims of torture, stresses theimportance of the work of the Board of Trustees of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for theVictims of Torture, and appeals to all States and organizations to contribute annually to theFund, preferably with a substantial increase in the level of contributions;25. Requeststhe Secretary-General to continue to transmit to all States the appeals of theGeneral Assembly for contributions to the Fund and to include the Fund on an annual basis
among the programmes for which funds are pledged at the United Nations PledgingConference for Development Activities;26. Also requeststhe Secretary-General to ensure, within the overall budgetary framework of theUnited Nations, the provision of adequate staff and facilities for the bodies and mechanismsinvolved in preventing and combating torture and assisting victims of torture, commensuratewith the strong support expressed by Member States for preventing and combating torture andassisting victims of torture;27. Further requeststhe Secretary-General to submit to the Human Rights Council and to theGeneral Assembly at its sixtysecond session a report on the status of the Convention and areport on the operations of the Fund;28. Calls uponall States, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for HumanRights and other United Nations bodies and agencies, as well as relevant intergovernmental andnon-governmental organizations, to commemorate, on 26 June, the United NationsInternational Day in Support of Victims of Torture;29. Decidesto consider at its sixty-second session the reports of the Secretary General, includingthe report on the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, the report of theCommittee against Torture and the interim report of the Special Rapporteur of the HumanRights Council on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
