REU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 111: FN’s General-forsamlings 3. udvalg vedtagne resolution mod tortur, som Danmark har fremlagt, fra udenrigsministeren

Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatmentor punishmentThe General Assembly,Reaffirmingthat no one shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman ordegrading treatment or punishment,Recallingthat freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment is a non-derogable rightunder international law, includinginternational human rights law and international humanitarian law,that must berespected and protectedunder all circumstances, including in times of international orinternal armed conflict or disturbance or any other public emergency, that the absoluteprohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment isaffirmed in relevant international instruments and that legal and procedural safeguardsagainst such acts must not be subject to measures that would circumvent this right,Recalling alsothat the prohibition of torture is a peremptory norm ofinternational law and that international, regional and domestic courts have held theprohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to be customaryinternational law,Recalling furtherthe definition of torture contained in article 1 of the Conventionagainst Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,1withoutprejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which contains or maycontain provisions of wider application,Emphasizingthe importance of properly interpreting and implementing theobligations of States with respect to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment and of abiding strictly by the definition of torture contained inarticle 1 of the Convention,Notingthat, under the Geneva Conventions of 1949,2torture and inhumantreatment are a grave breach and that, under the statute of the International Tribunal for theProsecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International HumanitarianLaw Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, the statute of theInternational Criminal Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Genocideand Other Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territoryof Rwanda and Rwandan Citizens Responsible for Genocide and Other Such ViolationsCommitted in the Territory of Neighbouring States between 1 January and 31 December1994 and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,3acts of torture canconstitute crimes against humanity and, when committed in a situation of armed conflict,constitute war crimes,Welcomingthe entry into force of the International Convention for the Protectionof All Persons from Enforced Disappearance,4theimplementationof whichwill make asignificant contribution to the prevention and prohibition of torture, including byprohibiting secret places of detention, and encouraging all States that have not done so toconsider signing, ratifying or acceding to the Convention,Commendingthe persistent efforts of civil society organizations, including non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutionsand national preventivemechanisms,and the considerable network of centres for the rehabilitation of victims oftorture, to prevent and combat torture and to alleviate the suffering of victims of torture,

Deeply concernedwithall acts which can amount to torture and other cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment committed against persons exercisingtheir rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression in all regions of the world,1.Condemnsall forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment, including through intimidation, which are and shall remainprohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, andcalls upon all States to implement fully the absolute and non-derogable prohibition oftorture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;2.Emphasizesthat States must take persistent, determined and effectivemeasures to prevent and combat all acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment, stresses that all acts of torture must be made offences underdomestic criminal law, and encourages States to prohibit under domestic law actsconstituting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;3.Welcomesthe establishment of national preventive mechanisms toprevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,urgesStatesto considerestablishing,appointing, maintaining or enhancing independent andeffectivemechanismswith qualified expertise to undertake monitoring visits to placesof detention, inter alia with a view to preventing acts of torture or other cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,and calls upon States parties to theOptional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman orDegrading Treatment or Punishment5to fulfil their obligation to designate or establish trulyindependent and effective national preventive mechanisms;4.Emphasizesthe importance of States ensuring proper follow-up to therecommendations and conclusions of the relevant treaty bodies and mechanisms, includingthe Committee against Torture, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and OtherCruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Special Rapporteur of theHuman Rights Council on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment;5.Condemnsany action or attempt by States or public officials tolegalize, authorize or acquiesce in torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatmentor punishment under any circumstances, including on grounds of national security orthrough judicial decisions,and urges States to ensure accountability of thoseresponsible for all such acts;6.EncouragesStates to consider establishing or maintainingappropriate national processes to record allegations of torture and other cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;7.Stressesthat an independent, competent domestic authority mustpromptly, effectively and impartially investigate all allegations of torture or other cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as wherever there is reasonableground to believe that such an act has been committed, and that those who encourage,order, tolerate or perpetrate such acts must be held responsible, brought to justice andpunished in a manner commensurate with the severity of the offence, including the officialsin charge ofanyplace of detention,orother place where persons are deprived of theirliberty,where the prohibited act is found to have been committed;8.Recalls,in this respect, the Principles on the Effective Investigationand Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment orPunishment (the Istanbul Principles)6as a useful tool in efforts to prevent and combat

torture and the updated set of principles for the protection and promotion of human rightsthrough action to combat impunity;79.Calls uponall States to implement effective measures to preventtorture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, particularly inplaces of detention and other places where persons are deprived of their liberty,includinglegal and procedural safeguards,as well as education and training of personnel who maybe involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any individual subjected to anyform of arrest, detention or imprisonment;10.UrgesStates, as an important element in preventing and combatingtorture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, to ensure that noauthority or official orders, applies, permits or tolerates any sanction or other prejudiceagainst any person or organization for having been in contact with any national orinternational monitoring or preventive body active in the prevention and combating oftorture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;11.Calls uponall States to adopt a gender-sensitive approach in the fightagainst torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, payingspecial attention to gender-based violence;12.Calls uponStates to ensure that the rights of persons with disabilities,bearing in mind the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,8are fullyintegrated into torture prevention and protection, and welcomes the efforts of the SpecialRapporteur in this regard;13.Encouragesall States to ensure that persons convicted of torture orother cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment have no subsequentinvolvement in the custody, interrogation or treatment of any person under arrest, detention,imprisonment or other deprivation of liberty and that persons charged with torture or othercruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment have no involvement in the custody,interrogation or treatment of any person under arrest, detention, imprisonment or otherdeprivation of liberty while such charges are pending;14.Emphasizesthat acts of torture in armed conflict are serious violationsof international humanitarian law and in this regard constitute war crimes, that acts oftorture can constitute crimes against humanity and that the perpetrators of all acts of torturemust be prosecuted and punished,and in this regard notes the efforts of theInternational Criminal Court to end impunity by seeking to ensure accountability andpunishment of perpetrators of such acts, in accordance with the RomeStatute,3bearing in mind its principle of complementarity, and encourages States thathave not yet done so to consider ratifying or acceding to the Rome Statute;15.Strongly urgesStates to ensure that no statement that is established tohave been made as a result of torture is invoked as evidence in any proceedings, exceptagainst a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made,encouragesStates to extendthat prohibition to statements made as a result of cruel, inhuman ordegrading treatment or punishment, and recognizes that adequate corroboration ofstatements, including confessions, used as evidence in any proceedings constitutes onesafeguard for the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment;16.Stressesthat States must not punish personnel for not obeying ordersto commit or conceal acts amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment;

17.UrgesStates not to expel, return (“refouler”), extradite or in any otherway transfer a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing thatthe person would be in danger of being subjected to torture,stresses the importance ofeffective legal and procedural safeguards in this regard,and recognizes that diplomaticassurances, where used, do not release States from their obligations under internationalhuman rights, humanitarian and refugee law, in particular the principle of non-refoulement;18.Recallsthat, for the purpose of determining whether there are suchgrounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations,including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern ofgross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights;19.Calls uponStates parties to the Convention against Torture and OtherCruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment1to fulfil their obligation to submitfor prosecution or extradite those alleged to have committed acts of torture, and encouragesother States to do likewise, bearing in mind the need to fight impunity;20.Stressesthat national legal systems must ensure that victims of tortureor other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment obtain redresswithoutsuffering any retribution for bringing complaints or giving evidence, have access tojustice,are awarded fair and adequate compensation and receive appropriate social,psychological, medical and other relevant specialized rehabilitation, and urges States toestablish, maintain, facilitate or support rehabilitation centres or facilities where victims oftorture can receive such treatment and where effective measures for ensuring the safety oftheir staff and patients are taken;21.Recallsits resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988 on the Body ofPrinciples for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment,and in this context stresses that ensuring that any individual arrested or detained ispromptly brought before a judge or other independent judicial officer in person andpermitting prompt and regular medical care and legal counsel as well as visits by familymembers and independent monitoring mechanisms are effective measures for theprevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;22.Remindsall States that prolonged incommunicado detention ordetention in secret places can facilitate the perpetration of torture and other cruel, inhumanor degrading treatment or punishment and can in itself constitute a form of such treatment,and urges all States to respect the safeguards concerning the liberty, security and dignity ofthe person and to ensure that secret places of detention and interrogation are abolished;23.Emphasizesthat conditions of detention must respect the dignity andhuman rights of detainees, highlights the importance of reflecting on this in efforts topromote respect for and protection of the rights of detainees, and notes in this regardconcerns about solitary confinementwhen it amounts to torture or other cruel, inhumanor degrading treatment or punishment;24.Calls uponall States to take appropriate effective legislative,administrative, judicial and other measures to prevent and prohibit the production, trade,export,importand use of equipmentthat have no practical use other than for thepurpose oftorture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;25.Urgesall States that have not yet done so to become parties to theConvention as a matter of priority, and calls upon States parties to give early considerationto signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention;26.Urgesall States parties to the Convention that have not yet done so tomake the declarations provided for in articles 21 and 22 concerning inter-State andindividual communications, to consider the possibility of withdrawing their reservations toarticle 20 and to notify the Secretary-General of their acceptance of the amendments to

articles 17 and 18 with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of the Committee as soon aspossible;27.UrgesStates parties to comply strictly with their obligations under theConvention, including, in view of the high number of reports not submitted in time, theirobligation to submit reports in accordance with article 19 of the Convention, and invitesStates parties to incorporate a gender perspective and information concerning children andjuveniles and persons with disabilities when submitting reports to the Committee;28.Welcomesthe work of the Committee and its report submitted inaccordance with article 24 of the Convention,9recommends that the Committee continue toinclude information on the follow-up by States to its recommendations, and supports theCommittee in its intention to further improve the effectiveness of its working methods;29.Invitesthe Chairs of the Committee and of the Subcommittee topresent oral reports on the work of the committees and to engage in an interactive dialoguewith the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session under the sub-item entitled“Implementation of human rights instruments”;30.Calls uponthe United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,in conformity with her mandate established by the General Assembly in its resolution48/141 of 20 December 1993, to continue to provide, at the request of States, advisoryservices for the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment orpunishment, including for the preparation of national reports to the Committee and for theestablishment and operation of national preventive mechanisms, as well as technicalassistance for the development, production and distribution of teaching material for thispurpose;31.Takes note with appreciationof the interim report of the Special10and encourages the Special Rapporteur to continue to include in hisRapporteur,recommendations proposals on the prevention and investigation of torture and other cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including its gender-based manifestations;32.Requeststhe Special Rapporteur to continue to consider including inhis report information on the follow-up by States to his recommendations, visits andcommunications, including progress made and problems encountered, and on other officialcontacts;33.Calls uponall States to cooperate with and assist the SpecialRapporteur in the performance of his task, to supply all necessary information requested bythe Special Rapporteur, to fully and expeditiously respond to and follow up on his urgentappeals, to give serious consideration to responding favourably to requests by the SpecialRapporteur to visit their countries and to enter into a constructive dialogue with the SpecialRapporteur on requested visits to their countries as well as with respect to the follow-up tohis recommendations;34.Stressesthe need for the continued regular exchange of views amongthe Committee, the Subcommittee, the Special Rapporteur and other relevant UnitedNations mechanisms and bodies, as well as for the pursuance of cooperation with relevantUnited Nations programmes, notably the United Nations crime prevention and criminaljustice programme, with regional organizations and mechanisms, as appropriate, and withcivil society organizations, including non-governmental organizations, with a view toenhancing further their effectiveness and cooperation on issues relating to the preventionand eradication of torture, inter alia, by improving their coordination;

35.Recognizesthe global need for international assistance to victims oftorture, stresses the importance of the work of the Board of Trustees of the United NationsVoluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, appeals to all States and organizations to contributeannually to the Fund, preferably with a substantial increase in the level of contributions,and encourages contributions to the Special Fund established by the Optional Protocol tohelp finance the implementation of the recommendations made by the Subcommittee aswell as education programmes of the national preventive mechanisms;36.Requeststhe Secretary-General to continue to transmit to all States theappeals of the General Assembly for contributions to the Funds and to include the Funds onan annual basis among the programmes for which funds are pledged at the United NationsPledging Conference for Development Activities;37.Also requeststhe Secretary-General to submit to the Human RightsCouncil and to the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session a report on the operationsof the Funds;38.Further requeststhe Secretary-General to ensure, within the overallbudgetary framework of the United Nations, the provision of adequate staff and facilitiesfor the bodies and mechanisms involved in preventing and combating torture and assistingvictims of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including,in particular, the Committee, the Subcommittee and the Special Rapporteur, commensuratewith the strong support expressed by Member States for preventing and combating tortureand assisting victims of torture, in order to enable them to discharge their mandates in acomprehensive, sustained and effective manner and taking fully into account the specificnature of their mandates;39.Calls uponall States, the Office of the United Nations HighCommissioner for Human Rights and other United Nations bodies and agencies, as well asrelevantintergovernmentalandcivilsocietyorganizations,includingnon-governmental organizations, to commemorate, on 26 June, the United NationsInternational Day in Support of Victims of Torture;40.Decidesto consider at its sixty-seventh session the reports of theSecretary-General, including the report on the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victimsof Torture and the Special Fund established by the Optional Protocol, the report of theCommittee against Torture and the interim report of the Special Rapporteur on torture andother cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.