ACAT 2016 Report A World of Torture " Torture does not merely aim to hurt, it aims to destroy a person to create a being far removed from the human species." Daniel Pennac ACAT 2016 Report A World of Torture ACAT-France is a member of the FIACAT, the International Federation of ACAT. Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture | www.acatfrance.fr TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE 13 emmanuel decaux INTRODUCTION 21 jean-étienne de linares GEOGRAPHY OF TORTURE 33 Detailed map of the countries covered in reports since 2010 34 Americas | Mexico 39 Uruguay 51 Elsewhere in the continent 58 Asia / Pacific | China 63 Uzbekistan 73 Elsewhere in the continent 82 Europe | Asylum: a fundamental right under threat 87 Germany 93 Maghreb / Middle East | Kuwait 107 Tunisia 117 Elsewhere in the continent 126 Sub-Saharan Africa | Republic of Congo 131 Nigeria 145 Elsewhere in the continent 154 ANALYSIS OF THE PHENOMENON OF TORTURE 157 THE 40-YEAR FIGHT AGAINST TORTURE: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRESS MADE 161 National preventive mechanisms: role and developments 163 veronica filippeschi The role of the European Committee for the prevention of torture 181 wolfgang s. heinz The legal prohibition of torture: continuously wider application 191 édouard delaplace The Istanbul Protocol: a practical manual for medical experts 203 bernard granjon Caring for victims of torture and political repression 213 mélanie maurin and christine thiriet THE ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF TORTURE: A PRINCIPLE UNDER THREAT 223 Survey: the French and torture 225 Growing tolerance for the use of torture 237 michel terestchenko The quest for the truth, the will to forget: torture during the Algerian War 245 raphaëlle branche Human rights called into question 253 jean-bernard marie SPOTLIGHT ON ERITREA 261 Left out in cold. Eritreans persecuted at home and in exile 263 coline aymard Interview with Meron Estefanos, human rights defender 268 AFTERWORD 275 Aspect of resistance guy aurenche APPENDICES 285 Defining torture 286 Ratification status of treaties concerning torture 288 Lexicon* 295 Methodology note 308 Acknowledgments and list of contributors 311 Learn about ACAT 312 Learn about FIACAT 313 * Terms followed by an asterisk in this report refer to a definition in the lexicon p. 295 A WORLD OF TORTURE . ACAT 2016 REPORT. PREFACE 13 PREFACE by emmanuel decaux, author1, professor of public law at the Université Panthéon-Assas Paris II and Chairman of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances The changes seen in international human rights over the past 40 years come com- plete with contrasts and contradictions, thus denying us a black and white under- standing of the situation and instead encouraging us to exercise heightened vigilance. The significant legal progress achieved through the United Nations cannot hide the systematic and flagrant violations that occur across the world, despite an increase in the Human Rights Council's commissions of inquiry tasked with recording the atrocities committed, from Syria to Sri Lanka and Eritrea to Burundi, as well as the Security Council's diplomatic initiatives rolled out as part of a "duty to protect". Political debate within the old traditional democracies is increasingly being disrupted by demagogic provocation, when an electoral candidate such as Donald Trump, for example, prides himself on re-establishing torture and "doing much worse" than the Bush administration. Instead of learning from America's failed war on terror that led to a network of secret prisons and clandestine CIA flights, the European States that were hard hit by terrorist attacks conceal their impotence behind warlike declarations, dismiss- ing arguments based on human rights as "legalism". Authorities in France and the United Kingdom are speaking out to deplore "judicial activism" while undermining the authority of the European Court of Human Rights. And yet the rule of law is the best protective shield a democracy can have. The bravery of NGOs such as ACAT must be welcomed, as time and time again they remind us of the moral evidence on the ground, and in doing so run the risk of finding themselves on the stand for having dared to denounce torture where they see it. This is yet another reason for us not to neglect the international obligations that have gradually ensured torture is outlawed. Although human rights were first enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations in 1945 and the Universal Declaration in 1948, it wasn't until much more recently that they were acknowledged as one of the United Nations' three fundamental pillars alongside security and peace, although the resources employed to this effect leave much to be desired. 14 PREFACE . A WORLD OF TORTURE . ACAT 2016 REPORT A WORLD OF TORTURE . ACAT 2016 REPORT. PREFACE 15 Progress for treaties ance with victims' rights to justice and reparations. Today, 51 States are bound by this Convention, which in turn consolidates the network of preventative measures Just 40 years ago, in 1976, the two international covenants that turned the key prin- and international remedies. Several hundreds of urgent appeals concerning Mexico ciples of the Universal Declaration into legal obligations for the party States entered have already been logged, in particular regarding the case of the 43 Iguala students into force. Today, 168 States are signatories of the Covenant on Civil and Political who disappeared in September 2014 and whose whereabouts remain unknown. Rights and 164 have signed the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. These States are required to demonstrate their compliance with their obligations The link between enforced disappearance and torture is evident, as illustrated by by submitting national reports to committees of independent experts that answer to the case of Giulio Regeni, the Italian student who disappeared on 25 January 2016 civil society, and notably NGOs, who may submit alternative reports. The States that in a central Cairo neighbourhood teeming with police, and whose body was found ratified optional protocols allowing individual complaints may also be subject to a by the roadside in Egypt. Arbitrary detention is torture in itself for the disappeared complaints procedure of a “semi-jurisdictional” nature. person, who is left ignorant of the fate that awaits them and deprived not only of the protection of the law but also of the basic reference points of ordinary life. It is also In 1987, almost 30 years ago, the Convention against Torture that was adopted in a form of endless psychological torture for the victims' families, as demonstrated 1984 entered into force. This convention ushered in the absolute prohibition of by the unrelenting fight put up by the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, 40 years torture and "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" via a series of after the military coup in Argentina. measures of prevention, international cooperation and criminal punishment over- seen by the Committee against Torture. The Convention has still only been signed This phenomenon was characteristic of the 20th century's totalitarian dictator- by 158 States, but the Human Rights Council has just adopted a new resolution to ships, from Nazism and Stalinism to a revival during the colonial wars, particularly support the Convention against Torture Initiative launched in 2014, which aims to in Algeria, before becoming a systematic practice in Latin America's military dic- "achieve universal ratification and to put the Convention against Torture into con- tatorships as part of Operation Condor. It wasn't until 1980 that the first working crete practice by 2024". Real mobilisation of all stakeholders is still needed. Failing group on involuntary or enforced disappearances was set up by the Human Rights this, the stated deadline runs the risk of being postponed indefinitely. Commission. This working group still exists today, operating on a universal scale Nothing can be built in a day. The system of on-the-ground visits trialled on a regional with a humanitarian mandate, adding to the work carried out by the Committee on level with the participation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture Enforced Disappearances as part of the 2006 Convention. (ECPT) in particular, was only set up by the United Nations following a protocol that entered into force in 2006, the “OP-CAT”, which established a Subcommittee The same applies to the mandate held by the Special Rapporteur on Torture, one of on Prevention of Torture (SPT) tasked with visiting places of detention around the the oldest thematic procedures initiated by the Human Rights Commission in 1985, world. Only 80 States ratified this Protocol and, due to a lack of resources, the which has since seen a succession of particularly competent and committed rap- experts only carry out a half dozen visits every year. Yet here too, the OP-CAT set porteurs, such as Nigel Rodley, Theo van Boven and Juan Mendez, with the latter up a national independent system that which led to France appointing an Inspector- having been the mandate holder since 1 November 2010. His latest report records General of Places of Deprivation of Liberty. In other words, there are now three the urgent appeals addressed to 72 States around the world. Here too, the rappor- independent bodies established on a national, regional and universal level, working teur's tasks complement those of the other international bodies, from treaty organs closely together to achieve their shared goal of monitoring places of deprivation. to the various different special procedures. As an example, the Special Rapporteur travelled to Mexico, along with the working group on involuntary or enforced disap- Ten years ago, in 2006, the International Convention for the Protection of All pearances. Far from serving as two hands busied with the same task, these different Persons from Enforced Disappearance was adopted before entering into force on independent procedures are complementary and strengthen one another in the face 23 December 2010.