Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman Or

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman Or UNITED NATIONS CAT Convention against Torture Distr. and Other Cruel, Inhuman or GENERAL Degrading Treatment or CAT/C/TCD/1 22 September 2008 Punishment ENGLISH Original: FRENCH COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 19 OF THE CONVENTION Initial reports of States parties due in 1996 CHAD [4 September 2007] GE.08-44268 (EXT) CAT/C/TCD/1 page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 - 8 4 PART I: GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROHIBITION AND ELIMINATION OF TORTURE I. General legal framework ................................................................... 9 - 40 5 II. The judicial and administrative authorities or other competent bodies concerned with areas targeted by the Convention .................. 41 - 62 11 A. The judicial authorities ............................................................. 41 - 48 11 B. The administrative authorities .................................................. 49 - 58 12 C. Other competent authorities ..................................................... 59 - 62 13 III. Actual status of implementation of the Convention .......................... 63 - 78 14 A. Act on reproductive health ....................................................... 65 14 B. Code of Ethics of the National Police ...................................... 66 - 78 14 PART II: INFORMATION CONCERNING EACH SUBSTANTIVE ARTICLE OF THE CONVENTION (ARTICLES 2-16) Article 2: Measures taken to prevent torture ............................................ 79 - 167 16 A. Legislative measures ................................................................ 80 - 110 16 B. Regulatory or administrative measures .................................... 111 - 136 19 C. Judicial measures ...................................................................... 137 - 167 23 Article 3: Measures taken to prohibit expulsion, return (refoulement) and extradition of a person to a State in which he is in danger of being subjected to torture ......................................................... 168 - 222 27 A. Legislative measures ................................................................ 174 - 178 27 B. Administrative measures .......................................................... 179 - 212 28 C. Judicial measures ...................................................................... 213 - 222 31 CAT/C/TCD/1 page 3 Paragraphs Page Article 4: Repression of acts of torture in domestic law .......................... 223 - 255 33 A. Legislative measures ................................................................ 223 - 247 33 B. Administrative measures .......................................................... 248 - 254 36 C. Judicial measures ...................................................................... 255 36 Article 5: Principles of territoriality and extraterritoriality ...................... 256 - 267 37 Article 6: Preventive detention : Police custody ...................................... 268 - 296 38 A. Preventive detention ................................................................. 269 - 282 38 B. Police custody .......................................................................... 283 - 296 40 Article 7: Conditions governing extradition ............................................. 297 - 304 41 Article 8: Obligation to cooperate ............................................................ 305 - 307 42 Article 9: Mutual judicial assistance ........................................................ 308 - 314 43 Article 10: Programme of training to combat torture ................................. 315 - 337 43 Article 11: Mechanisms for the surveillance of detainees .......................... 338 - 361 46 A. Legislative measures ................................................................ 338 - 349 46 B. Administrative measures .......................................................... 350 - 361 48 Article 12: The obligation to proceed to a prompt investigation in cases of torture ................................................................................... 362 - 374 49 A. Legislative measures ................................................................ 362 - 371 49 B. Administrative measures .......................................................... 372 - 374 51 Article 13: The right of victims to file complaints ..................................... 375 - 383 51 Article 14: The guarantee of redress and fair and adequate compensation 384 - 391 52 Article 15: Invalidity of confessions obtained under duress ...................... 392 - 398 52 Article 16: Prohibition of acts similar to torture ........................................ 399 - 409 53 CAT/C/TCD/1 page 4 Introduction 1. The present report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of article 19 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (“the Convention”), which recommends that the States parties submit reports on the measures they have taken to give effect to their undertakings. 2. Chad acceded to the Convention on 9 June1995. It made no reservation and no interpretative statement at that time. 3. Owing to special circumstances that led it to seek technical cooperation from the United Nations, the Chadian Government has thus far been unable to submit a report, making it necessary to submit an initial report, due on 9 July 1996, and two periodic reports, due on 9 July 2000 and 2004 respectively. 4. The present report responds to the obligation on States parties to submit reports. The special characteristic of this report is that it is cumulative, inasmuch as it combines Chad’s initial and second and third periodic reports. 5. The context in which this report was prepared is marked by the proclamation of a state of emergency. This state of emergency, instituted by Decree No. 1014 of 13 December 2006, is intended to put an end to the serious breaches of the peace in the wake of the insecurity that has been plaguing the six regions concerned as a result of the troubles, as well as the town of N’Djamena. 6. Pursuant to article 124 of the Constitution and of Ordinance No. 44 of 27 October 1962 proclaiming the state of emergency, which sets forth the conditions for the enforcement of this regime restricting public freedoms, the Council of Ministers, meeting on 13 November 2006, decreed the state of emergency and the Government informed the Bureau of the National Assembly. 7. Since the state of emergency falls under the law and may be extended beyond 12 days only with the authorization of the National Assembly, the Government requested authorization from the Assembly to extend it for a period of six months, which was granted through National Assembly resolution No. 004/AN/2006 of 23 November 2006. To that end, resident ministers were appointed to govern these troubled regions. 8. The terms of reference of the mission of the resident ministers specifying the context of this regime that restricts public freedoms point out that the state of emergency was decreed following intercommunal clashes that cost the lives of many people and a great deal of livestock. Villagers have been destroyed, causing large-scale displacement of villagers. The humanitarian agencies working in the east of the country in connection with the Darfur conflict estimate that 120,000 persons have been displaced. CAT/C/TCD/1 page 5 PART I GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROHIBITION AND ELIMINATION OF TORTURE I. GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK 9. The general legal framework for the protection of human rights is fairly solid inasmuch as all international legal instruments, once ratified, form part of domestic legislation, to which must be added the Constitution, the Criminal Code and the other laws that we shall be examining in the course of the report. 10. Since the early years of independence the Republic of Chad has had a long tradition of secret detentions, torture and disappearances, fed by intercommunal conflicts and bloody internecine civil wars in the struggle for power. 11. While illegal arrests, arbitrary detentions and abductions are prohibited and severely punished under the 1967 Criminal Code, torture is not a separate offence in our current national legal instruments. 12. This situation is linked to the lack of harmonization of our domestic legal framework with the Convention that is the subject of this report. However, the 1967 legislature defined torture as an aggravating circumstance in criminal proceedings. 13. The Constitution, the supreme law of the country, reaffirms in its preamble Chad’s attachment to the general principles of human rights as defined by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights; the principle of the inviolability of the human person is also affirmed. Thus, the Constitution, in its article 17, paragraph 1, stipulates that: “The human person is sacred and inviolable.” 14. In thus establishing through its Constitution some provisions that prohibit the practice of torture, Chad unquestionably adheres to the perception of international law to the effect that torture is a crime and as such destroys the victim’s personality and is no less than a negation of the dignity inherent in the human person. 15. However, so as better to define the context in which acts of torture nowadays considered as violations of human rights are practised, one must remember that French
Recommended publications
  • Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
    ACADEMIC PAPER GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT: CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE MAY 2017 UN WOMEN © 2017 UN Women The electronic version of this publication is available under a Creative Commons Attribute- NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 licence. You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the publication as well as to remix and adapt it provided it is only for non-commercial purposes, that you appropriately attribute the publication, and that you distribute it under an identical licence. For more information on this licence see: <http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/>. This publication is independent of specific national or political interests. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the views of UN Women, the Just Governance Group or International IDEA, or the view of their respective Boards or Council members. ACADEMIC PAPER GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT: CONSTITUTIONAL JURISPRUDENCE UN WOMEN NEW YORK, MAY 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments ...................................................... 7 Abbreviations ......................................................... 10 Executive Summary .................................................... 11 Recommendations. 11 Constitutional provisions .................................... 11 CEDAW and international instruments ......................... 12 Judicial reasoning ........................................... 12 Public-interest litigation approaches .......................... 12 Addressing gaps through further research. 12 1. Introduction
    [Show full text]
  • Table of Contents
    TABLE OF CONTENTS Page(s) MEETINGS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES 129th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union 1. Opening of the Assembly ....................................................................................................... 4 2. Participation .......................................................................................................................... 4 3. Choice of an emergency item ................................................................................................ 5 4. Debates and decisions of the Assembly and the IPU Committee on United Nations Affairs ..... 5 5. Amendments to the Statutes and Rules .................................................................................. 9 193rd Session of the Governing Council 1. Membership of the Inter-Parliamentary Union ....................................................................... 9 2. Financial situation of the IPU ................................................................................................. 9 3. Programme and budget for 2014 ........................................................................................... 9 4. Cooperation with the United Nations system ......................................................................... 10 5. Implementation of the IPU Strategy for 2012-2017 ................................................................ 10 6. Recent specialized meetings .................................................................................................. 10 7. Reports of plenary bodies and
    [Show full text]
  • CJCA Newsletter English
    Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa - CJCA “Newsletter of CJCA” Prepared by: CJCA General Secretariat Published in: Arabic, English, French and Portuguese Issue: 03 / 2020 Term: October - December Newsletter of CJCA Issue: 02/2020 Conference of Constitutional Jurisdictions of Africa - CJCA “Newsletter of CJCA” President's message: I address my cordial greetings to all the permanent and observers’ members of the CJCA. The epidemiological situation of the coronavirus (Covid 19) has led to several functional changes in the life of human beings in citizens' institutions. As human beings, our Constitutional Courts and Councils will not be exempt from this reality. Our communities have been shaken every day by the loss of human life and dire predictions of economic disaster. Seeing our silent courtrooms with locked doors helps us, again, to become more aware of the abnormal period we are going through. Having serious and confined institutions is very important, in a world agitated by tweet and messages on social networks, conveying the idea of a collective history motivated, mainly, by fear and mistrust of those who have destiny of all of us, at hand. The daily events caused by the Covid 19 pandemic, pushed to urgent measures, can severely limit the fundamental freedoms of citizens, creating, in fact, a situation comparable to that of a state of war. But the fascination with extraordinary management of the current crisis, attributed not only to the population, but also to our constitutions, cannot allow us to forget our task, that of defending the rights and guarantees provided for in our systems. Our Constitutional Courts and Councils must always be with open arms for the protection of citizens' rights.
    [Show full text]
  • Questionnaire EN
    International Budget Partnership OPEN BUDGET QUESTIONNAIRE Chad, September 2009 International Budget Partnership Center on Budget and Policy Priorities 820 First Street NE, Suite 510 Washington, DC 20002 www.internationalbudget.org www.openbudgetindex.org This questionnaire was completed by: Name: Dr. Antoine Doudjidingao and Dr. Gilbert Maoundonodji Organization: Groupe de Recherches Alternatives et de Monitoring du Projet Pétrole Tchad-Cameroun (GRAMP/TC) Address: BP: 4021, N'Djaména (Tchad) Telephone: (+235) 251 52 22 / 333 52 42 / 251 95 55 E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected] International Budget Partnership OPEN BUDGET QUESTIONNAIRE Section One: The Availability of Budget Documents .................................... 3 Table 1. Budget Year of Documents Used in Completing the Questionnaire ......... 4 Table 2. Key Budget Documents Used: Full Titles and Internet Links ................. 5 Table 3. Distribution of Documents Related to the Executive’s Budget Proposal ... 7 Table 4. Distribution of the Enacted Budget and Other Reports ......................... 8 Section Two: The Executive’s Budget Proposal ........................................... 9 Estimates for the Budget Year and Beyond ................................................... 10 Estimates for Years Prior to the Budget Year ................................................ 18 Comprehensiveness .................................................................................. 27 The Budget Narrative & Performance Monitoring ..........................................
    [Show full text]
  • Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman Or
    UNITED NATIONS CAT Convention against Torture Distr. and Other Cruel, Inhuman or GENERAL Degrading Treatment or CAT/C/TCD/1 22 September 2008 Punishment ENGLISH Original: FRENCH COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES UNDER ARTICLE 19 OF THE CONVENTION Initial reports of States parties due in 1996 CHAD [4 September 2007] GE.08-44268 (EXT) CAT/C/TCD/1 page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 - 8 4 PART I: GENERAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PROHIBITION AND ELIMINATION OF TORTURE I. General legal framework ................................................................... 9 - 40 5 II. The judicial and administrative authorities or other competent bodies concerned with areas targeted by the Convention .................. 41 - 62 11 A. The judicial authorities ............................................................. 41 - 48 11 B. The administrative authorities .................................................. 49 - 58 12 C. Other competent authorities ..................................................... 59 - 62 13 III. Actual status of implementation of the Convention .......................... 63 - 78 14 A. Act on reproductive health ....................................................... 65 14 B. Code of Ethics of the National Police ...................................... 66 - 78 14 PART II: INFORMATION CONCERNING EACH SUBSTANTIVE ARTICLE OF THE CONVENTION (ARTICLES 2-16) Article 2: Measures taken to prevent
    [Show full text]