Mauritania Alternative Report
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Mauritania Alternative Report Report submitted to the Committee against Torture during the Review of the Initial Report on Mauritania April 2013 Alkarama Foundation – 2bis Chemin des Vignes – 1209 Geneva – Switzerland ( +41 22 734 10 06 – 7 +41 22 545 76 55 – * [email protected] – 8 www.alkarama.org Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................................................................ 2 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 3 2 BACKGROUND .......................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 A POLITICAL HISTORY MARKED BY COUPS ....................................................................................................... 4 2.2 COUNTER -TERRORISM MEASURES ................................................................................................................. 5 2.3 SLAVERY STILL A PROBLEM ........................................................................................................................... 6 3 GAPS IN THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO COMBAT TORTURE ........................................................................ 8 3.1 TORTURE : A "C RIME AGAINST HUMANITY " ... THAT IS NOT CRIMINALIZED ............................................................ 8 3.2 A LEGAL FRAMEWORK THAT FAVOURS THE IMPUNITY OF VIOLATORS .................................................................... 9 3.3 CUSTODY : A QUESTIONABLE LEGAL PRACTICE ................................................................................................ 10 3.3.1 An Excessive Legal Limit Already in Place ........................................................................................ 10 3.3.2 Access to a Lawyer: the Limitations of a Fundamental Guarantee ................................................. 11 3.4 PRE -TRAIL DETENTION OFTEN PROLONGED ................................................................................................... 11 4 THE PRACTICE OF TORTURE AND METHODS OF PREVENTION ................................................................ 12 4.1 TORTURE AS EVIDENCE DURING PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS ......................................................................... 12 4.2 SECRET DETENTION AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE : BREEDING GROUNDS FOR TORTURE ..................................... 13 4.3 THE SITUATION IN PLACES OF DETENTION ..................................................................................................... 14 4.3.1 Conditions in Places of Detention: Inhuman and Degrading Treatment ......................................... 14 4.3.2 Maintenance in Detention despite Legal Decisions ......................................................................... 15 4.4 EXTRADITIONS PRACTICED IN CONTRAVENTION OF ARTICLE 3 OF CAT ................................................................ 15 4.5 TORTURE PREVENTION MEASURES REMAIN INADEQUATE ................................................................................. 16 4.5.1 The Lack of Independence of the Judiciary: a Barrier to Change ..................................................... 16 4.5.2 The Role of the National Human Rights Institution ......................................................................... 17 5 RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE STATE PARTY ........................................................................................... 18 2 1 Introduction The initial report of Mauritania (CAT/C/MRT/1) was submitted to the Committee against Torture in January 2012, seven years late, and will be examined by the Committee at its 50th session in May 2013. As part of this review process, Alkarama submits this alternative report in which it draws a picture of the situation of torture in Mauritania, highlighting its main concerns and addressing recommendations to the State party. This report is based on our work in this regard, mainly consisting of documenting individual cases and bringing them to the attention of the United Nations Special Procedures with the cooperation and participation of local actors, namely the victims themselves, their families, lawyers and local organizations involved in the promotion and protection of human rights. This paper also aims to establish an analysis of the situation of human rights in the country, more generally, and with a focus on torture in particular. In order to provide a complete picture of the situation of human rights in the country, it is necessary to conduct an overview of the current situation in Mauritania (2) first. It is also important to assess the situation of torture in Mauritania in the light of its political history, which has been marked by coups (2.1), the fight against terrorism (2.2), and the on-going issue of slavery , which remains unresolved (2.3). The review of the legal framework of the fight against torture (3), particularly by examining the non-criminalization of torture, none-the-less described in official statements as a "crime against humanity" (3.1); impunity of violators (3.2), a questionable program of custody (3.3) with respect to both its excessive length (3.3.1) and the limits in the guarantee of access to a lawyer (3.3.2 ), and the systematic extension of preventive detention (3.4) shows that there still remain a number of serious shortcomings and failures that promote the practice of torture and therefore undermine respect for human rights in the country. As for the actual examination of the practice of torture and means of prevention in Mauritania (4), it will be reviewed from different angles, including its use as evidence at the stage of preliminary investigation (4.1), the grounding of torture in incommunicado detention and enforced disappearances (4.2), the situation in places of detention (4.3) in particular the conditions in places of deprivation of liberty (4.3.1) and arbitrary detention despite court orders for release or acquittals (4.3.2), the issue of extraditions performed in violation of Article 3 of the Convention against Torture (4.4). Finally, the lack of resources for the prevention of torture will be highlighted (4.5), the lack of independence of the judiciary which constitutes an obstacle to change (4.5.1) , and the limited role of the national human rights institution (4.5.2). 3 2 Background 2.1 A Political History Marked by Coups The political history of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania is marked by a succession of coups and alternating authoritarian civilian and military regimes. Decades of human rights violations have left its mark on the country and the persistence of torture is the a legacy of its recent past. After independence in 1960, President Moktar Ould Daddah adopted a constitution establishing an authoritarian presidential system dominated by a single party 1. He was overthrown in 1978 by a group of senior military officers who installed a National Salvation Committee that governed the country until 1992, when policy reforms were adopted and a new "democratic" constitution was promulgated as the result of a popular referendum in 1991. The introduction of a multiparty system and the legalization of political parties led to the holding of multiparty elections in 1992, 1997 and 2003, which were won by Colonel Maaouya Ould Taya, already in power since 1984. The electoral process, however, remained hotly contested by the opposition and civil liberties ere, in practice, severely restricted. Opponents continued to be persecuted, imprisoned and sometimes physically liquidated. While the regime cooperated with the United States in the fight against terrorism, internal criticism against its leader was widespread and continued to grow. On 3 August 2005, a new military coup led by a "Military Council for Justice and Democracy" (CMJD) under the direction of Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, Director General of State Security, overthrew the Ould Taya government that had been in place for two decades, ostensibly to "put an end to the totalitarian practices of the regime." The new regime attempted to establish a democratic transition based on a series of policy and institutional reforms over a period of two years, with the stated goal of creating the foundations for rule of law to take root in the country. The democratic transition process began with the organization of a constitutional referendum in June 2006, and continued with the holding of municipal and legislative elections in the same year, and finally senatorial elections in 2007. Despite these advances, clan rivalries and political infighting demonstrated the limits of the democratic transition process. These reforms led to the election 2 of Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallah in March 2007. The newly- elected President then introduced reforms, particularly in the field of human rights. Greater freedom of expression was granted and new political organizations were allowed. In addition, a law criminalizing slavery was passed. However, the conflict between the military hierarchy (including the former members of the junta) and the traditional political class led to a crisis between the President and some members of parliament who blocked the implementation of his political program. On 6 August 2008, the head of state and prime minister were arrested by the military and placed under house arrest. The new coup was carried out by the head of the presidential guard, General Mohamed Ould Abdel