African Commission for Association for the Amnesty International Human and Peoples Rights Prevention of Torture Senegal THE PREVENTION OF TORTURE IN AFRICA Proceedings from the Regional Conference held in Dakar, Senegal, on 27‐28 April 2010 Table of contents Table of contents Table of contents ................................................................................................................................. 2 Main abbreviations ............................................................................................................................. 5 Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................. 6 Foreword ............................................................................................................................................... 7 General Introduction ........................................................................................ 9 1. OPENING CEREMONY .............................................................................13 Speech of Mr Diéne Ndiaye, Vice‐President of Amnesty International Senegal................................................................................................................................ 13 Speech of Mr Mark C.A. Thomson, APT Secretary General..................................... 14 Speech of Mr Mahamane Cissé‐Gouro, Regional representative for West Africa, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights......... 16 Speech of Ms Dupe Atoki, Chairperson of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa, Special Rapporteur on prisons and conditions of detention in Africa, member of the African Commission for human and people’s rights ................................................................................................................... 19 Speech of Mr Oumar Diouf, Magistrate, Deputy‐Director for Criminal Affairs and Pardons, Representative of the Ministry of Justice of Senegal .............. 22 2. PLENARY SESSIONS .................................................................................25 2.1. How can the OPCAT make a difference in the Prevention of Torture?.................................................................................................25 2.1.1. Monitoring places of detention, a means to prevent torture and other forms of ill‐treatment............................................................................................ 27 Concepts and use of preventive visits, Mr Edouard Delaplace, ICRC, Geneva.......... 27 2.1.2. OPCAT: A system of prevention of torture and other ill‐treatment ............ 32 The SPT in action: SPT challenges and opportunities to be highlighted from its first visits to African regions, Mr Zdeněk Hájek, SPT member ................................... 32 Key criteria and pre‐conditions for efficient NPMs, Ms Suzanne Soukoudé‐ Fiawonou, Magistrate, Vice‐President of the OPCAT Working Group, Togo............ 36 2.1.3. Participants’ Discussions...................................................................................... 40 2.2. OPCAT Implementation: general considerations.........................41 2.2.1. The need for a broad dialogue on OPCAT ratification and implementation...................................................................................................... 42 The need for a broad dialogue and consultations on OPCAT and NPM designation, Mr Zdeněk Hájek, SPT member.................................................................. 42 2 Regional Conference on the prevention of torture in Africa 27‐28 April 2010, Dakar, Senegal Table of contents 2.2.2. Consultations on OPCAT: best practice ............................................................ 45 A fruitful campaign for OPCAT ratification and implementation in Senegal, Mr Seydi Gassama, Amnesty International Senegal....................................................... 45 Creation of an OPCAT working group in Togo and prospects for OPCAT ratification, Mr Denis Minekpor Kokou, Ministry for Human Rights........................ 47 Section 5 Committee of the South‐African Commission for human rights and the path towards OPCAT ratification and implementation, Mr Danny Titus, Commissioner of the South‐African Commission for human rights............................ 49 2.2.3. Participants’ Discussions...................................................................................... 54 2.3. OPCAT implementation: What options for NPM designation? 55 2.3.1. Tendencies and options for NPMs in Africa and elsewhere......................... 56 Ms Audrey Olivier, OPCAT Coordinator, APT .............................................................. 56 2.3.2. The creation of new institutions ......................................................................... 60 The creation of the General Inspector of Places of Deprivation of Liberty in France, Mr Jean Marie Delarue, Contrôleur général des lieux de privation de liberté, France ....................................................................................................................... 60 Propositions for the establishment of a national observer for the prevention of torture in Benin, Ms Marie‐Gisèle Zinkpè, Magistrate, Ministry of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights, and Coordinator of the OPCAT working group, Benin ......................................................................................................................... 68 The national observer of places of deprivation of liberty in Senegal, Mr Oumar Diouf, Magistrate, Deputy‐Director for Criminal Affairs and Pardons, Ministry of Justice, Senegal ................................................................................................ 71 2.3.3. Participants’ Discussions...................................................................................... 73 2.3.4. Designation of national human rights institutions as NPMs........................ 74 The role of the national human rights commission for human rights (HRCM) as NPM of the Maldives, Mr Mohamed Zahid, Vice‐President of the HRCM, Maldives................................................................................................................................74 The potential of the Commission for Human Rights and the Administration of Justice (CHRAJ) as NPM in Ghana, Ms Anna Bossman, Commissioner of the CHRAJ, Ghana ..................................................................................................................... 79 2.3.5. Participants’ Discussions...................................................................................... 87 3. WORKING GROUPS..................................................................................88 3.1. Working Group 1: Interaction between actors of torture prevention in Africa .................................................................................................................................. 88 3.2. Working Group 2: MNPs in action: How do NPMs work/how will they work? The functioning of NPMs......................................................................... 91 4. DAKAR PLAN OF ACTION......................................................................96 Regional Conference on the prevention of torture in Africa 3 27‐28 April 2010, Dakar, Senegal Table of contents 5. ANNEXES .................................................................................................... 101 Annex 1: Background Document ................................................................................ 101 Annex 2: Status of OPCAT ratifications in Africa ................................................... 109 Annex 3: Programme ..................................................................................................... 110 Annex 4: List of participants ........................................................................................ 114 4 Regional Conference on the prevention of torture in Africa 27‐28 April 2010, Dakar, Senegal Main abbreviations Main abbreviations ACHPR African Commission for Human and People’s Rights AI Amnesty International APT Association for the Prevention of Torture CPTA Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa ECCAS Economic Community of Central African States EU European Union HCHR UN High Commissioner for Human Rights ICTR International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda NCHR National Commission for Human Rights NHRI National Human Rights Institution NPM National Prevention Mechanism OPCAT Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment RIG Robben Island Guidelines for the prohibition and prevention of torture in Africa SRP Special Rapporteur on prisons and conditions of detention in Africa SPT UN Subcommitee for the Prevention of Torture Regional Conference on the prevention of torture in Africa 5 27‐28 April 2010, Dakar, Senegal Acknowledgements Acknowledgements The APT would like to thank Amnesty International Senegal for the fruitful cooperation that started in 2005 and for its mobilisation, which helped ensure the success of the Regional Conference on the Prevention of Torture in Dakar. The APT also extends its thanks to the African Commission on Human and Peoplesʹ Rights for its work and the government of Senegal for its hospitality. The APT expresses its gratitude to the resource persons who, despite their many responsibilities, agreed to devote some time to prepare and present the topics offered to them and thus