[prisoner-rights] CAT 33rd session: Review of report of Argentina

UNITED NATIONS
Press Release
16 November 2004

The Committee against Torture this morning began its consideration of the
fourth periodic report of Argentina on the efforts of that country to give
effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Rodolfo Mattarollo, Chief of the Cabinet of Advisers for the Secretary of Human
Rights in the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights of Argentina, said
democracy and human rights were a priority in the work of the police and judicial
officials in Argentina. Torture and the treatment of persons in detention, he said,
was a cause of great alarm to the Government which understood that there was a need
for changes in the fight against impunity, particularly involving cases committed
under the former military dictatorship.

Mr. Mattarollo added that the rule of law was a priority for the Argentine
Government; however, crimes against humanity committed by public officials of the
State still went unpunished. There was a need to bring these suspects to justice and
as a result there had been a number of initiatives taken by the State to ensure this
while directly applying human rights standards.

Serving as Rapporteur for the report of Argentina was Committee Expert Claudio
Grossman who thanked the delegation for the information provided in the report and
in the oral responses. He asked questions on several subjects including registers
documenting cases of torture and illegal detention in Argentina, the extradition of
military officers accused of crimes during the former military dictatorship, and
cases of abuse against marginalized groups.

Julio Prado Vallejo, the Committee Expert serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report,
noted that the situation in Argentina had improved considerably following the end of
the military dictatorship and paid tribute to the President of the Republic for the
measures he had put in motion to deal with the serious problems facing the nation.
Among the issues he drew attention to were the excessive use of force by the police,
prison overcrowding, the presumption of innocence by the police and the arrest of
street children by the police.

Other Committee Experts raised questions on issues pertaining to, among other
things, preventive detention, asylum seekers, extradition policies, rape committed
by police officials and cases of disappeared children.

Also representing the delegation of Argentina were representatives of the Ministry
of Justice, the Office of the Secretary of Human Rights, the Ministry of Foreign
Relations, the Office of the Procurator General and the Permanent Mission of
Argentina to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

The delegation will return to the Committee at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, 17 November, to
provide its response to the questions raised this morning.

Argentina is among the 138 States parties to the Convention and as such it must
present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions
of the Convention.

When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 17 November, it will begin
its review of the fourth periodic report of the United Kingdom (CAT/C/67/Add.2).




Report of Argentina

According to the fourth periodic report of Argentina, found in document
CAT/C/55/Add.7, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment is recognized as having constitutional rank in Argentina.
Among the legislation referred to in the report is an act on the execution of
custodial sentences which supplements the Criminal Code of the State and provides
that "the sentence shall be carried out without resort to cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment". Also mentioned is the Act on International Cooperation in
Criminal Matters which stipulates that extradition shall not be admissible "should
there be justified grounds for believing that the wanted person may be subjected to
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment". However, Argentina
recognizes torture as an extraditable offence provided that guarantees of due
process are furnished and the requirements for granting extradition are met.

The unlawfulness of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or
punishment is expressly covered in the general rules or instructions concerning the
duties and functions of those serving in the police forces. The prohibitions of such
ill-treatment and corresponding penalties are laid down in several legislative
guidelines including the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, the report
states. The Buenos Aires Prison Plan, among other things, involves measures to
dignify people deprived of their liberty by improving their conditions of
accommodation and treatment. The amendment to the Federal Prison Service
Organization Act aims to bring about a cultural change in the Federal Prison Service
by including among its institutional responsibilities not only security, custody and
surveillance but also the treatment of prisoners for their social rehabilitation.
The Office of the Government Procurator for the Prison System, the report says, is
tasked to investigate individual or collective complaints or claims from persons
detained in units of the Federal Prison Service with the aim of guaranteeing and
protecting their rights as recognized and assured in Argentine positive law.

The report refers to the setting up of the Prison Ethics Committee and the Office of
care for prisoners and their families in 2000 which receive complaints of
dereliction of duty, misconduct or corruption of officials in the State's prison
service and deal with the daily problems facing inmates and their families,
respectively. Also highlighted is the Ad Hoc Committee of Prosecutors set up by the
Office of the Procurator-General of the Nation ("Truth Committee") which, among
other things, cooperates in the investigations conducted by the prosecutors in the
cases concerning "establishment of the truth" of the facts relating to human rights
violations between 1976 and 1983. The report goes on to say that during the year
2001, a lot of evidence was heard with a view to determining the truth regarding the
events under investigation and the fate of the persons who disappeared under the
last military dictatorship. Another committee of prosecutors has been tasked with
working on cases concerning the abduction of minors.




Presentation of Report

RODOLFO MATTAROLLO, Chief of the Cabinet of Advisers for the Secretary of Human
Rights in the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights of Argentina, said
democracy and human rights were a priority in the work of the police and judicial
officials in Argentina. Torture and the treatment of persons in detention was a
cause of great alarm to the Government which understood that there was a need for
changes in the fight against impunity, particularly concerning cases committed under
the former military dictatorship. This realization was crucial for the present and
the future of the country, he added.

The rule of law was a priority for the Argentine Government; however, crimes against
humanity committed by public officials of the State still went unpunished. There was
a need to bring these suspects to justice and as a result there had been a number of
initiatives taken by the State to ensure this while directly applying human rights
standards.

He listed as noteworthy the revision of the Supreme Court of Justice under President
Nestor Kirchner, as well as the revision of the armed forces, the police and
security forces; the parliamentary annulment of amnesty laws was another example of
what the State had been doing to uphold human rights in Argentina. Argentina had
reopened throughout the country over 300 legal cases concerning more than 60
military officers who were charged with having committed crimes against humanity
during the last military dictatorship.

Mr. Mattarollo drew attention to the fact that, in addition to the Convention
against Torture, Argentina had ratified a number of protocols and international
instruments related to human rights, adding that the President had just signed and
sent to the United Nations Secretary-General an instrument for ratification of the
optional protocol to the Convention against Torture.




Response by Delegation

The delegation then responded to a series of written question prepared by the
Committee in advance and sent to the State party beforehand.

Concerning the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the delegation
indicated that an interdepartmental study commission had been set up by the
Government to adapt the internal legislation to the provisions of the Statute. The
commission had prepared a preliminary draft law on international crimes which was
currently being considered by the Chamber of Senators.

Asked whether a register recording information from all the courts throughout the
country on cases of illegal detention and ill-treatment had been established, the
delegation indicated that the Public Prosecutors Office, the Ministry of Justice and
the Office for Repeat Defenders had been involved in collecting information in this
regard. The Secretary for Human Rights had set up a database of legal cases on
torture to which 15 of the 23 provinces in Argentina responded. This database
covered the period from 1998 to 2001 and looked at cases of deprivation of liberty
committed by public officials; as a result of this exercise 13 convictions had been
handed down. Moreover, the Department of Statistics had investigated cases handled
in Buenos Aires between 1998 and 2002 and had determined that out of 13, 000 cases,
only three had to do with torture.

With regard to a question on the uniform application of the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in various
areas of the country, the delegation noted that Argentina was a country where the
provinces had precedence over the nation. A bill was being considered that provided
that torture represented a crime that fell under federal justice, which aimed to
homogenize case law in this area.

Asked to discuss the current situation of those members of the armed or security
forces who were accused or sentenced by national or foreign courts for human rights
violations during the last military dictatorship, the delegation affirmed that one
aspect of the Government's policy was to fight impunity for these individuals and
measures had been taken to ensure this. The delegation noted that none of these
accused persons were currently serving in public office, adding that all military
promotions were subjected to the Secretary for Human Rights.

With regard to the Buenos Aires province, the delegation was asked what measures had
been taken by the provincial Office of the Secretary for Human Rights to combat
torture and ill-treatment in prisons, and whether they had any effect. In response,
the delegation said that in April 2002, a decree by the Governor of the Buenos Aires
province had enacted a programme for the prevention of torture which was designed to
implement policies to encourage humanitarian treatment. A programme was also being
developed to ensure that justice was provided to victims of abuses committed by
public officers and that they had access to legal aid. Officials of the Ministry of
Justice made frequent unannounced visits to penal and psychiatric institutions in
the province and confidential interviews were conducted with prisoners. Free
telephone lines were also made available in prison institutions to allow prisoners
to report their concerns; these concerns revolved around the situations of health,
family reunification and ill-treatment, among other things. If there were
violations, an investigation was carried out and the necessary administrative body
was informed when public officers were the subjects of a complaint. In general,
various measures were taken by the Government to ensure the safety of the victims,
the delegation added.

Concerning the detention of foreign asylum seekers, the delegation noted that as per
the new immigration law now in force in Argentina, detaining a foreigner was a
matter of the Ministry of Justice. The new law also resolved to suspend the
expulsion of foreigners who were nationals of neighbouring countries. The delegation
added that from 2003 to mid-2004, some 34,000 residence permits were issued to
foreign nationals.

With regard to the physical conditions and overcrowding in prisons, the delegation
said the Government was concerned about the situation of overcrowding in prisons and
had taken efforts to limit prison sentences and to limit overcrowding in prison
stations as well. As of early November this year, there were just over 9,000
detainees in federal prisons, which was slightly over the actual capacity of the
State. To address this issue, the President had presented a plan for the overhaul of
the prison system which envisaged the creation of another 18 prisons throughout the
country.

On the subject of the detention of minors, the delegation noted that some 2,500
complaints had been reported involving ill-treatment of minors in detention
facilities. The Secretary for Human Rights proposed that a new law should be passed
to protect minors and adolescents in conflict with the law.

Asked to indicate the maximum duration of imprisonment under the law, the delegation
indicated that terms of preventive detention could be extended for an extra year in
special cases where reaching a verdict proved to be complicated. The high percentage
of detainees held in these type of detention was a cause of concern, the delegation
said; some 80 per cent of all detainees in the State.

In response to a question, the delegation noted that there had been abuses by police
officials during the arrest of citizens and investigations had been conducted as a
result. In the context of a commission of prosecutors, the Government had been able
to convict public officials and police officers for such abuses of power.

Asked to provide information about mechanisms to investigate cases of torture
committed by public officials, the delegation said a series of mechanisms had been
set up to add to the control of the prison system so that they were more efficient.
This was carried out through the office of the Prison Procurator, an independent
body which had non-traditional powers. Requests for special information and an
inspection mechanism were also part of the powers of the office of the Procurator.
The contribution of the Procurator was taken into account in decisions of the
Supreme Court. Moreover, the Procurator enjoyed immunity and had powers to prosecute
and bring forward complaints.

With regard to a question about reparation, the delegation said Argentina had a
policy of legislative and administrative reparation for human rights violations
committed under the military dictatorship, such as cases involving disappearances
and abuse by public officials. Recently the Government decided to pay reparations
for children born to mothers who had disappeared under this regime. There had been
over 14,000 beneficiaries under the law on detained persons, the delegation added.

With regard to terrorism, the delegation noted that the current Government had set
up a special unit to combat acts of terrorism and it adhered to major international
instruments on the issue.




Questions by Experts

CLAUDIO GROSSMAN, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of
Argentina, after thanking the delegation for the information provided in their
report and in their oral responses, asked a series of follow-up questions. Turning
to article two of the Convention, he asked what the possibilities were for the
creation of a register recording information from all courts on cases of illegal
detention and ill-treatment. While noting that a bill had been submitted to put acts
of torture and related treatment under a federal law, he asked what the expected
time frame was for this law to enter into force. He also asked about the relation
between all the laws which had federal rank with those of local jurisdiction.

Among the other subjects raised by the Rapporteur was the situation of the
extradition of military officials to foreign countries; the effectiveness of the
various seminars conducted related to the Convention; and preventive detention and
whether there was any possibility for reducing the problem of prison overcrowding.
In that connection, he asked what efforts had been made to allow for the transfer of
children from adult penal institutions to those for minors.

Mr. Grossman indicated that the Committee had received information on a number of
cases concerning the disappearances and deaths of a number of prostitutes in Mar del
Plata and cases of children involved in clashes with the police who had allegedly
died as a result. He also asked for clarification about the cases of ill-treatment
against members of marginalized groups, in particular indigenous populations, and
about the abuses and threats committed by the police against sexual minorities.

JULIO PRADO VALLEJO, the Committee Expert serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of
Argentina, thanked the delegation for their presentation which helped the Committee
understand the situation in Argentina which, he said, had improved considerably
following the end of the military dictatorship. He also paid tribute to the
President of the Republic for the measures he had put in motion to deal with the
serious problems facing Argentina.

The Co-Rapporteur noted that penalties for torture had been weakening based on
decisions handed down by judges and asked for clarification on this trend. There had
been a number of cases of death under torture; recently, six such cases had been
reported. While noting that the basic problem was the excessive use of force by the
police, the Co-Rapporteur asked for additional information. He also asked if
provisions had been made to halt such practices by the police. The torture of
children was another problem which required additional information.

Mr. Prado Vallejo raised the issue of impunity for public officials charged with
carrying out ill-treatment and asked what efforts had been taken to combat impunity
for these officials. Information was also sought about the abuse carried out by
police officials by using electric shock treatment. With respect to foreigners in
Argentina, the Co-Rapporteur asked whether they could be detained with a simple
administrative order without being brought before a judge. According to information
received, in 2002, the Argentine authorities expelled some 1,400 foreigners without
providing them with an opportunity to make their case. The Co-Rapporteur asked for
information in this regard.

Mr. Prado Vallejo also asked for clarification as to the period of time a person
could be detained under the law. Other areas of concern raised were the situation of
prison overcrowding; the presumption of innocence by the police; the situation of
preventive detention; and the arrest of street children by police as well as for the
arrest of foreigners.

Several Committee Experts raised questions pertaining to the situation of preventive
detention, given that some 80 per cent of those in detention in Argentina were
reported to be in this type of detention. Others asked for information regarding the
situation of asylum seekers, extradition measures, body searches of family members
visiting a relative in prison and rape conducted by police officials.

While praising the creation by the Government of Argentina of a commission to deal
with cases of disappeared children, a Committee Expert asked for more information on
the progress. He also asked for information about the situation of children held in
police stations.