UNITED NATIONS Press Release xxxxxxxxxx COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE TO HOLD THIRTY-SIXTH SESSION FROM 1 TO 19 MAY 2006 xxxxxxxxxx Committee against torture BACKGROUND RELEASE 27 April 2006 Experts to Consider Reports of Peru, Georgia, Guatemala, the United States, Qatar, Togo and the Republic of Korea The Committee against Torture will meet at the Palais des Nations in Geneva (conference room XI) from 1 to 19 May 2006 to review measures adopted by Peru, Georgia, Guatemala, the United States, Qatar, Togo and the Republic of Korea to prevent and punish acts of torture. Representatives of the seven countries are expected to come before the Committee to defend national efforts to implement the rights enshrined in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. At the first meeting, the Committee will hear the newly elected members of the Committee make a solemn declaration to perform their duties as members of the Committee honourably, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously. It will also elect its Chairperson, Vice Chairpersons and Rapporteur. During the three-week session, the Committee's 10 Independent Experts will also consider, in closed session, information appearing to contain well-founded indications that torture is systematically being practised in some States parties; and complaints from individuals claiming to be victims of a violation by a State party of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee was established in 1987 to monitor compliance with the Convention and to assist States parties in implementing its provisions. Qatar and Togo are presenting initial reports to the Committee; the United States and the Republic of Korea are presenting second periodic reports; Georgia and is presenting its third periodic report; and Guatemala and Peru are presenting fourth periodic reports. The Committee's conclusions and recommendations on the third periodic report of Peru, considered in November 1999, can be found in document A/55/44, paras. 56-63. Its conclusions on the third periodic report of Georgia, reviewed in May 2001, can be found in document A/56/44, paras. 77-82. The Committee's conclusions and recommendations on the third periodic report of Guatemala, considered in December 2000, can be found in document A/56/44, paras. 67-76. Its conclusions and recommendations on the initial periodic report of the United States, considered in May 2000, can be found in document A/55/44, paras. 175-180. And its conclusions and recommendations on the initial periodic report of the Republic of Korea, reviewed in November 1996, can be found in document A/52/44, paras. 44-69. These documents are available at the following web address: www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf. Background on the Convention and the Committee The Convention, adopted unanimously by the General Assembly in 1984, entered into force on 26 June 1987. States parties to the Convention are required to outlaw torture and are explicitly prohibited from using "higher orders" or "exceptional circumstances" as excuses for acts of torture. The Convention introduced two significant new elements to the United Nations fight against torture: first, it specifies that alleged torturers may be tried in any State party or they may be extradited to face trial in the State party where their crimes were committed; secondly, under article 20, it provides for investigation of reliable reports of torture, including visits to the State party concerned, with its agreement, if the Committee receives reliable information, which appears to contain well-founded indications, that torture is being systematically practised in the territory of a State party. Under article 21, a State party to the Convention may at any time declare that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications to the effect that a State party claims that another State party is not fulfilling its obligations under the Convention. Under article 22, a State party to the Convention may at any time declare that it recognizes the competence of the Committee to receive and consider communications from, or on behalf of, individuals subject to its jurisdiction who claim to be victims of a violation by a State party of the provisions of the Convention. The Convention has been ratified or acceded to by the following 141 States: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Holy See, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen and Zambia. The following 51 States have recognized the competence of the Committee under articles 21 and 22: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay and Venezuela. In addition, Japan, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States of America have recognized the competence of the Committee under article 21 only. Azerbaijan, Burundi, Guatemala, Mexico and Seychelles have recognized the competence of the Committee under article 22 only. Other United Nations Activities against Torture In addition to preventive measures, the United Nations has taken action to come to the aid of torture victims. In 1981 the General Assembly set up the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Torture. The Commission on Human Rights has repeatedly appealed to all Governments, organizations and individuals in a position to do so to contribute to the Fund in order to allow it to respond to the constantly increasing number of requests for assistance. Membership and Officers The Committee's members are elected by the States parties to the Convention and serve in their personal capacity. The current members of the Committee are: Essadia Belmir (Morocco); Guibril Camara (Senegal); Felice Gaer (the United States); Claudio Grossman (Chile); Fernando Mariņo Menendez (Spain); Andreas Mavrommatis (Cyprus); Julio Prado Vallejo (Ecuador); Nora Sveaass (Norway); Xuexian Wang (China); and Alexander Kovalev (Russian Federation). Provisional Timetable for Consideration of Reports In ratifying or acceding to the Convention, States are obliged to submit reports on the measures they have taken to implement its provisions. States are invited to send representatives to attend the meetings during which their reports are considered. For this session, the Committee has drawn up the following provisional timetable for the consideration of reports: Tuesday, 2 May Morning Peru: fourth periodic report CAT/C/61/Add.2 Wednesday, 3 May Morning Georgia: third periodic report CAT/C/73/Add.1 Afternoon Peru (continued) Thursday, 4 May Morning Guatemala: third periodic report CAT/C/74/Add.1 Afternoon Georgia (continued) Friday, 5 May Morning United States: second periodic report CAT/C/48/Add.3 Afternoon Guatemala (continued) Monday, 8 May Afternoon United States (continued) Tuesday, 9 May Morning Qatar: initial periodic report CAT/C/58/Add.1 Wednesday, 10 May Morning Togo: initial periodic report CAT/C/5/Add.33 Afternoon Qatar (continued) Thursday, 11 May Morning Republic of Korea: second periodic report CAT/C/53/Add.2 Afternoon Togo (continued) Friday, 12 May Afternoon Republic of Korea (continued) * *** * For use of the information media; not an official record
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