TREC/004/10/2011: Resolution on Prevention and Prohibition of Torture and other Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa
We, the participants to the NGO Forum in the 50th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and 24th African Human Rights Book Fair held from 19th – 21st October, 2011 in Banjul, The Gambia
Concerned about the persistent practice of unlawful arrests and arbitrary and secret detention throughout the continent, enforced disappearances which often result in the use of torture and ill-treatment of people in violation of the African Charter, in particular Articles 4 and 5,
Concerned by the conditions of places of detention, in particular overcrowding, the lack of access to health, to water and food, the absence of separation between women and men, juveniles and adults, the lack of adequate prisons and facilities for prisoners with disability, women and their children in clear violation of Articles 5 and 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (“African Charter”),
Noting that an independent national oversight mechanism to monitor all places of detention and prisons would address some of these issues,
Preoccupied by the lack of prompt access of detainees, especially while in police and prison custody, to lawyers, doctors, health facilities and family members and the insufficient recording of arrested persons kept in police and prison custody and the length of pre-trial detention in violation of Article 7 of the African Charter,
Recalling the obligations of Member States under the African Charter and noting that 43 Member States have ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment (“UN Convention against Torture”),
Concerned about the lack of the express criminalization of torture in the domestic law of the majority of Member States despite their obligation to do so, often preventing victims of torture and ill treatment to access justice,
Noting that the absence of criminalization of these offences must not prevent the adequate investigation and prosecution thereof,
Aware of the continued impunity of alleged perpetrators of acts of torture and ill treatment and enforced disappearances, often due to, inter alia, a lack of political will to investigate and prosecute, the lack of an independent judiciary, corruption, the absence of a relevant legal framework and practical facilities to carry out investigations and/or the fear of victims of reprisals and intimidation when attempting to seek justice,
Conscious of the risks of victims of these crimes in filing complaints on a national and regional level and the important role of the African Commission in this respect,
Recalling the opportunities provided under the African Charter and the Robben Island Guidelines to address violations of the African Charter, in particular Articles 1, 4,5,6 and 7,
Recalling in particular that the African Commission has a crucial role to play on the Continent to protect and promote the rights enshrined in these Articles in particular through its Communication procedure, developing jurisprudence on pertinent human rights issues and its two special mechanisms, i.e. the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Centres of Detention and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa (CPTA),
We therefore call on the African Commission:
To adopt a resolution at its 50th session calling on Member States to:
- Comply with their obligations under the African Charter, the UN Convention against Torture and the Convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearances, in particular through the criminalization of these offences in their national legislation in accordance with international law standards;
- Provide victims with the right to a remedy and full reparation, including rehabilitation, restitution, compensation, just satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition;
- Carry out training of key stakeholders, bearing in mind international law standards and in particular the Istanbul Protocol on the investigation and documentation of torture and other ill treatment;
Done in Banjul – 21st October, 2011
