UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : HRC Press Conference: Special Rapporteur on Torture

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us at this press conference today.

Our speaker is Doctor Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or decorating treatment of punishment.

We will begin with opening remarks by the Special Rapporteur before moving to questions.

She will brief you today on her latest report to the Human Rights Council.

Doctor Edwards, you have the floor.

Thank you very much for attending this press conference yesterday and today I presented to the Human Rights Council an historic charter of rights for victims and survivors of torture and other cruelty.

This is a charter that is annexed to my my most recent report and available in all UN languages.

The report also analysis the trends around why torture persists, what survivors and victims have to say about that, and also how to address root causes and recovery and rehabilitation going forward.

You might ask why the survivor's Charter is necessary, given the international law already prohibits torture.

This charter is grounded in the voices which are at the heart of the document, Victims and survivors I convened over the last three plus years in Bogota, Kathmandu and Nairobi regional hearings for healing involving 42 survivors from 36 different countries.

There were also 120 submissions that I received to this report from survivors and survivor LED organisations, reflecting thousands of people who've been subjected to this terrible atrocity.

So while international law clearly prohibits torture and it also provides an enforceable right to reparation and compensation for victims of torture, what this does is translate those obligations of states into the views of how survivors think they can be best be implemented and the methodology for doing so.

So what is new about this charter is that it is the perspective, it is a document that has been produced in collaboration with victims and survivors.

They are no longer just witnesses to atrocities or beneficiaries of assistance, but they are also active in designing the responses that should be put in place to help them heal, to help their families heal, society, communities and countries and hopefully eventually globally.

The Charter places survivor participation and leadership at the centre of government policy.

That is what they want.

They want to be engaged.

They don't want to be consulted on an ad hoc basis as a as a check a list checking exercise but to be real leaders and Co designers of what the future in their societies means for them.

I hope, and I have the ambition, as do the survivors, that this will become AUN document and that it will be seen as complementary, for example, to the UN Basic Guidelines and Principles on a Right to a Remedy and Reparation, which coincidentally was developed by Theo van Boven, who was in the position of Special Rapporteur on torture when that document was crafted.

But as I said, this document is focused on how survivors experience torture, how they also experience the journey after torture to seek justice, reparation and recovery.

And many of them during these hearings described that the abuse does not end after the torture, but it continues.

It continues not only physically and psychologically in many cases, but also in terms of social standing, economic survival and how they are perceived by Co workers and the community.

They also expressed very clearly that their struggle for justice and recognition is a second site of torture, that this exacerbates their recovery if it is not done properly, if they are constrained, if they are neglected, ignored, et cetera.

I am hoping that states will take it upon themselves to implement this Charter, to review it closely with all stakeholders and to really engage with survivors in ensuring its implementation.

Survivors, if it was implemented, I believe would have faster and fairer access to rehabilitation.

Investigations would be more survivor centred and therefore less traumatising, and restoration programmes and reparations programmes would sincerely address their need for dignity as well as agency and also help to rebuild trust not only in societies but also trust in public institutions.

I was very pleased with the discussion.

The overwhelming majority of states that spoke welcomed the charter and believed that it was a helpful document to be able to help guide them in best approaches to to dealing with survivor engagement as well as the full anti torture regime and prohibition.

I think I'll leave it there.

I'm also open to answering questions about other work that I've been engaging on throughout my mandate, individual cases or collective situations.

[Other language spoken]

Doctor Edwards, the Special Rapporteur will now take questions.

Please state your name and organisation before asking a question.

Thank you, Aliti Agar from the Spanish news agency.

[Other language spoken]

I don't know if the Special Rapporteur could tell us the worst cases she has found and the places where there is less accountability.

Also, you mentioned Bogota, you could tell us a bit about Colombia and other Latin American countries also as this this has a new perspective.

What were the main findings you found from survivors perspective?

And also if you could tell us which states didn't welcome the charter?

[Other language spoken]

I'll I'll take directly.

[Other language spoken]

And look, we are, I think this charter is a sign of light within what is otherwise a very complex geopolitical situation around the world, where states are sceptical of new standards or new guidelines.

We have long advocated for and states have long said that they will make survivors central to their policy making, human rights survivors more broadly.

And this is a very concrete way in which we're giving guidance from survivors themselves about how they can do that.

There are many grave.

The reality is there are many grave situations around the world.

[Other language spoken]

It is particularly acute in armed conflict, whether we're talking about Russia's systematic use of torture against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians in the context of the armed, in the context of the armed conflict.

Whether we're talking about in the context of the Kivus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where there are reports of widespread use of sexual violence and sexual torture, but also terrible circumstances of detention, of torture in detention by the M23 and other groups.

Whether we're talking in the terrible circumstance of Sudan, where atrocities are widespread, including the use of torture, and also in the context of the Israel Palestine situation.

And now with the release of the hostages, the reports are clear that there have been very grave violations by Hamas and other armed groups against Israeli hostages, including sexual torture.

And at the same time, there are plentiful reports about very serious circumstances of inhumane treatment and punishment in of Palestinians held in Israeli detention, of which there are still thousands detained.

I'm following up on all of those scenarios and of course others.

Another area that's preoccupying my mandate has been violence within the context of protests, which are proliferating around the world as people take to the streets and states are using heavy-handed methods, including concerns regarding the use of less lethal weapons, but also weapons that I consider should be prohibited outright given the type or nature of them.

I've raised concerns regarding Georgia and the use of chemically infused water cannons, which is considered by me to be an experimental weapon and therefore prohibited both under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but also under the Convention against Torture, as well as investigations that are ongoing in Serbia regarding a sound weapon that caused serious injuries and concerns to protesters.

So I never like to get into the circumstance of where are the worst atrocities.

There are way too many atrocities going on in the world, and if we take a victim and survivor perspective, all of their cases count.

Every single victim and survivor has a right to justice and rehabilitation and to live their lives in security and freedom.

The event in Bogota, sorry, a bit long.

The event in Bogota brought together survivors from around the region.

They were indeed some Colombians present, some who'd been injured, some permanently out of recent protests, likewise with Chile and Peru, and of course the long standing situation in Colombia.

What's been very interesting about these hearings we had is that survivors applied to attend and they were fully supported throughout.

They were able to bring a support person that could have been their psychologist or health worker or a family member.

And I'm more than happy to speak to you separately about some of the more details of that.

Thank you, Doctor Edwards.

Any other questions, please go ahead.

[Other language spoken]

I don't know if yes, like my last question, if you could tell us which estates hesitated or didn't welcome your charter.

[Other language spoken]

This is the first pronouncement on the Charter in this in this Council, I've asked for further engagement with states, including collectively I think will be very important going forward.

There were some states that no state in the room objected to the Charter.

Some said they wanted to study it further, including what it means in the context of their international obligations.

I can confirm for them that this is complementary to their obligations and does not create any additional.

I'm just going through my list for you.

So there were a few countries such as Iran, Cuba, the Russian Federation.

South Africa, Tunisia, who either took note of the charter rather than, for example, welcoming it or endorsing it or saying they would really implement it and we're looking forward to doing so.

Indonesia also said they would look into the compatibility between the Charter and their existing obligations, but of the nearly 50 state interventions, the very large majority were in favour and the others said they would review its provisions.

So I think as a first start, this is a really great and I think it sends a really great message to the survivors who worked so hard on this that actually there is an opening even in these very difficult times to to be able to produce something new and helpful for states.

What I found over the term of my mandate is that progress is never linear.

We have sometimes 2 steps forward, one step back, sometimes we have one step forward, 2 steps back.

But these types of documents really help guide states.

It also helps us and the public know what the expectations are of their states that they are able to advocate and create the societies they want to live in.

Thank you, special rapporteur.

Do we have other questions?

[Other language spoken]

Following this, at 1:00, there is a side event in which 4 survivors and victims will be speaking about what their expectations are of the charter.

[Other language spoken]

I would invite you to attend.

If you do want to meet with the survivors, they are happy to meet with you.

They are all very articulate individuals who have had either long associations with trying to achieve justice.

And you mentioned your area of Latin America.

One of the survivors is from Mexico who was involved in the Otenko case regarding sexual torture and detention and after protests with 10 other applicants of which they were successful.

And it's nearly at the 20 year mark where Mexico hasn't implemented the decision of the Inter American court.

And the others are from Benin, Bahrain and Chad if he arrives.

And we are also waiting for Yazidi Iraqi woman who unfortunately, because of the circumstances with the airspace is on her way.

So she will be here over the next couple of days if you would like to speak with her also.

They're all very impressive individuals who I think the line in the charter which says not only that their voices won't be taken from them again, but also says that they are standing up for the people that didn't make it, that is incredibly important.

Thank you, Doctor Edwards.

If there are no further questions, we will close this press conference.

Thank you all for joining us today.