The Special Rapporteur will act upon receiving credible information suggesting that an individual or a group of individuals is at risk of torture at the hands, consent, or acquiescence of public officials.
Without drawing any conclusions as to the facts of the case, the Special Rapporteur will send a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country concerned, urging the Government to ensure the physical and mental integrity of the person(s).
The Special Rapporteur also takes action when persons are feared to be at risk of:
corporal punishment;
means of restraint contrary to international standards;
prolonged incommunicado detention;
solitary confinement;
"torturous" conditions of detention;
the denial of medical treatment and adequate nutrition;
imminent deportation to a country where there is a risk of torture, and
the threatened use or excessive use of force by law enforcement officials.
Urgent appeals are also transmitted concerning the enactment of legislation that will allegedly undermine the prohibition of torture (e.g. providing impunity for acts of torture).
By Mari
Amos, Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT)
I.
UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment and its optional protocol
According
to the article 2 of the convention each State Party shall take effective
measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.
One of the measures is described in OPCAT and that is building up the system of
NPMs as according to the article 17 of the OPCAT states establish one or
several independent national preventive mechanisms for the prevention of torture
at the domestic level. Exact form or criteria is not determined by this
international instrument and it is for the states to decide how such mechanisms
should be created and operated.
Организация Объединенных Наций A/RES/65/229, 16 March 2011
Резолюция 65/229, принятая Генеральной Ассамблеей ООН
Правила Организации Объединенных Наций, касающиеся обращения с женщинами-заключенными и мер наказания для женщин-правонарушителей, не связанных с лишением свободы (Бангкокские правила)
Adopted by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the
Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held at Milan from 26 August to 6 September 1985
and endorsed by General Assembly resolutions 40/32 of 29 November 1985 and
40/146 of 13 December 1985
