UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture visited Ukraine

Prevention of torture: UN human rights body presented its confidential preliminary observations to the Government of Ukraine

Kyiv, 25 May 2011.
Today, the SPT (Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture) presented its confidential preliminary observations to the Government of Ukraine following its first visit to Ukraine, which took place from 16 to 25 May 2011. During its visit, the SPT held meetings with relevant authorities and representatives of civil society and visited a number of places of detention and deprivation of liberty (see list in the appendix), including police stations, temporary detention centres (ITT), pre-trial detention centres (SIZO), and correctional colonies in the Kyiv, Lviv, Zakarpattia, and Donetsk regions.
“We hope that our visit to Ukraine will contribute to the ongoing and consistent work of the Government of Ukraine and other stakeholders aimed at preventing the risks of torture and ill-treatment of detainees and persons deprived of liberty,” said Malcolm Evans, Chair of the Subcommittee and head of the delegation that visited Ukraine.
The SPT’s mandate allows it to visit relevant facilities and provide recommendations to the authorities with the aim of implementing effective preventive mechanisms that forestall the possibility of torture and ill-treatment in places of detention and deprivation of liberty. At the national level, the body responsible for the prevention of torture is the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). Ukraine committed to establishing an NPM within one year from the moment the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture entered into force, but such a national body has not yet been established in Ukraine.
“Although the decision regarding the form of the NPM’s organisation is the prerogative of the Ukrainian authorities, the NPM must be implemented in accordance with Ukraine’s international obligations, taking into account the relevant provisions of the Optional Protocol. The mandate, powers, and independence of the NPM’s work must be clearly guaranteed by legislation and implemented in practice. The NPM must be provided with the human and financial resources necessary for it to carry out its important and multi-faceted activities throughout the country,” emphasised Mr Evans.
During its visit, the SPT had the opportunity to examine the practice of treating detainees and persons deprived of liberty in Ukraine and the existing preventive mechanisms designed to protect them from torture and ill-treatment. In addition to visiting places of detention, the SPT conducted confidential and private interviews with detainees and persons deprived of liberty in the visited facilities.
The SPT delegation to Ukraine included the following members: Mr Malcolm EVANS (Chair of the Subcommittee and head of the delegation), Ms Mari AMOS, Mr Arman DANIELYAN, Ms Lowell Patria GODDARD, Mr Zbigniew LASOCIK, Ms Aisha Shujune MUHAMMAD, Mr Hans Draminsky PETERSEN, Ms Maria Margarida PRESSBURGER, and Mr Victor RODRIGUEZ-RESIA. The SPT delegation received support from the UN system in Ukraine.
Additional information about the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture can be found at:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/opcat/index.htm