UN Committee against Torture
Women’s advocates
may use the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to promote women’s
rights. The Convention establishes the Committee against Torture, which consists
of 10 independent experts who are members of States party to the Convention.
The Committee Against Torture carries out its mandate to eradicate the practice
of torture through two mechanisms: receipt of direct communications (complaints)
and the reporting/ monitoring process. The Committee Against Torture views violence against women, including sexual
violence and trafficking, as gender-based acts of torture and within the purview
of the Committee.
States that have ratified the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment are
required to submit periodic reports documenting compliance with the
provisions of the treaty every four years. The Committee
meets twice a year to review the government reports. The Committee
invites representatives of the State party to attend these sessions and
provide further information
if the Committee requests clarification. After its consideration of the
report, the Committee may make general comments, in particular noting whether
the
State party is in compliance with its obligations under the treaty. The
concluding comments are broad and not legally binding.
Additionally, the Convention against Torture is the only
treaty to allow Committee members to make a confidential inquiry about a specific
country and to report the findings directly to the Committee when it receives
“reliable information which appears to . . . contain well-founded indications
that torture is systematically practiced in the territory of the State Party.”
This procedure is similar to that which allows members of the Committee on
the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women to initiate
inquiries into situations of grave or systemic violations of women’s rights in, under the Optional Protocol.
Although there is no formal
mechanism for individuals and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to participate
in the monitoring process, the Committee relies on information submitted by
NGOs. NGOs may submit “shadow” or alternative country reports that elaborate on information contained in State party reports. NGOs can
also monitor many of the Committee’s proceedings as observers.
NGOs are not limited in the number of UN bodies to which they can submit
shadow reports. Thus, for the purposes of advocacy, NGOs can bring international
attention to issues of violence against women through the monitoring of government
obligations under any treaty that protects women’s human rights. Women’s
rights NGOs are using the mechanism of submitting shadow reports to the Committee
Against Torture as a way to bring attention to the issue of violence
against women. For example, the World Organization Against Torture
(OMCT) is an international coalition of NGOs that addresses women’s rights
through its Women’s
Program. The World Organization Against Torture works to ensure that
the issue of gender-based violence, such as torture, domestic violence, rape,
sexual abuse, trafficking and forced prostitution, is included within the
purview of the UN human rights treaty bodies, including the Committee Against
Torture, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the
Human Rights Committee. Amnesty International USA, a human rights
NGO, also conceptualizes domestic violence as the torture or ill-treatment
of women occurring in the home. Amnesty International’s report, Broken
Bodies, Shattered Minds, contains information about the problem of domestic
violence worldwide.
The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment also allows private individuals the right to make direct complaints
to the Committee Against Torture in some instances. Article
22 of the Convention allows State parties to recognize the competence of the
Committee to review complaints that the particular State is not fulfilling
its obligations under the Convention. The State parties which allow individual
complaints are listed on the UN
website. The Committee reviews individual complaints to determine admissibility
before consideration of the merits. Before making a decision, the Committee
may request that the State party undertake provisional measures to protect
the victim. The Committee’s conclusions are sent to the complainant and the
State party concerned and are summarized in the Committee’s annual report.
The complaint
and reporting mechanisms available under the Human Rights Committee are summarized
below.
Complaint Mechanism- Article 22 of the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Type of Mechanism |
Complaint- recourse
procedure |
Scope of the Procedure |
The rights enumerated in the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, as described in Article 22 of the Convention. |
Who can Submit a Complaint? |
Individual victims of torture or
their relatives/ representatives of States which have recognized
the competence of the Committee to receive individual complaints. |
Role of Advocates |
NGOs can submit complaints as a
representative or legal counsel of the victim. The Committee
may ask the individual victim or the NGO representative to submit
additional information. If the Committee considers it appropriate
the individual or the representative may also attend the closed
Committee meetings to provide clarification related to the merits
of the case. |
Available Remedies |
The Committee adopts a “view“
or decision on the case, which can be a finding that a
State has violated the Convention against Torture.
The views of the Committee are made public and can include
recommendations to the national government to take specific actions
to protect an individual or provide redress. The Committee requests
that States provide information about measures it has taken in
conformity with the Commission’s views.
The Committee may also address an urgent request to a State,
asking for interim protection for the victim while the case is
being decided. |
How to Submit a
Complaint |
Individuals who claim to be victims
of human rights violations by a State party or their representatives
can submit communications.
The Committee has created a Model
Complaint Form for communications.
In addition, Article 22 of the Convention sets for a number
of admissibility criteria, which must be met for the complaint
to be considered:
The complaint must be in writing.
The communication may not be anonymous.
The complaint should contain information about the exhaustion
of domestic remedies.
The complaint cannot have been previously examined by the
Committee or be the subject of any other international investigation.
The subject of the complaint must indicate a violation
of the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. |
Where to Send Communications |
The Committee against Torture
c/o Center for Human Rights
United Nations Office
8-14 avenue de la Paix
1211 Genève 10
Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 917 9288
Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly
for urgent matters)
E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr.org
|
How the Complaint Procedure
Works |
The Committee first considers the
whether the complaint meets the criteria for admissibility. At
this stage, the Committee may request additional information from
the State party or from the author of the complaint, relating
to admissibility. If the complaint is deemed inadmissible, the
Committee informs the concerned parties. A complaint may be reexamined,
however, if the Committee receives information in the future that
the reasons for inadmissibility no longer apply.
Once a complaint has been declared admissible, the Committee
informs both the complainant and the State party. Within 6 months,
the State party is required to explain the allegations and present
information about whether the violation has been remedied. The
complainant may also present a reply to the State’s communication.
After reviewing all communications, the Committee makes a decision
(referred to as “views”). Consideration of communications
is carried out in closed sessions, but the Committee may request
that the complainant, the representative of the complainant or
representative of the State are present to provide clarifications
related to the merits of the case. The Committee’s decision
is sent to the State, the complainant and made public.
In the process of considering a complaint and before making
a decision of the merits, the Committee may request that a State
adopt immediate provisional measures to protect a victim temporarily.
|
Advantages/ Disadvantages |
Individuals have a formal role
in the complaint/ communications process, but they cannot remain
anonymous. The Committee is authorized to request interim measures,
which may offer protection to victims. The Committee decisions
are made public, however, which can be important for advocacy,
but may not be in the victim’s best interests. |
Additional Resources
General Information on the Committee
against Torture can be found on the UN website.
Information about the complaint mechanism under Article
22 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment is also available on the
UN site.
Further information about the Committee against Torture may also be
found on UN Fact Sheet
17. Most UN Fact
Sheets can be accessed on the web.
Frontline, an Irish NGO, has created a Human
Rights Defenders Manual, which includes detailed information on submitting
complaints to the Committee Against Torture in cases of specific
human rights violations.
Reporting Mechanism- Committee against
Torture
Type of Mechanism |
Reporting and Monitoring |
Scope of the Procedure |
The rights enumerated in the Convention
against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. |
Who can Submit a Report |
NGOs |
Role of Advocates |
NGOs can submit “shadow” or alternative
reports to the Committee. NGOs with UN accreditation can also monitor
the Committee proceedings during State reporting periods. |
Available Remedies |
No remedies for individual rights violations.
|
How to Submit a Report
|
There is no single format for shadow
reports, but the report should be organized according to the articles
of the Convention, as a commentary on the State party report. A shadow
report should analyze a particular problem rather than merely describe
it.
More information on writing shadow reports, using shadow reports
strategically and sample NGO reports can be found in the Human Rights
Investigation and Documentation section of this website. |
Where to Send Communications |
The Committee against Torture
c/o Center for Human Rights
United Nations Office
8-14 avenue de la Paix
1211 Genève 10
Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 917 9288
Fax: + 41 22 917 9022
Email: crueda.hchr@unog.ch |
How the Reporting Procedure Works |
After ratifying the Convention, State
parties are required to submit an initial report on compliance. States
must then submit periodic reports every four years.
The Committee meets regularly twice a year to review the periodic
reports. A country will not be reviewed until it has submitted a report.
There are no deadlines for submitting shadow reports, but NGO
submissions are most useful to the Committee at the time that a specific
State is reporting. NGOs should allow Committee members enough time
to review the submission, ideally a few months before the session date.
The Committee can invite specialized agencies, United Nations
bodies, intergovernmental organizations and NGOs with consultative status
with the Economic and Social Council to submit information, reports
and written statements relevant to the Committee’s work.
During the session, NGOs may attend as observers, but not participate
in the formal proceedings.
Once the Committee has reviewed the reports, it issues comments
and recommendations. |
Advantages/ Disadvantages |
NGOs have used shadow reports effectively
to advocate for change. Periodic State
reporting has put pressure on national governments to amend legislation
and policies to bring them into compliance with the Convention. Individuals
cannot submit information to the Committee. There are no enforcement
mechanisms applicable to States that do not submit periodic reports. |
Additional Resources
UN Fact Sheet
No.17 has information about Committee against Torture and the State reporting
system. Most UN Fact
Sheets can be accessed on the web.
The Committee against
Torture also has a webpage with access to State party reports and the
Committee’s concluding observations.
More information
on writing shadow reports, using shadow reports strategically and sample
NGO reports can be found in the Human Rights Investigation and Documentation
section of this website.