Uruguay – Serious concern about cases of ill-treatment of children deprived of liberty
The OMCT, its member organisation in Uruguay, the Institute for Legal and Social Studies (IELSUR), and the Committee on the Rights of the Child of Uruguay presented their joint alternative report on torture and ill-treatment in Uruguay to the Committee against Torture during its 52nd session, in connection with its review of Uruguay’s third periodic report, in Geneva (Switzerland), from 28th April to 23rd May 2014.
On the eve of the examination of Uruguay by the Committee Against Torture, the OMCT has presented additional information to the Committee in a private meeting, followed by a Skype meeting with the two country rapporteurs and OMCT’s partner organisations in Uruguay.
The OMCT has emphasized in its presentation the situation of children deprived of liberty, presenting to the Committee the conclusions from its last mission in the country in 2013. As the sole http://onhealthy.net organisation present in the meeting, the OMCT could express the grave concerns that civil society organisations have being denouncing in Uruguay for the past years, such as the acquiescence of some governmental authorities to the systematic practice of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment against children in detention centres.
As a final recommendation the OMCT urged the Committee to call on Uruguay to create safeguards for the protection of children deprived of their liberty, and guarantees that all allegations of torture are object of a meaningful, diligent, impartial and transparent investigation in order to ensure accountability and non-repetition.
The information presented can also be found in the report submitted by OMCT, jointly with IELSUR and the Committee on the Rights of the Child of Uruguay (the report is currently only available in Spanish).