OMCT addresses OSCE on new agenda on the eradication of torture free of political divides

OMCT addresses OSCE on new agenda on the eradicationof torture free of political divides

Warsaw, 24 September 2014

Addressing the biggest OSCE human rights meeting the OMCT SecretaryGeneral called for a new agenda for the eradication of torture in the OSCEregion.

In an address to the 57 participating states of theOrganisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe OMCT Secretary General setout key benchmarks for a new policy against torture in the region.

‘It is time forthe OSCE to re-energize its fight against torture. We need to move from the prohibitionon the books to eradication’, he stated. Welcoming the initiative of theSwiss Chairmanship to the OSCE seeking to bring the fight against torture onthe OSCE agenda he called for a more comprehensive and holistic response totorture.

‘We havereformed laws and institutions in the OSCE region for the last two decades. Despitesome important progress made in some states, torture persists in large parts ofthe OSCE region with impunity being the rule,’ he reminded the OSCEparticipating States.

‘Too many of thereforms look good on paper but in an environment without real separation ofpowers and controlled judiciaries they fail torture victims and risk giving theinternational community a false perception of progress’. TheOMCT calls for new and fresh approach setting out a comprehensive and holisticagenda for change.

Continuous support to so-called national preventivemechanisms is vital but should address critically cases where theseinstitutions lack credibility, independence and resourcing be it in the East orWest of the OSCE region. Moreover, anapproach of ‘prevention’ without ‘accountability’ as seen in many states of theOSCE has failed. The OMCT recommends to intensify efforts to build independentinvestigate structures for the crime of torture and to secure justice for its victims.Ultimately we will need to build broader constituencies against torture, cruel,inhuman or degrading treatment. This requires a vivid civil society enabled towork on torture.

Responding to multiple threats to anti-tortureorganisations he reminded OSCE participating states that ‘it is simply neither acceptable and nor credible to claim progress on tortureon one hand while human rights groups that document torture, assist victims andadvocate for change are harassed, closed or its leaders imprisoned on the other’.

In a number of states critical human rights groups aretargeted, defined as foreign agents and their organisations threatened withclosure including in the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, Hungary, and the CentralAsian republics. A key example remains the clamp down on human rights activistsand organisations in Azerbaijan. The OMCT called for the release of veteran humanrights advocate Ms Leyla Yunus, member of the OMCT’s General Assembly heldunder spurious charges of espionage and treason accompanied with seriousconcerns over allegations of ill-treatment.

Finally, preventing torture does not stop in the faceof national security or terrorism. To the contrary it is here that the risk oftorture is the highest and fundamental safeguards are most important. Any agendaagainst torture has to cover counter-terrorism policies. Laws and policies thatreduce key safeguards in detention almost inevitably open the door to torture. ‘Intelligent’intelligence to fight terrorist threats is fundamental but there remains adramatic deficit of effective legal and judicial control over intelligence andsecurity services.

Referring to the US torture policies he recalled: ‘Accounting without accountability is notenough. Remedies remain infectious even in the face of well-known abuse’. Informationthat some of those who have been subjected to the CIAs rendition program, suchas in the case of Mr Al Hawsawi, are inhibited from pursuing remedies about thetreatment suffered, is further disquieting. ‘For as long as the leading democracy is unable or unwilling to ensureaccountability the ghosts of the past remain with us and we are opening up forcontinuous double standard arguments’.

Addressing the issue of the abolition of the deathpenalty across Europe and North America the OMCT called for an end to the inhumanpractice of executions in Belarus without any information being provided to thefamilies about the executions and whereabouts of their relatives.

‘The fightagainst torture must become the baseline consensus free of political divides.Nobody should have an interest in re-erecting ideological boundaries of thecold war era when it comes to torture. The OSCE with its Office for DemocraticInstitutions and Human Rights should be equipped to lead on the eradication oftorture’, the OMCT concluded.

For further information,please contact:

OMCT -, +41(0)22 80949 39, omct@omct.org or gs@omct.org