Submission by the OMCT on the topic of accountability for torture and ill-treatment

The lack of accountability for acts of torture and other ill-treatment remains among the primary obstacles to significant progress in the prevention and eradication of entrenched practices of torture and ill-treatment worldwide. Accountability (or lack thereof) is perhaps the most important indicator for assessing progress in the fight against torture and, hence, the rule of law. A pervasive lack of accountability is due to a myriad of factors, enabled by legal and institutional frameworks which are not tailored to diligently detect and address human rights violations committed by State actors. Across the globe, the victims’ pursuit of legal remedies to hold authorities to account is tantamount to an obstacle race where victims rarely arrive to the finish line. Weak legal frameworks and the lack of victim-centred systems and procedures, among others, remain crucial breeding ground for the persistence of the almighty “blue code or wall of silence”, along with the systematic denial of the victims’ rights to truth, justice and reparation.

The OMCT prepared an extensive submission, which details the legal and institutional challenges and proposes recommendations, ahead of the upcoming report of the Special Rapporteur on this critical topic.

Key recommendations:

- The use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is the cornerstone of a nefarious system that corrodes the rule of law and confidence in the criminal justice system. Thus, a real zero-tolerance commitment to torture and ill-treatment will only render results if States acknowledge the existence of the problem and adopt, with the participation of a wide array of actors, anti-torture policies that law enforcement officials, justice operators and the legal community are bound to respect and enforce in order to effectively prevent, investigate, prosecute, sanction and repair acts of torture and other ill-treatment. A sea-change is needed in terms of mentality and cultural shift. Conditions to create accountable criminal justice systems and law enforcement bodies will only be possible if the three branches of power show a resolute commitment to outlawing and uprooting the use of torture, as well as the incentives to use it, including complacent attitudes towards abuse within the criminal justice apparatus and the broader public opinion.

- Policies need to be backed with the allocation of the adequate resources, guarantees and incentives. Victims and witnesses will only report torture and lodge complaints if conditions to guarantee their safety are secured and if achieving justice is seen as possible; legal professionals and civil society organisations (CSOs) will only specialise in the legal and psychosocial defence of victims of torture if they have the financial means needed to litigate and pursue accountability on behalf of victims. At the macro-level, States have very little incentives to mobilise large-scale investment in accountability actions in the way they are promoted to invest in other sectors (natural resource exploitation, industrial development, etc.) through their international trade and cooperation relations. International trade and cooperation agreements on law enforcement assistance and equipment should exclude States with records of systematic torture, and should strongly encourage promote human rights based policing practices.

- Along with pushing forward fundamental legal and institutional reforms, such as the establishment of truly independent investigative and oversight bodies and the need to overhaul the law enforcement and judiciary systems to incorporate a human rights based and torture victim friendly criminal justice systems, CSOs are a crucial actor to prompt increased accountability. Their monitoring role, as well as their efforts to assist victims of torture in their quest for truth, justice and reparation must be preserved against intimidation, detention, attacks and other strategies aimed at obstructing and discouraging their vital work.