A world free from torture – Time to keep our promise!
Location
Geneva,SwitzerlandAttendance
Public
Date & Time
Start: 04/03/14 00:00
End: 04/03/14 00:00
Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco launch initiative for universal ratification of the UN Convention against Torture GENEVA 4 MARCH 2014. The adoption of the UN Convention against Torture, in 1984, was a landmark in the global fight against torture and ill-treatment. The Convention underlined a fundamental principle: Torture is […]
Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco launch initiative for universal ratification of the UN Convention against Torture
GENEVA 4 MARCH 2014. The adoption of the UN Convention against Torture, in 1984, was a landmark in the global fight against torture and ill-treatment. The Convention underlined a fundamental principle: Torture is never, under any circumstances, justified.
Thirty years later, torture and ill-treatment of men, women and children deprived of their liberty remain a serious global problem. Some 40 Member States of the United Nations have still not ratified the Convention and many of those that have face various and serious challenges of living up to their commitments. It is time to step up and strengthen the international fight against torture and ill-treatment!
Today, at the 25th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva we – the Foreign Ministers of Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco – will therefore launch a new joint initiative for the universal ratification and implementation of the UN Convention against Torture.
Why focus on the Convention? Because we believe that the treaty is fundamental to the global fight against torture. It obliges states to protect individuals from torture and to prosecute those who torture. It does not allow persons to be expelled, returned or extradited to a country where they face danger. In cases where the torture or ill-treatment already took place, the Convention requires an investigation into what happened, and gives victims of torture the right to redress, fair compensation, and rehabilitation.
The “Convention against Torture Initiative” is a long term engagement to help countries to overcome obstacles in ratification and implementation of the Convention. Over the next ten years, it will provide coordinated and sustained support in form of legal and technical advice and assistance.
Ending torture and ill-treatment is a truly universal challenge. Only through a joint effort between Governments, the United Nations and other intergovernmental agencies, national institutions, relevant non-governmental organizations and experts, will we be able to combat torture and ill-treatment. It is our hope that the “Convention against Torture Initiative” will serve as a platform for the broader international constituency against torture. It is crucial to translate the growing positive commitments from States into concrete action to ensure universal ratification and a total implementation of the rights contained in the Convention against Torture.
We have a shared responsibility of keeping the promise to all human beings of the world: No one shall be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
