Today, the Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI) releases the report of the Regional Seminar for the Asia-Pacific on “The UN Convention against Torture: Building robust preventive frameworks – Legislative drafting and implementation of safeguards against torture and other ill-treatment in practice: the way forward in the Asia-Pacific region”, held on 20-22 April 2022. Hosted by the CTI Core State of Indonesia,  and held in partnership and collaboration with the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and the Representative of Indonesia to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), with the support of Switzerland, the event was held in a hybrid format, online and in-person in Bali, Indonesia. The report captures the summary observations of the online morning sessions held over the three days, while the exchanges during the in-person afternoon sessions held with Indonesian participants will remain confidential.

Bringing together 130 online and in-person participants, with representation from 15 States in the Asia-Pacific region alongside CTI Core States and CTI Friends, this Regional Seminar is the third CTI regional event on torture prevention and response organised in Bali, Indonesia after those held in 2015 and 2019.

Capturing 13 positive practices from the region and beyond on State experiences in strengthening anti-torture legislative frameworks and implementing legal and procedural safeguards against torture, some of the Seminar’s key take-aways highlighted in the report include the following:

• There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to UNCAT ratification and implementation and there is a need for constructive dialogue and capacity-building to demystify some of the Convention’s obligations for ratification processes to move ahead; 
• UNCAT ratification and implementation pose challenges of a diverse nature to States, among others, seeing lacking anti-torture legislation as a deterrent to consider treaty ratification; inadequate mechanisms to respond to allegations of torture and other ill-treatment; and capacity constraints associated with overlapping international and regional human rights reporting obligations;
• National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) and civil society organisations have a key role to play in providing technical assistance to States and in mobilizing public support towards ratification and improved implementation;
• For effective implementation of non-coercive interviewing methods, integrating local culture and building the skillset of investigators is crucial, as well as learning what terminology should be best used when conducting non-coercive interviews, as well as in raising awareness about such methods;
• Political will and commitment coupled with a safe and vibrant civic space are two of the key components to ensuring successful strategies aimed at torture prevention, response and eradication.

The Seminar Report is available here. 

For governments interested in learning more about CTI’s work and how can CTI support their efforts towards ratification and/or implementation of UNCAT, please contact info@cti2024.org.