Today, the Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI) launches a comparative Study Paper titled “The UN Convention against Torture in the Pacific: A review of the anti-torture legislative and regulatory frameworks in the region”. The Study Paper has been the product of extensive comparative legal research and analysis conducted over the past four years, which has been used to inform discussions on anti-torture legislative review and reform with Pacific States, particularly at the CTI regional seminar held in February 2019 in Natadola, Fiji, and the online workshop for Pacific States held in May 2021.

On Monday 12 June, the Study Paper was presented at the “Pacific Learning Exchange on the United Nations Convention against Torture”, a regional event for Pacific States that CTI organised in partnership with the OHCHR’s Regional Office for the Pacific and the Pacific Community (SPC), and which took place on 12-14 June 2023 in Natadola, Fiji.

Providing a comparative review of the anti-torture legal and regulatory frameworks of 14 Pacific Island States, namely, Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu, the Study Paper highlights positive measures Pacific States have taken to prevent and prohibit torture and other ill-treatment in their national Constitutions/Bills of Rights, laws and regulations relating to criminal law, policing and prisons services. It also positively showcases how courts across several Pacific States have interpreted and applied the scope of the right to be free from torture and/or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (other ill-treatment) in a variety of cases, ranging from civil proceedings, constitutional redress, voir dire in criminal proceedings, and in proceedings relating to appeals to sentencing measures.

The Study Paper assesses domestic implementation of seven key areas under the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), namely, the absolute prohibition of torture and the criminalization of torture in national law; modes of liability and penalties in criminal law; the exercise of criminal jurisdiction over the offence of torture; the prohibition of refoulement; redress and reparations for victims of torture; and the non-admission of torture-tainted evidence.

Presenting the Pacific Study Paper at the opening of the Pacific Learning Exchange on UNCAT on Monday 12 June in Natadola, Fiji, Gayethri Pillay, Head of the CTI Secretariat stated:

As CTI continues supporting Pacific Island States in their journeys to ratify and better implement the UN Convention against torture, the Pacific Study Paper will remain a key resource and tool to advance anti-torture legislative review and reform in the region. Confident of its added value to relevant national authorities and government departments in the Pacific, CTI looks forward to exploring how can it be best integrated and relied upon in ongoing domestic efforts towards UNCAT ratification and implementation

Gayethri Pillay, Head of the CTI Secretariat

Out of the 14 States reviewed in the Study Paper, eight (Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Nauru, Samoa and Vanuatu) are parties to UNCAT, and only six remain to ratify in the region. The Study Paper aims to inspire and drive Pacific anti-torture legislative review and reform in the region by showcasing positive practices and measures taken by both States and non-States-parties to implement their obligations under UNCAT. It is also expected to be used to assist non-States-parties in the preparation of Cabinet submission papers outlining the rationale for becoming party to UNCAT, and in identifying priority areas where anti-torture reform may be needed in the lead up to and after UNCAT ratification.

The Study Paper 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.