IRCT [to 7 June 2014]

News
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights should include stronger provisions for torture survivors
03-06-2014
The IRCT and other civil society organisations have recommended amendments to General Comment No. 35 on Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 9 enshrines rights to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention.

One particular area of concern for the IRCT and its partners is the connection between Article 9 of the Covenant and Article 7, which prohibits the use of torture. In the submission to the UN it is noted that while the focus on state provided legal safeguards is welcome, the importance of providing these to prevent the often inevitable consequence of torture while in detention is not strong enough.

“We urge the Committee to include a separate detailed stand-alone paragraph or paragraphs on safeguards [and] considering their very close links, this same paragraph should also refer to the importance of such safeguards for upholding the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment,” the group notes.

The IRCT and its partners also call for two additional safeguards to be added to the document, noting that while General Comment No. 35 highlights the importance of allowing for prompt and regular access to independent medical and legal professionals, there should be direct reference to the contact to a relative or third party to inform them about any arrest, and the importance of the right to consular assistance.
It is the view of the group that “without this safeguard, other safeguards, including obtaining access to an independent lawyer and doctor, may be illusory.”

The comments on the Covenant also address life imprisonment sentences, conditions of detention, and the detention of vulnerable prisoners including torture survivors – detention which can have “widespread and seriously damaging effects on the mental (and sometimes physical) health of those incarcerated.”

News
New report from IRCT member shows rape is used as a weapon of torture throughout prisons in the Congo
02-06-2014
Rape is routinely used by state officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to torture politically active women, according to a new report from IRCT member Freedom from Torture.
he report Rape as Torture in the DRC: Sexual Violence Beyond the Conflict Zone collates evidence from 34 medical reports to highlight how rape, including repeated rape and gang rape, is being used by state security forces in prisons across the country to stop women speaking out about politics, human rights and, in some cases, rape itself…