OPCAT
Encyclopedia
The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) is an important addition to the 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture
. It establishes an international inspection system for places of detention modelled on the system which has existed in Europe since 1987 (the Committee for the Prevention of Torture
).
The OPCAT was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
in New York on 18 December 2002, and it entered into force on 22 June 2006. As of October 2011 the Protocol has 71 signatories and 61 parties.
, APT), founded in 1977 by Jean-Jacques Gautier in Geneva
. It envisaged the establishment of a worldwide system of inspection of places of detention, which later took the form of an Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984). For a long time, however, the necessary support for such an optional protocol was not forthcoming. As a consequence, the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) had at its disposal only relatively weak instruments: it could analyse and discuss the self-reports of the respective governments and create the institution of a Special Rapporteur on Torture. But neither CAT nor its Special Rapporteur had the power to visit countries, let alone inspect prisons, without the respective government's permission. In 1987, the Council of Europe
realized the original idea on a regional level with its European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. On this basis, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
has demonstrated that regular visits, reports and recommendations to the governments as well as the publication of these reports and the governments' reactions the viability of this model. This in turn led to a breakthrough within the United Nations: OPCAT was created and opened for signatures on 18 December 2002 by the UN General Assembly.
After ratification by twenty states, the Optional Protocol came into force on 22 June 2006.
As of August 2011, 60 states have ratified the protocol: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
A further 22 countries have signed but not ratified the protocol: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Madagascar, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Timor-Leste, Turkey, and Zambia.
United Nations Convention Against Torture
The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world....
. It establishes an international inspection system for places of detention modelled on the system which has existed in Europe since 1987 (the Committee for the Prevention of Torture
Committee for the Prevention of Torture
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment or shortly Committee for the Prevention of Torture is the anti-torture committee of the Council of Europe...
).
The OPCAT was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
in New York on 18 December 2002, and it entered into force on 22 June 2006. As of October 2011 the Protocol has 71 signatories and 61 parties.
History
The idea for this scheme of torture prevention goes back to the Swiss Committee for the Prevention of Torture (today Association for the Prevention of TortureAssociation for the Prevention of Torture
The Association for the Prevention of Torture is an international non-governmental organisation focused on the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment...
, APT), founded in 1977 by Jean-Jacques Gautier in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. It envisaged the establishment of a worldwide system of inspection of places of detention, which later took the form of an Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984). For a long time, however, the necessary support for such an optional protocol was not forthcoming. As a consequence, the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) had at its disposal only relatively weak instruments: it could analyse and discuss the self-reports of the respective governments and create the institution of a Special Rapporteur on Torture. But neither CAT nor its Special Rapporteur had the power to visit countries, let alone inspect prisons, without the respective government's permission. In 1987, the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
realized the original idea on a regional level with its European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. On this basis, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
Committee for the Prevention of Torture
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment or shortly Committee for the Prevention of Torture is the anti-torture committee of the Council of Europe...
has demonstrated that regular visits, reports and recommendations to the governments as well as the publication of these reports and the governments' reactions the viability of this model. This in turn led to a breakthrough within the United Nations: OPCAT was created and opened for signatures on 18 December 2002 by the UN General Assembly.
After ratification by twenty states, the Optional Protocol came into force on 22 June 2006.
Ratification status
A further 22 countries have signed but not ratified the protocol: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Madagascar, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Timor-Leste, Turkey, and Zambia.
External links
- Text of the protocol — Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- List of parties
- Association for the Prevention of Torture