Police Reform

Presentation of a Practical Guide for Monitoring of Police Custody

There was a presentation of the Russian version of the Practical Guide for monitoring of Police Custody published this year by the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) today in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan.

For reference: APT is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with headquarters in Geneva, the main objective of which is to assist in the dissemination and application of the United Nations (UN) Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (OPCAT, UN Convention against Torture).

From APT Matthew Pringle, the Head of the European and Central Asian APT programs, and John Sebastian Blank, Monitoring Police Custody Advisor, have arrived in Tajikistan.

The Rule of Law Officer of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan, Anna Crowleywhile starting the presentation, has noted that the OSCE is committed explicitly to protect everyone from torture and ill-treatment. Therefore, all employees and members of the OSCE field operations are part of the organizational structure, aimed at promotion of respect for human rights, including the fight against torture and ill-treatment. OSCE's commitment to eradicate torture and ill-treatment was first mentioned during the Vienna meeting in 1989. It was stated again in the Paris Summit in 1990 on the highest level, was confirmed and clarified at the Copenhagen meeting in 1990, in the Moscow meeting in 1991, and the Budapest meeting on the highest level in 1994.

After the Copenhagen meeting states have developed measures necessary to ensure the effective implementation of their obligations. They declared they would take effective legislative, administrative, judicial and other measures to prevent torture and ill-treatment, as well as to punish those who committed these acts. Additionally the states have committed to consider joining urgently to the UN Convention against Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. They have committed to recognize the competence of the Committee on Control over the Convention execution, which is entitled to support both individual and government contacts and to investigate allegations on systematic torture cases.

Participating states also obligated to ensure that public order staff and any other persons working in areas related to custody, investigation or treatment of persons deprived of their liberty receive appropriate education and information. They have also committed to keep under control the rules, regulations and applied methods, as well as the detention conditions of such persons and their treatment. During the OSCE meeting in Moscow special attention was paid to the rights of persons deprived of their liberty, including the right of a prisoner or his/her attorney to file a petition or complaint regarding the treatment, and guarantees that the person who has submitted such a petition or complaint, do not become a victim of abuse.

Moreover, the OSCE's commitment to eliminate torture and ill-treatment was supplemented by two following commitments. Persons deprived of their liberty should be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. Participating states are obliged to try to take the necessary measures to improve the conditions of detentions, where prisoners are held.

While making a presentation Matthew Pringle has told about the main activities of the Association for the Prevention of Torture. The basic principle of APT, which is also the guiding principle of the OPCAT, are those unexpected visits to the custody that are the most effective mechanism for identifying risks of torture and to propose solutions to prevent human rights violations, involving torture. The follow-up control measures are also of particular importance in order to ensure the torture prevention.

Matthew Pringle has welcomed the desire to create in Tajikistan existing mechanisms for introducing international standards in the legal system, and pointed out the Practical guide on Monitoring of Police Custody developed by APT as one of the tools to prevent torture. He urged the police to cooperate actively with civil society representatives, who are responsible to monitor the performance of prescribed standards, which the State has obliged to perform.

For reference:

OSCE commitments

The OSCE participating States have undertaken a number of specific commitments aimed at complete eradication of torture and ill-treatment. These commitments define the norms common to all participating States, which is fundamental to work in this area for all OSCE organizations, including field missions.

The first OSCE commitmentdirectlyrelatedto the issueof tortureand ill-treatment iscontainedin the Final Documentof the OSCE Meeting in Vienna in 1989. Paragraph 23 states: "participating States willprohibit torture and othercruel, inhumanor degrading treatmentor punishment, and will applyeffective legislative, administrative, judicial and other measuresto preventand punish such practices."

Paragraph 23 also stipulates specifically that participating States "will protect people from any psychiatric or other medical practices that violate human rights and fundamental freedoms, and will put in place effective measures to prevent and punish such practices."

OSCE position against torture and ill-treatment is confirmed in paragraph 16 of the Final Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the OSCE in 1990 and is summarized by the general commitment of the Charter of Paris for a New Europe (1990), which proclaims that "nobody shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

Theimportance of preventingthese abuses was also stressed in the OSCE’s Budapestsummit on a high level in 1994. It says in paragraph 20of the Final Documentthat"participating Statesstrongly condemn all formsof torture asoneof the most flagrant breaches of human rightsand human dignity.They are committed to eradicate it."

OSCE commitments make it clear that the organization’s care covers not only the forms of physical or mental ill-treatment, but also includes more general obligation to respect the personality as a whole during the detention. Paragraph 23 of the Final Document from Vienna Meeting of the OSCE in 1989 declares that the participating States will "ensure that all persons in custody shall be treated humanely and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human being."

This determination was highlighted and detailed written in the Final Document of the OSCE Moscow Meeting in 1991, where in paragraph 23 it states that "participating States will treat all persons deprived of their liberty with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human being and will respect the internationally recognized standards that relate to the administration of justice and the human rights of detainees."

This commitment brings the whole set of internationally recognized standards in the framework of the OSCE principles. It establishes a direct connection between the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, and a wider range of rules governing the administration of justice and the rights of detainees. Thus, the obligation significantly extends the prohibition of torture, including in it procedural and preventive guarantees. This reflects an understanding that torture and ill-treatment are often associated with the judicial and penal system, per se, and that a properly functioning justice system is the best guarantee against torture and ill-treatment. Participating States of the OSCE have committed to be open for inspections in this area by the OSCE, admitting that human rights are not only an internal matter, but subject to the legitimate interest of the international community.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment has been proclaimed and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. Declaration principles are fundamental for international laws on human rights and are widely recognized as a conventional international law for all countries. Article 5 of the Declaration states: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."