Europe and Central Asia
The Europe and Central Asia region is one of great diversity, a characteristic reflected at many different levels, not least with regard to human rights protection.
While certain countries in the region ensure a high level of protection, including from acts of torture and ill-treatment, it is deplorable that in certain states such abuses are commonplace, in some instances, systematic. Many states could therefore still do much more to put an end to the practices of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
APT’s Europe & Central Asia Programme, which includes the former Soviet Central Asian Republics and Mongolia, seeks to eradicate torture and other forms of ill-treatment by ensuring that international human rights law is observed in practice at the national level. The promotion of effective monitoring and transparency in all places of detention continues to be a priority area of work in the region, particularly as more and more countries in the region sign and ratify the OPCAT.
Currently the APT is engaged in sizeable torture prevention projects in several countries in the region, including Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Turkey. We are also becoming more active in the countries of the Balkan region.
As acts of abuse can potentially take play anywhere, the APT continues to work throughout the region, including in the countries of the European Union. In 2012 alone, the APT has worked in Hungary, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Engagement with three main regional inter-governmental organizations, the Council of Europe, European Union and Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is also an essential part of the APT’s torture prevention strategy in Europe and Central Asia.
