Switzerland - OPCAT Situation
Updated 08.05.2013
Even though Switzerland signed the OPCAT in 2004, the ratification and implementation law was adopted by the Parliament five years later, following consultations with local entities on the structure of the future NPM.
Switzerland decided to establish a new body, through the means of legislation: the National Commission for the Prevention of Torture. It is composed of 12 members, who are not working full-time, and is assisted by a Secretariat.
The SPT member Wilder Tayler Souto is the SPT Focal Point for Switzerland.
Opcat status
OPCAT Ratification
September 24, 2009
UNCAT Ratification
December 2, 1986
SPT Member
Hans-Jörg Victor Bannwart (2013 - 2016)
NPM Type
New Specialised Institution
Information
Population
7 523 934
Area (sq km)
41 290
Number of prisons
114
Prison population
6084
Federal Structure
Switzerland is a federal state composed of 26 cantons.
Quick links
Communication to the SPT: Official Correspondence from Switzerland (9 April 2010)
CAT: Concluding Observations (May 2005)
UPR: Draft Report of the Working Group (October 2012)
CPT: Report (October 2011)
Commissioner for Human Rights (Council of Europe): Report (2004)
