The Europe & Central Asia Programme 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. While in certain countries in the region there is a high degree of human rights protection, in others acts of abuse by public officials remain widespread, in some cases systematic. Many states could therefore still do a great deal more to put an end to the practices of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. To this end various initiatives are currently being undertaken in a range of countries in the region.
The European NPM Project - Georgia
In the framework of the Council of Europe 'European NPM Project' on setting up an active network of National Preventive Mechanisms against torture and ill-treatment, a second onsite exchange of experience was organised in Tbilisi, Georgia from Tuesday 29 June to Friday 2 July. The aim of this workshop was to foster an exchange of practice and cooperation in order to build and enhance capacity to carry out detention monitoring for the prevention of torture.
The Role of NPMs in Protecting Individuals' Key Rights in Police Custody
The National Preventive Mechanism of Albania recently hosted the second of six thematic workshops for NPMs in the Council of Europe region. The event focused on the role of NPMs in protecting individuals' key rights upon deprivation of liberty by the police. A combination of invited international experts, including members of the SPT and former members of the CPT, and NPM representatives discussed both the standards which apply to detention by the police as well as how police custody facilities might be monitored in practice.
The European NPM Project is unique in that it is the only initiative in the Council of Europe region which regularly brings together European NPMs for the purpose of such peer-to-peer exchanges and which offers NPMs in-country detention monitoring trainings.
Strengthening Azerbaijan's NPM
Azerbaijan's NPM, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, came under the magnifying glass recently, when conference participants examined how its capacity can be enhanced to make it a more effective torture prevention mechanism. The Azerbaijani parliament, Milli Majlis, hosted this one-day conference on 24 May.
First NPM on-site visit and exchange of experiences in Poland
From Tuesday 4 May to Friday 7 May, the first National Preventive Mechanism Onsite Exchange of experience took place in Warsaw, Poland. This event was organized jointly by the Council of Europe, the APT and the Polish NPM. It is an important component of the European NPM Project, which, as a whole, seeks to enhance the capacity of NPMs to prevent torture. It was the first visit and exchange of experiences between the NPM of Poland and experts from the UN Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture, former members of the European Committee on the Prevention of Torture and the Association for the Prevention of Torture.
More...
Europe - Country Specific
- Albania (1)
- Armenia (2)
- Austria (1)
- Azerbaijan (1)
- Bosnia & Herzegovina (1)
- Estonia (1)
- Georgia (6)
- Germany (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Kazakhstan (3)
- Kyrgyzstan (4)
- Liechtenstein (1)
- Macedonia (2)
- Moldova (3)
- Mongolia (2)
- Poland (1)
- Romania (1)
- Serbia (1)
- Spain (1)
- Switzerland (1)
- Tajikistan (2)
- Turkey (4)
- United Kingdom (5)
European Court News
-
Bekirski v. Bulgaria and Y.P. and L.P. v. FranceRead More...
On 2 September 2010 the European Court ruled that Bulgaria had violated Article 2 (right to life) and Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment) of the Convention on two occasions each.
In the case of Bekirski v. Bulgaria the Court found that Hristo Bekirski had been tortured by police in detention in 1996 and that the authorities had failed in their obligation to provide adequate and timely medical care to the man, twice in violation of Article 3. The Court additionally...
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Torture Law Compilation
The APT's research tool, the Compilation of Torture Laws, is accessible at www.apt.ch/laws
Focusing on issues related to the criminalisation of torture, this tool compiles national laws of State Parties to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).