The APT, on the invitation of the UPR steering committee of Bahrain and UNDP, has conducted a second workshop for officials, on the prevention of torture in the Kingdom. The workshop, attended by judges and prosecutors, focused on safeguards against torture and ill-treatment. It took place from 21 – 22 June 2010.

From 18 to 22 June 2010, the APT was in Kathmandu, Nepal, for activities aimed at strengthening the role of judges and prosecutors in the prevention of torture. Traveling with the APT as expert trainer was Mr. Ales Butala, Supreme State Prosecutor of Slovenia and former member of the Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

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.

From 20 April to 3 May, the APT was in Thailand with the joint objective of: 1) taking part in the 15th OHCHR workshop of the framework on regional cooperation for the protection and promotion of human rights in Asia-Pacific and 2) conducting a third joint training for lawyers in Thailand on their role in torture prevention. The training was a follow-up event and as such focused on practical application.

The President of the Human Rights Council is to appoint in September the next UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. The appointment will be completed upon the subsequent approval of the Council. A coalition of NGOs has developed a checklist of selection criteria to be considered by all relevant stakeholders.

On the 5 and 6 September, the APT conducted its second training for lawyers on their role in the prevention of torture in Thailand, jointly with the International Commission of Jurists and the Cross Cultural Foundation of Thailand. This event brought together around 30 lawyers from the Northern Provinces, many of whom represent minority groups in the area. The purpose of the training was to contribute to a better implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture, which Thailand ratified in 2007, and related international instruments. On 7 September, a session was also held for civil society organizations in the area, in which the organizers as well as OHCHR and ICRC shared information on how they work against torture.

On 25 June the APT participated in a conference organized by the international NGO 'Avocats Sans Frontières' on the role of the legal profession in combating torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. As part of a panel of experts, it in particular highlighted the normative framework and the role of lawyers in the prevention of torture.

Click for video of the APT Presentation (advocatennet.be)

Through a training workshop for lawyers from Southern Thailand and the launch of two major torture prevention manuals in Thai, the APT has initiated a three year project in Thailand, which aims to support the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture in the country. The two events took place from 8 to 12 May. The three year plan of action includes a wide array of activities from capacity building for representatives of the judiciary and defense attorneys to the production and dissemination of practical tools on the implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and its Optional protocol in Thailand.

The APT was invited to Bahrain from 6-7 April, in order to facilitate a workshop organized under the Patronage of the Bahraini Universal Periodic Review Steering Committee for Human Rights. The workshop, chaired by H.E Dr. Nezar bin Sadeq Al-Baharna, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, in cooperation with UNDP Bahrain was entitled 'The Criminalization and Prevention of Torture in Light of the Convention against Torture and its Protocol'. The event brought together officials from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, the General Prosecution as well as other stakeholders to work on the implementation of some of the commitments that the Kingdom of Bahrain has made in the frame of the Universal Periodic Review Process of the Human Rights Council.

From 01 to 05 December, the APT, together with the South African Human Rights Commission, organized a series of activities with the aim of promoting the implementation of the UNCAT and the ratification of its Optional Protocol. These activities, which were carried out in the context of the Agreement of Cooperation between the South African Human Rights Commission and the APT, included training on monitoring places of detention and a workshop on the criminalization of torture.