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Resolution 2160 (2017)
25 years of the CPT: achievements and areas for improvement
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, recalling
its Resolution 1248 (2001) “European
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT): composition of the
Committee”, Resolution
1540 (2007) on improving selection procedures for CPT
members and Resolution
1808 (2011) on strengthening torture prevention mechanisms
in Europe, congratulates the European Committee for the Prevention
of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)
for its outstanding work which has led to significant improvements
in the States parties.
2. The Assembly notes, however, that no matter how much progress
may be achieved towards the elimination of torture and inhuman or
degrading treatment, the need to eradicate these major human rights violations
will continue. While it is the duty of the States parties to implement
the recommendations of the CPT, the latter deserves the strongest
political support from other bodies, including the Assembly itself
and the Committee of Ministers.
3. Independence, impartiality and expertise, as well as relevant
prior experience of the CPT members, are crucial to the quality
and authority of the CPT’s work. The Assembly welcomes the notable
progress that has been made since the adoption of Resolution 1540 (2007) to
improve selection procedures, both at national level and within
the Assembly.
4. The Assembly welcomes another positive evolution: in accordance
with Assembly Resolution
1808 (2011) calling for the automatic publication of
CPT reports, a number of States parties have now agreed in advance
to the publication of CPT reports concerning them.
5. The Assembly is convinced, however, that there is still room
for improving the efficiency, authority and impact of the work of
the CPT.
6. The Assembly recalls that special qualities and skills are
expected of CPT members. Once elected, they should be available
to carry out their duties effectively and to dedicate sufficient
time to CPT work. This means being available to work at short notice,
and working a minimum of approximately 40 days a year. Furthermore, CPT
work implies participating in long and challenging visits which
require good physical and mental condition. Language skills are
also essential to making an effective contribution to CPT visits
and meetings. The Assembly therefore:
6.1. calls on national delegations to:
6.1.1. ensure
that the candidates have an excellent command of at least one of
the official languages of the Council of Europe (English or French),
and at least a passive knowledge of the second official language;
6.1.2. provide detailed information about the national selection
procedure when submitting the three names and curricula vitae of
the shortlisted candidates;
6.1.3. in order to ensure the independence and impartiality of
the CPT, bear in mind that a candidate holding a decision‑making
position which implies defining and/or implementing policies at
national level or otherwise holding functions which may give rise
to a conflict of interest, should in principle not be selected.
If such a candidate is nevertheless shortlisted, he or she must undertake
in a signed declaration that he or she will relinquish that position
or those functions if elected;
6.2. reiterating its long-term aspiration to potentially elect
the CPT members, as already stated in Resolution 1808 (2011), resolves
to:
6.2.1. consider ways and means of improving its own
selection procedure with a view to better assessing the language
proficiency of the candidates, by refining its model CV for candidates and,
if possible, by conducting long-distance interviews with them;
6.2.2. reject any list put forward in which the national selection
procedure does not comply with Assembly Resolution 1540 (2007) on improving
selection procedures for CPT members and with this resolution, as
well as any list in which a candidate holding a position or a function
giving rise to a possible conflict of interest (see paragraph 6.1.3
above), does not provide a signed declaration committing him or
her to relinquish that position or those functions if elected.
7. It is important to further increase awareness of CPT activities
and standards among relevant stakeholders so as to facilitate the
implementation of CPT recommendations. In this context, the Assembly:
7.1. commends the developing practice
among States of agreeing in advance to the automatic publication
of CPT visit reports and related government responses, subject to
the possibility of delaying publication for a certain period in
specific circumstances;
7.2. strongly encourages those who have not yet done so to
adopt this practice;
7.3. welcomes the CPT’s initiative to publish information on
its standards on living space per prisoner in prison establishments
and encourages it to continue making its standards more accessible
to the wider public.
8. The Assembly could also develop its role in contributing to
the follow-up of CPT recommendations, in particular by encouraging
national parliaments to adopt a proactive approach towards them.
National parliaments could discuss CPT reports and/or public statements
on their respective countries in their competent parliamentary committees
and bring the findings of the CPT, as well as the follow-up given
to its recommendations, to their governments’ attention through
parliamentary questions. The Assembly could also strengthen its
existing dialogue with the CPT, in particular via its Committee
on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, reinforce its political support
by reacting appropriately to the CPT’s public statements and, more generally,
pay greater attention to the prevention of torture in member States.
In this regard, the Assembly calls on its members to consider the
above in their activities.
9. The Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and the Committee
on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States
of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee) could consider jointly inviting
the President of the CPT to an annual exchange of views during which
he or she could, inter alia, present
the CPT’s annual report. The chairpersons of national delegations
to the Parliamentary Assembly of the countries visited by the CPT
in the previous year could be invited to participate in this exchange
of views.
10. The Assembly stresses the importance of strengthening all
torture prevention tools and instruments in order for the CPT to
achieve its goals. It recognises that national preventive mechanisms
(NPMs) provided for by the Optional Protocol to the United Nations
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) are a practical expression of subsidiarity.
While encouraging the CPT to further explore all possibilities for
interaction with the OPCAT mechanisms – around the principles of
complementarity and subsidiarity to make the best use of their respective
resources – the Assembly invites Council of Europe member States
to:
10.1. if they have not yet done
so, ratify the OPCAT, designate an effective, independent NPM in
line with the requirements laid down in the OPCAT, and ensure that
the mechanism has sufficient human and financial resources;
10.2. facilitate the exchange of information and co-ordination
between the CPT and the NPMs, including by inviting the mechanism
to be represented when the CPT delegation provides the authorities with
its preliminary remarks at the end of the visit;
10.3. make arrangements to ensure that CPT visit reports and
government responses are made available without delay to NPMs or
any other relevant national monitoring body, on the condition that they
are treated as confidential until publication by the CPT. Similar
arrangements could be made in relation to any confidential substantive
correspondence between the CPT and the authorities.