Working Worldwide to Prevent Torture

The APT is the international non-governmental organisation, based in Geneva, behind the ground-breaking Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT).

The APT is convinced that the risk of torture and other ill-treatment exists everywhere in the world. The challenge and mission of the APT is how to prevent it.

For 30 years the APT has been a leading force in prevention by promoting three integrated elements of:

Transparency of detention institutions through regular visits by independent experts;

Capacity strengthening to reform practices of detention;

Effective legal frameworks.

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Exchange with the Swiss National Commission for the Prevention of Torture
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Fribourg, March 2010The newly created Swiss National Commission for the Prevention of Torture invited the APT to organise a one day exchange to analyse together the establishment of the mechanism and the preventive detention monitoring methodology. During the morning session the members analysed and discussed the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges of the Commission in view of starting to define together a clear vision and mission. The afternoon session was dedicated to examining and discussing the different stages of a preventive detention methodology. This one day exchange fostered a timely discussion amongst all the members of the Commission on the actual functioning of the NPM in practice.
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Detention Monitoring for Local Authorities of Brazil
Tuesday, 09 March 2010
The Government of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – where torture and ill-treatment is commonplace – has committed to signing the National Plan to Combat and Prevent Torture. In this context, the National and Local Human Rights Secretariats joined forces with the APT to train local authorities responsible for implementing the Plan in different municipalities of this Brazilian state. The workshop, which took place in Rio de Janeiro from 1 to 4 March 2010, aimed to strengthen skills for monitoring places of detention. This was the 6th in a series of detention monitoring workshops organized by the APT in different states of Brazil. The APT also attended a parallel meeting with local civil society organisations, convened jointly by the Rio Parliamentarian, Marcelo Freixo, and long-time partners Centre for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) and the Group 'Torture Never Again' (GTNM-RJ). The initiative is financed by the European Commission.
 
The Establishment of Kazakhstan's National Preventive Mechanism
Tuesday, 02 March 2010
The ongoing discussion on the establishment of Kazakhstan's NPM continued in the context of a two-day international conference devoted to the subject in Astana. Various organizations, including Penal Reform International's Office for Central Asia, co-sponsored this exchange in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on 15-16 February 2010, which was attended by more than 100 persons. For the very first time in Kazakhstan this type of event was attended by members of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention, Dr Marija Definis-Gojanovic and Dr Zdenek Hajek.
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Progress in the Implementation of a Lebanese National Preventive Mechanism
Monday, 08 February 2010
The Republic of Lebanon, the first State Party to the OPCAT from the Middle East and North Africa, is making big steps towards the implementation of its torture prevention commitments. Having ratified in December 2008, Lebanon had to establish its National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) by December 2009. This objective has not been fully reached due to delays caused by elections and the appointment of a new government, but a proposal for a draft law to establish a NPM is now being processed within the Ministry of Justice. This gives hope that the NPM will be established in the near future. Secondly, the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture (SPT) will visit Lebanon in 2010, which will be its first to this part of the world.
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First Meeting of European National Preventive Mechanisms Contact Persons
Monday, 01 February 2010
Padua, European NPM MeetingOne of Italy's oldest seats of learning, the University of Padua, recently co-hosted the first meeting of European National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs). On 27-28 January 2010 nominated NPM representatives from 20 countries converged on the city to participate in a two-day peer-to-peer meeting focused on torture prevention, which was the first of several activities to take place in 2010 - 2011. The overall initiative, which is known as the European NPM Project, foresees a series of so-called on-site detention monitoring trainings for NPMs as well as of thematic workshops, both of which will be hosted by the NPMs themselves.
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إصدارات باللغة العربية

 LEGAL BRIEFING SERIES

 

Legal Briefing Series
The first in a new series of APT Legal Briefings is now available:

 

Special Rapporteur

The Coalition of International NGOs Against Torture (CINAT) has developed a checklist of suggested criteria to be considered in selecting the next UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. Special Rapporteur Nowak's term expires in November 2010, and careful consideration is required to maintain the high quality of appointments to this important position.
View the CINAT Checklist. 

Torture Laws Compilation

Compilation of Torture Laws

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The APT's new research tool, the Compilation of Torture Laws, is now 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).

Quick Links

Monthly OPCAT Briefing

OPCAT Country Status  (Info)

OPCAT Ratification Status

National Preventive Mechanisms

Payments to APT