Anne Laverty/Cécile Gassan/Coralie Gourdon, 20.12.2013

Articles 1er et 4

Définition de la torture et incrimination de torture

1.Please indicate if the specific crime of torture is incorporated into penal law and if so, if the definition of torture in the Penal Code is in conformity with article 1 of the Convention. Please also describe steps taken by the State party to ensure that torture is made punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account its grave nature, in accordance with the requirements of article 4, paragraph 2, of the Convention. (AFGH)

2.Please indicate any steps taken to ensure that torture is made punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account its grave nature, as set out in article 4, paragraph 2, of the Convention (ESTO).

3.Please inform the Committee of any steps taken by the State party to adopt a comprehensive definition of torture which covers all elements, including the purposes to perpetrate such acts, as contained in article 1 of the Convention. as well as the elements of article 4 such, as attempt to commit torture, complicity and participation in torture. (ARG)

4.Please provide detailed information on whether the main provisions of the Convention have been incorporated into domestic law. Are all acts of torture treated as offences under criminal law? What are the penalties for the crime of torture, attempted torture and complicity or participation in torture and which provisions of the penal code apply? (BELI)

5.The Committee expressed its concern about the absence of a specific crime of torture, consistent with article 1 and 4, paragraph 2, of the Convention, in the Danish Criminal Code and the Military Criminal Code. Please elaborate on the State party’s decision to merely refer to torture as aggravating circumstances in relation to existing crimes in the Criminal Code, instead of introducing a specific crime of torture. Please indicate whether, despite this change in legislation, acts of torture as well as attempts and complicity or participation to commit torture can still be subject to the statute of limitations. (DANE)

6.Please provide updated information on any steps taken by the State party to bring the definition of torture in the Penal Code into conformity with article 1 of the Convention, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (ESTO).

7.Please provide updated information on any steps taken by the State party to incorporate into domestic law the crime of torture as defined by article 1 of the Convention, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations. In particular, please indicate if discrimination is explicitly included as a possible motive for acts of torture and ill-treatment as defined under article 1 of the Convention. (ITAL)

8.Please provide detailed information on whether the main provisions of the Convention have been incorporated into domestic law. Also, please provide detailed information on whether all acts of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment are treated as offenses under criminal law and what are the penalties. (PANA)

9.Please provide information on steps taken to enact a federal crime of torture consistent with article 1 of the Convention, which includes appropriate penalties, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (USA)

10.With reference to previous recommendations of the Committee, please indicate if a definition of torture as an autonomous crime has been adopted, in line with articles 1 and 4 of the Convention. Has legislation on preventing and punishing torture been adopted? (VENE)

Tentative de pratiquer la torture, incitation à la torture, complicité ou participation à un acte de torture

11.Please clarify whether the attempt to commit torture and the complicity or participation in torture are also (with the introduction of the new crime of torture) punished under the criminal law of the State party (AUTR)

12.Please provide detailed information on current criminal provisions concerning offences such as attempted acts of torture, instigation or consent of torture or the order to commit torture by a person in authority and the exact penalties imposed for any of these offences. Please provide information on the number and the nature of the cases, including geographical location of the offences prosecuted, in which those legal provisions were applied as well as on the penalties imposed or the reasons for acquittal. (AFGH)

13.Please provide information on whether the State party foresees to add specific provisions on instigation to torture and exact penalties for these acts into its domestic legislation. (BELI)

Incorporation de la Convention dans le droit interne et invocation devant les tribunaux

14.Please clarify the status of the Convention in the domestic legal system. Have the rights contained in the Convention been invoked by national courts, either as a ground for a case or as interpretative guidance for legal norms. (AFGH)

15.Please indicate whether the Convention can be invoked directly before the State party’s domestic courts. If so, please provide statistical data and specific examples on cases where the Convention’s provisions were invoked in court (ESTO)

16.Please provide updated information on any changes in the State party’s position on incorporating the Convention into Danish law, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (DANE)

Imprescriptibilité de la torture, de la tentative de torture, et de la complicité ou de la participation à un acte de torture

17.Please elaborate on steps taken to ensure that acts of torture and attempts and complicity or participation to commit torture are no longer subject to the statute of limitations. (ITAL)

Article 2

Droits des détenus

18.Please indicate the measures undertaken to ensure that detainees are immediately informed of their rights when taken into custody. Please provide information on their rights of access to a lawyer and a medical doctor of their own choice, as well as the right to inform a relative. (BELI)

19.Please provide information on measures adopted to guarantee that any person under arrest receives independent free legal aid when he/she cannot afford a private lawyer. Please also indicate whether all detainees are promptly informed of their rights in all places of detention. (BELI)

20.According to the information before the Committee, access to legal counsel is sometimes delayed due to an overburdened system. Please provide information on further steps taken by the State party to ensure that all detained persons are afforded, in practice, fundamental legal safeguards from the very outset of detention, including the right of access to a lawyer and a medical doctor of their own choice, as well as the right to inform a relative, to be informed of their rights and to be promptly presented to a judge. Please also indicate if all persons detained are registered from the very outset of detention. (ARGE)

21.Please provide information on steps taken by the State party to further guarantee, in practice, the fundamental rights of detained persons from the very outset of detention, including the right of access to a lawyer and a medical doctor, if possible, of their own choice, as well as the right to inform a relative, be informed of their rights and be promptly presented to a judge. (ESTO)

22.Please provide updated information on the steps taken by the State party to further guarantee the rights of detained persons from the very outset of detention, including prompt access to defence counsel, including ex officio defence counsel, and to independent medical examination or an independent doctor, as well as any restrictions that may be imposed on these rights. (GEOR)

23.Please provide information on any legislative or administrative measures taken to ensure that all detained persons are informed of their rights while in custody from the moment of their detention including the right to be informed of the reasons for their detention, right to contact their family members, and to have prompt access to medical assistance. (PANA)

Garde à vue, détention provisoire et détention avant jugement

24.Please provide information on steps taken by the State party to implement the recommendation of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in December 2003 to reduce the length of the pre-trial detention period and to ensure that it is only used as an exceptional measure.

25.Please inform on the use and implementation of alternatives to pre-trial detention. (ARGE)

26.What measures have been taken to define the maximum length of detention by law for all detainees and to ensure that detention is decided upon by a court of law, on a case-by-case basis and pursuant to clearly and exhaustively defined criteria in legislation? (CANA)

27.Please provide updated information on the efforts by the State party to reduce the pretrial detention period (ESTONIE)

28.In light of the Committee’s concluding observations and the recommendations of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, please provide information on measures taken to reduce the length of preventive detention and restrict such detention to cases of last resort . Please elaborate on any steps taken to apply alternative non-custodial measures. (ITAL)

29.Please provide detailed information on any steps taken towards creating legislation of a stipulated maximum duration of pre-trial detention. (PANA)

Mesures de substitution à l’emprisonnement

30.Please indicate whether alternative measures to imprisonment are implemented by the State party. Has the State party engaged in awareness-raising of the judiciary on the possibility of applying alternative non-custodial measure as a solution to the problem of overcrowding in detention and imprisonment centres? (BELI)

Médiateur

31.With regard to the Office of the Ombudsman:

32.Please provide updated information on the mandate and activities of the Office of the Ombudsman with respect to the areas covered by the Convention and in particular to its role with regard to monitoring and visiting prisons.

33.Please provide information on measures taken to strengthen the office of Ombudsman. Also, please provide information as to whether the Office has been accredited by the International Criminal Court and whether it is in complete conformity with the Paris Principles. (BELI)

34.Please provide information on the number of complaints received by the Office of Ombudsman and the time that it takes to investigate and to respond to these complaints. (BELI)

35.Please specify as to the type of complaints and whether any of these complaints involved allegations of torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of prisoners or other individuals. (BELI)

36.Please provide information on the mandate of the Office of the National Ombudsman, on the number of complaints received related to violations of the provisions of the Convention, the actions taken to address these violations as well as their outcome. (ARGE)

Détention arbitraire, détention au secret et détention secrète

37.Please provide information provided on measures taken to ensure that incommunicado detention is explicitly and strictly regulated by law, and only used as an exceptional measure. (AFGH.)

38.Please provide information on whether the State party has adopted a policy that ensures that no one is detained in any secret detention facility under its de facto effective control and that publicly condemns secret detention.

39.Please disclose detailed information on the existence of any such facilities, in the past and present, and the authority under which they have been established. (USA)

Pratique de la torture par la police et les services du renseignement

40.Please indicate what specific measures have been taken to ensure that the State party is fulfilling its international responsibility under the Convention during its intelligence activities, notwithstanding the author, nature or location of those activities. (USA)

Divers

Indépendance du pouvoir judiciaire, formation des juges

41.Please provide information on measures in place to fully ensure the independence of the judiciary in the performance of their duties in conformity with international standards, notably the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary. What measures have been adopted to build the trust of the population in the formal justice system?

42.Please provide information on the number of female judges and prosecutors and explain if female judges can serve and address the same jurisdiction as male judges.

43.Has the State party developed and implemented educational programmes for judges to provide training in international human rights law, its implications for interpreting domestic laws and to ensure that judges can effectively enforce the rights and obligations in the Convention? (AFGH)

Lutte contre la corruption

44.Please indicate the measures taken to combat and prevent corruption at all levels of Government, including in the administration, the judiciary and law enforcement. In this respect, please provide detailed information on the activities of the Anti-corruption Commission and the results of such activities in reducing the level of corruption. (AFGH)

Conditions de détention (surpeuplement, séparation des condamnés et des détenus en attente de jugement)

45.Please provide information on steps taken to guarantee that convicted prisoners are not held in the same facility as pre-trial prisoners and individuals in immigration proceedings (ARGE)

46.Please provide information on whether steps have been taken to deal with the high proportion of unsentenced detainees in the State party’s prisons. (PANA)

Disparitions forcées

47.Please provide information on reforms conducted to remedy the absence of a law against enforced disappearances, as well as on legislative measures taken to grant the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance a constitutional ranking.

48.Please provide information on whether the Penal Code has been amended in order to include the crime of enforced disappearance (ARGE)

Violences à l’égard des femmes

49.Please elaborate on the measures taken, if any, to prevent ill-treatment of women in places of deprivation of liberty. Does the State party monitor sexual violence in places of deprivation of liberty and, if so, with what results? Please provide statistical data on the number of complaints received and investigated in this respect during the reporting period, as well as the number of prosecutions and convictions thereof. (Autr)

50.Please inform the Committee whether legislation prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment contains specific provisions regarding gender-based breaches of the Convention, including sexual violence. Please also describe all, if any, effective measures taken to monitor the occurrence of and to prevent such acts, and please provide data, disaggregated by sex, age and ethnicity of the victims, and information on investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators. What procedures for complaints regarding violence in detention are in place and what are the results? (AFGH)

51.Please inform the Committee of steps taken to address concerns regarding the still substantial number of women who are subject to violence, in particular domestic violence, as well as at the insufficient measures and services to protect victims. Please provide updated information on measures, including legislative ones, taken by the State party to combat violence against women, including domestic violence, to investigate all allegations of ill-treatment and abuse and to protect the victims. (GEOR)

Création d’une institution nationale des droits de l’homme

52.Please provide information on steps taken to establish a national institution for the promotion and protection of human rights, in accordance with the Paris Principles, as well as on the resources made available to the institution to carry out its mandate. (ESTO)

53.Since the consideration of the previous report, please indicate any steps taken by the State party to establish an independent national human rights institution, in accordance with the Paris Principles. (ITAL)

Lutte contre la traite

54.Please provide updated information on any new legislation and/or measures adopted to prevent and combat sexual trafficking of women and children, and to provide assistance to victims, including sensitization of law enforcement officials in contact with these victims. Please also provide data on the number of women and girls who have been trafficked to, from and through the State party since the consideration of the previous report as well as on the number of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers. What steps have been taken by the State party to ensure that child victims of trafficking are protected and provided with adequate recovery and social reintegration services and programmes; and seek to establish further bilateral agreements and subregional multilateral agreements with countries concerned, including neighbouring countries, to prevent the sale, trafficking and abduction of children? (GEOR)

Registre des détenus

55.Please provide:

Information on steps taken by the State party to ensure that it registers all persons it detains in any territory under its jurisdiction, including in all areas under its de facto effective control. Please elaborate on whether steps have been taken to adopt legislative measures to make registration obligatory for all authorities, including military authorities. (USA)

56.Details of cases in which the registration of persons detained does not contain all the elements mentioned in paragraph 16 of the previous concluding observations as to guarantee an effective safeguard against acts of torture. (USA)

Interdiction absolue de la torture

57.Please indicate if the State party has adopted legal provisions to implement the principle of absolute prohibition of torture in its domestic law without any possible derogation, as recommended by the Committee in its previous concluding observations (USA).

Recrutement de mercenaires

58.Please provide information on steps taken by the State party in expressly prohibiting and punishing any kind of recruitment, use, financing, assembling or training of mercenaries. (PANA)

Article 3

Assurances diplomatiques

59.Please indicate if the State party relies on “diplomatic assurances” to return persons to countries known for practicing torture. If so, please provide detailed information on:

(a) the procedures in place for obtaining diplomatic assurances;

(b) steps taken to establish a judicial mechanism for reviewing, in last instance, the sufficiency and appropriateness of diplomatic assurances in any applicable case;

(c) steps taken to guarantee effective post-return monitoring arrangements;

(d) all cases where diplomatic assurances have been provided, since the consideration of the initial report;

(e) assurances that have not been honoured and on appropriate actions taken in such cases by the State party. (AFGH)

60.Has the State Party relied on diplomatic assurances? If so, please indicate what measures have been taken to ensure that they conform to the State Party’s obligations under Article 3. Also, please provide detailed information on what the State party's requirements are for such assurances or guarantees and what measures of post-return monitoring mechanisms it has undertaken in such cases and the legal enforceability of the assurances or guarantees given. (CANA)