UN torture prevention report welcomes progress in Afghanistan
26 Feb 2015 12:52 AM GMT
A UN report released here Wednesday on the torture and ill-treatment of conflict-related detainees in government detention facilities shows some progress in Afghanistan.
Being the third of its kind released jointly by UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the report and its findings are based on interviews with 790 conflict-related detainees between Feb 2013 and Dec 2014.
“The government of Afghanistan’s efforts to prevent torture and ill-treatment have shown some progress over the last two years,” Xinhua news agency quoted the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Nicholas Haysom, as saying. “More remains to be done, however, and I welcome the new administration’s immediate attention to end these practices.” He said that “UNAMA welcomes the incoming government’s commitment to implement a new national plan on elimination of torture”.
Elements of the Afghan govt’s proposed national plan include legislative reforms, ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, remedy for victims of torture, education and capacity building programmes, discrediting torture in public culture, preventive measures, and continuous observation of implementation of the national plan.
According to the newly released report, a 14% decrease has been seen in the number of detainees tortured or ill-treated compared to the previous reporting period, with one-third of all detainees interviewed found to have endured ill-treatment or torture.
Being the third of its kind released jointly by UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the report and its findings are based on interviews with 790 conflict-related detainees between Feb 2013 and Dec 2014.
“The government of Afghanistan’s efforts to prevent torture and ill-treatment have shown some progress over the last two years,” Xinhua news agency quoted the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Nicholas Haysom, as saying. “More remains to be done, however, and I welcome the new administration’s immediate attention to end these practices.” He said that “UNAMA welcomes the incoming government’s commitment to implement a new national plan on elimination of torture”.
Elements of the Afghan govt’s proposed national plan include legislative reforms, ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, remedy for victims of torture, education and capacity building programmes, discrediting torture in public culture, preventive measures, and continuous observation of implementation of the national plan.
According to the newly released report, a 14% decrease has been seen in the number of detainees tortured or ill-treated compared to the previous reporting period, with one-third of all detainees interviewed found to have endured ill-treatment or torture.
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