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Appalled by general conditions of detention in "closed institutions" around the world, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Mr Manfred Nowak, ushered in a new debate by calling for a convention on the rights of detainees during his report to the Third Committee of the General Assembly on 20 October 2009.
Despite the human rights safeguards for detainees contained in the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Special Rapporteur concluded that detainees were a particularly vulnerable group with specific needs, and it was time States negotiated a convention to clarify the precise nature of their legal obligations.
Mr Nowak described detention facilities in many countries as "constantly overcrowded and filthy locations," plagued by contagious diseases and conditions of violence, discrimination, and exploitation. He declared this "systematic denial of dignity" a breach by States of their obligation to protect the human rights of all detainees. Further, his official visits to places of detention around the world had revealed that detainees were "routinely" denied even the most basic rights including the right not to be subjected to torture or slavery, and the right to a fair trial and equality before the law.
While poverty contributed to low standards of detention, Mr Nowak maintained that a lack of political will was also at the root of the problem. As proof, he pointed to immediate measures taken by the Government of Uruguay in the wake of his 2009 country visit to shut down certain facilities where conditions failed to meet minimum standards.
Mr Nowak's call for a new convention to supplement the existing legal regime was not included in his written report to the General Assembly. It thus appeared to take Member States by surprise as only Switzerland sought to further explore the issue during the interactive dialogue.
Contrary to the common misperception, the Special Rapporteur clarified that most victims of arbitrary detention, torture and inhuman conditions were "ordinary people" who came from the most vulnerable sectors of society. They included the poor, persons with disabilities, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender persons, drug addicts, aliens and members of ethnic and religious minorities or indigenous communities. However, the Special Rapporteur made special mention of children's vulnerability to detention and to a range of human rights violations while they were deprived of their liberty.
Alarmed by the fact that globally, over one million children were held in places of detention, Mr Nowak emphasised the responsibility of the State to ensure that children were only subject to detention as a measure of absolute last resort, and for the shortest possible time. He also reminded States of their responsibility to meet the health, education and other developmental needs of children in detention and to uphold the prohibition on corporal punishment.
Suggestions for a mandate on persons in detention have previously been made within the U.N. human rights framework, including a formal proposal by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in March 2009. Several States led by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Algeria opposed such a measure. Even Mr Nowak and Mr Philip Alston, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions have not always seen eye to eye on this issue.
Nowak issued the call for the convention during a busy morning at the General Assembly that also included presentations by Mr Claudio Grossman, Chairperson of the Committee against Torture, and Mr Victor Manuel Rodriguez Rescia, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture). This was the first time that these three mandate holders appeared together before the Committee - a development welcomed by Member States. Among other things, the format allowed member States to explore the complementary roles played by the various mechanisms in prohibiting and preventing torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
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