Mongolia considers next steps on torture prevention treaty

With the Mongolian Government likely to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), a one-day roundtable brought together almost 50 representatives from government, civil society and the national human rights commission to discuss how this major human rights treaty could be implemented in practice.

Held on 28 April 2011 in Ulaanbaatar, there was an open and lively exchange of ideas about which model of national preventive mechanism (NPM) – or system for carrying out independent visits to places of detention – would be most appropriate and effective in the Mongolian context.

Participants considered examples from other countries in the Asia Pacific, Central Asia and Europe, including Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Maldives and New Zealand.

In some of these countries the national human rights institution (NHRI) is designated as the sole national preventive mechanism, while in others it involves the NHRI working in partnership with civil society organisations.

There was broad agreement that the most effective model of NPM for Mongolia would involve the National Human Rights Commission collaborating with key civil society organisations, with the Commission acting as its central coordinator.

The roundtable – Instituting a NPM in Mongolia under the OPCAT – was organised by the APF, the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia and Amnesty International (Mongolia).

It follows a number of public statements by the Mongolian Government that it was giving serious consideration to ratifying the OPCAT, including during the country’s appearance before the United Nation’s Universal Periodic Review in November 2010.

The APF and the APT will continue to provide support to key stakeholders in Mongolia to further refine their vision for an effective NPM, as well as to assist in the development of practical skills to prevent torture and ill-treatment in places of detention.

As part of this process, on 29 April 2011, the APF and the APT led a one-day day training program on torture prevention for all staff members of Mongolia’s National Human Rights Commission.

Discussion and exercises addressed a wide range of issues, including:

• the specific role that NHRIs can play to prevent torture and ill-treatment, as well as respond to allegations of torture
• the challenges facing NHRIs that are designated as national preventive mechanisms, and
• current international issues relating to torture.

The workshop also drew on information and video materials in the Preventing Torture: An Operational Guide for National Human Rights Institutions, a resource kit jointly published in 2010 by the APF, the APT and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Date: 9 May 2011