National dialogue on torture prevention a 'global first'

The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives recently joined with key national and international groups to consider how the South Asian country can make further progress to prevent torture in places of detention.

A two-day national dialogue on the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), held on 13-14 July 2011 in Male’, brought together representatives from the Commission; relevant government stakeholders, including those responsible for places of detention; and members of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture Punishment (SPT).

The meeting, the first of its type to be held, was facilitated by the Association for the Prevention of Torture, a leading Geneva-based non-governmental organisation and partner to the APF's training activities on torture prevention.

While the first day of the National Dialogue was a closed meeting between the three groups, the second day included the participation of judges (of the Supreme Court and Civil Court), civil society organisations and the media.

A key objective of the meeting was to take stock of how the OPCAT system is currently functioning in the Maldives, to identify areas for improvement and to develop a collaborative approach to bring about these improvements.

There was particular discussion regarding the recommendations made in the SPT’s report of its mission to the Maldives in December 2007.

The Maldives was the first state in Asia to ratify the OPCAT (February 2006), with the Commission designated as the country’s sole National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in December 2007.

As the NPM, the Commission has the authority to make unannounced visits to places of detention and interview detainees in private.

Following a proposal by the Commission, there was an agreement that representatives of the NPM and government stakeholders would meet on a regular basis to continue the dialogue and monitor progress in implementing the OPCAT.

Participants also agreed to improve processes for collaboration and communication.

Date: 20 July 2011