Torture Convention
In 2005 the APF’s Advisory Council of Jurists considered a reference on torture.
The report made a series of recommendations, including:
- the importance of APF member countries ratifying all relevant international treaties
- enacting or amending relevant domestic laws
- ensuring allegations of torture are independently investigated
- allowing detention facilities to be regularly inspected
- providing education and training for law enforcement and other agencies.
The proposed Minimum Interrogation Standards developed by the ACJ also provide an important contribution to the effective prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment in the region.
Since that time the APF and the Association for the Prevention of Torture have worked in partnership on the design and delivery of training programmes for NHRIs and other stakeholders in Asia Pacific countries.
The focus of these programs is to build understanding of the Convention against Torture and its Optional Protocol and to provide technical advice and training to APF member institutions and other key stakeholders on the implementation of the UNCAT and its Optional Protocol.
A particular focus is to discuss the potential role of NHRIs as National Preventive Mechanisms under the Optional Protocol and what this means in practice.
