Torture Prevention Ambassadors

Torture and ill-treatment in places of detention continues to be an issue of serious concern in countries across the Asia Pacific, as it is in other parts of the world.

There are multiple and complex reasons why torture and ill-treatment persists today. The simple fact, however, is that it should not occur and can never be justified.

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment places an absolute prohibition on torture and ill-treatment of people held in detention.

However, there is inevitably a gap between what the law says should happen and what happens in practice. Preventing torture is about narrowing that gap.

In 2014, the APF and the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) launched an innovative strategy to tackle the risk factors that can lead to torture and ill-treatment.

Across the Asia Pacific, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) regularly monitor places of detention, from prisons and police lock ups to immigration detention centres and closed psychiatric facilities.

NHRIs also investigate allegations of torture, train law enforcement officials, promote public awareness and recommend changes to national laws and detention policies.

The Torture Prevention Ambassadors project sought to harness the unique mandate of NHRIs, as well as the expertise and commitment of senior NHRI staff, in a new approach to preventing torture and ill-treatment.

Find out more

• Our approach
• Identifying good practice
• Our Ambassadors and Mentors
• TPA Toolbox

Nine Torture Prevention Ambassadors from seven NHRIs in the Asia Pacific region were selected to develop and implement individual programs that would address "protection gaps" and other challenges they identified in their respective countries.

The diversity of their projects, as well as the outcomes these projects delivered, clearly illustrates that NHRIs, working in partnership with others, can be powerful agents for change.

While the Torture Prevention Ambassadors project has established a community of skilled practitioners in the region, it has also helped foster a new dynamic among NHRIs, detaining authorities and others, helping forge an environment where torture is less likely to happen.

We hope that all NHRIs in the Asia Pacific, as well as those in other regions, will draw inspiration from what the Torture Prevention Ambassadors project has achieved.

Together, we can prevent torture.