-3Preface
By the end of 1993, the CPT had completed its first round of "periodic" visits to Parties to the
European Convention for the prevention of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Within
the space of four years, 231 countries were visited on a periodic basis.
The CPT considered this was an appropriate moment to bring together the liaison officers appointed
under Article 15 of the Convention, in order to gather the views of Parties on the Committee's activities and to
discuss practical issues arising from its visits. Almost all of the Parties to the Convention were represented at
that meeting, which took place in Strasbourg on 4 March 1994. The fruits of the meeting shall be set out in the
Committee's next General Report (covering the year 1994). However, the CPT wishes to take this opportunity
to express its appreciation of the very constructive nature of the discussions with the liaison officers, all of
whom clearly indicated their support for the Committee's work.
This General Report is somewhat shorter than its predecessors. Much has already been written in
previous General Reports concerning the procedural and organisational framework for the conduct of the CPT's
visits, and there have been no notable changes to that framework during 1993. Further, unlike the 2nd and 3rd
General Reports, the present report does not contain a "substantive" section. Although there is no lack of
suitable subjects, a particularly heavy workload and the fact that 1993 was something of a transitional year for
the CPT in terms of its membership, have led the Committee to decide to reserve further substantive sections
for future General Reports.
1
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland,
Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.