CAT/OP/27/1
include the denial of the practice of torture by the State and the impunity enjoyed by
its perpetrators. 2
7.
The Committee against Torture has established that:
“Since the failure of the State to exercise due diligence to i ntervene to stop,
sanction and provide remedies to victims of torture facilitates and enables non State actors to commit acts impermissible under the Convention with impunity,
the State’s indifference or inaction provides a form of encouragement and/or de
facto permission. The Committee has applied this principle to States parties ’
failure to prevent and protect victims from gender -based violence, such as rape,
domestic violence, female genital mutilation and trafficking.” 3
8.
The Subcommittee wishes to make it clear that the present document focuses
specifically on the situation of women deprived of their liberty.
9.
Women deprived of their liberty constitute a minority in the world ’s prison
population (between 2 and 9 per cent of the general prison populat ion in most
countries). 4 In the context of deprivation of liberty, women’s rights have, at best, been
subsumed under the recognized rights of a supposedly neutral individual who is, in
practice, based on a male model or they have simply been ignored or dis regarded; in
other words, the treatment of women’s rights has been characterized by a male-centred
approach. For example, the Subcommittee has not found any systematic attempt on the
part of States to address female criminality, which is closely related to the satisfaction
of the basic needs of the families of indigent female heads of household. Nor has it
found that any consideration has been given to situations specifically related to
women, such as their involvement in a large proportion of small -scale drug trafficking
offences, their more limited access to justice, their inability to afford bail and the
augmented stigmatization that they incur for having transgressed gender roles.
10. It was not until December 2010 that the United Nations General Assembl y
adopted the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules), 5 which address the
specific — and long neglected — needs of women in detention.
11. Against this background, the Subcommittee has set itself the task of analysing
how the particular risks of torture and ill-treatment faced by women deprived of their
liberty have been addressed during its visits and how it might set about incorporating a
gender-sensitive approach into its efforts to prevent torture.
II. The obligation to prevent torture and ill-treatment
12. Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention provides that each State party shall
take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of
torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.
13. Consequently, all States parties to the Optional Protocol and the Convention
have an obligation to prevent torture and ill-treatment, whether committed by public
officials or by private individuals. The Committee emphasizes that it is the
responsibility of States parties to prevent acts of torture and ill -treatment in all
2
3
4
5
2/9
See the fifth annual report of the Subcommittee (CAT/C/48/3), para. 67.
See general comment No. 2 of the Committee against Torture on the implementation of article 2 by
States parties (CAT/C/GC/2), para. 18.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Handbook for Prison Managers and Policymakers on
Women and Imprisonment, 2008, p. 2. Available from: https://www.unodc.org/documents/justiceand-prison-reform/women-and-imprisonment.pdf.
General Assembly resolution 65/229 (see the annex).
GE.16-00603