A/HRC/40/59/Add.2
16.
The Special Rapporteur is also seriously concerned at the allegedly widespread
practice by law enforcement officials of arrests for the purpose of verification of identity.
This practice is reported to regularly result in the excessive use of force and arbitrary arrests
for the mere purpose of identity checks or other reasons not linked to criminal conduct.
Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur is alarmed by information that he received about a
pattern of violent and discriminatory harassment of young men in marginalized
neighbourhoods, migrants, street sellers, indigenous leaders and lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender and intersex persons, often resulting in arbitrary arrests on the pretext of
suspected criminal activity. While the Special Rapporteur welcomes recent efforts by the
authorities to introduce human rights training into the curriculum of police officers, he shares
the concern expressed by the Human Rights Committee and the Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention about the excessively permissive parameters under which such arrests are practised
(A/HRC/39/45/Add.1, para. 26; and CCPR/C/ARG/CO/5, para. 17).
17.
The Special Rapporteur has also received reports of police officers making excessive
use of firearms (“trigger-happy”) at the moment of arrest, including as a means of
intimidation. He underscores that unnecessary, excessive or otherwise arbitrary use of force
by law enforcement officials is incompatible with the Basic Principles on the Use of Force
and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (1990) and the Code of Conduct for Law
Enforcement Officials (1979) and may well amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or even torture. More specifically, the Special Rapporteur recalls that, as pointed out in his
report to the General Assembly (A/72/178), the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment, as
well as the resulting legal obligations of prevention, prosecution and redress, is also fully
applicable whenever law enforcement officials resort to the use of force in extra-custodial
contexts, such as during the policing of assemblies, arrests or stop-and-search operations.
18.
In the light of these allegations, the Special Rapporteur calls upon all law enforcement
agencies to implement a strict policy of zero tolerance for any form of police brutality and
other excessive use of force, to require a rigorous assessment before arresting a person on
suspicion of having committed a crime and to ensure that anyone arrested is promptly notified
of his or her rights and enabled to exercise these rights without delay.
B.
1.
Torture and ill-treatment in detention
Police custody
19.
The Special Rapporteur notes with grave concern that, due to the lack of capacity in
regular detention facilities, a large number of persons were detained in police stations for
prolonged periods of time. Many of these detainees reported that law enforcement officials
frequently used violence and threats to harass, provoke or intimidate them and, in some cases,
to force them to confess an alleged crime or to denounce others. In addition to threats and
insults, law enforcement officials reportedly resorted to kicking and beating, even against
persons who were handcuffed or otherwise physically restrained. The Special Rapporteur
also received several allegations concerning the use of suffocation techniques, most notably
the so-called “submarine” treatment, both “wet” (submerging the head in liquid) and “dry”
(covering the head with a plastic bag), the latter method being applied particularly during
transfers in police vehicles to police stations after arrest.
20.
According to information received, law enforcement officials are under significant
pressure to deliver investigative results in the context of drug trafficking and other crimes.
The Special Rapporteur is seriously concerned that these expectations provide dangerous
incentives for police officers to use coercive methods in order to obtain forced confessions.
Moreover, the predominant culture within law enforcement agencies reportedly still
perceives torture and ill-treatment as acceptable.
21.
Another reason for overreliance on confession-based evidence may be the lack of
adequate training in non-coercive investigative methodology. The Special Rapporteur
therefore urges the Government to ensure adequate training of law enforcement officials in
science-based forensic investigation techniques, which not only comply with human rights
law, but also are proven to be more effective in terms of reliable establishing of facts.
Moreover, the Special Rapporteur encourages the establishing of clear reporting lines and
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