A/HRC/31/L.26/Rev.1
Recalling the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Noncustodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules)1 and the adoption of the
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson
Mandela Rules),2
Recalling also that accused juvenile persons shall be separated from adults and
brought as speedily as possible for adjudication,
Recalling further article 11 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, according to which each State party shall
keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices, as
well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of
arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to
preventing any cases of torture,
Mindful of existing principles, guidelines and standards relevant to interrogation,
including the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the
United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of all Persons under Any Form of
Detention or Imprisonment, , and also mindful of the Luanda Guidelines on the Conditions
of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention in Africa, adopted by the African
Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Principles and Best Practices on the
Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, adopted by the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, and the revised standards for law enforcement agencies,
issued by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment,
1.
Emphasizes that States must take persistent, determined and effective
measures to prevent and combat all acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, stresses that all acts of torture must be made offences under
domestic criminal law punishable by appropriate penalties that take into account their grave
nature, and calls upon States to prohibit under domestic law acts constituting cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
2.
Urges all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the
Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment and to give early consideration to signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol
thereto as a matter of priority;
3.
Welcomes the Convention against Torture Initiative, launched in March 2014
on the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention, to achieve the universal
ratification and improved implementation of the Convention by 2024, as well as related
regional initiatives on the prevention and eradication of torture;
4.
Urges States to adopt, implement and comply fully with legal and procedural
safeguards against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,
as well as to ensure that the judiciary, and where relevant the prosecution, can effectively
ensure compliance with such safeguards;
5.
Stresses that effective legal and procedural safeguards for the prevention of
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment include ensuring
that any individual arrested or detained on a criminal charge is brought promptly before a
judge or other independent judicial officer, and permitting prompt and regular medical care
and legal counsel at any stage of detention as well as visits by family members;
1
2
2
General Assembly resolution 65/229, annex.
General Assembly resolution 70/175, annex.