CAT/C/GEO/CO/3
page 2
B. Positive aspects
4.
The Committee welcomes the State party’s accession to the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
on 9 August 2005, as well as the declarations made under articles 21 and 22 of the Convention,
and encourages the State party to inform practitioners and the general public of the availability of
these measures.
5.
The Committee also notes that in the period since the consideration of the last report, the
State party has ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Rome Statute of
the International Criminal Court.
6.
The Committee further notes the State party’s accession to or ratification of regional
instruments, among them the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the European Convention on Extradition and the
European Convention on the Transfer of Proceedings in Criminal Matters.
7.
The Committee notes with satisfaction the ongoing efforts at the State level to reform its
legislation, policies and procedures in order to ensure better protection of human rights,
including the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment, in particular:
(a)
The revision of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in particular article 144 which
brings Georgian legislation in line with international norms with regard to the definition of
torture;
(b)
The elaboration of the Plan of Action against Torture in Georgia, the Plan of
Measures to Reform and Develop the Penal Correction System as well as the National
Anti-Trafficking Plan and the efforts made to strengthen State institutions, including the creation
of the Department of Investigation in the Ministry of Justice in 2005;
(c)
The adoption of new laws, such as the law on domestic violence in April 2006
and the drafting of a new law on trafficking, as well as the new draft Penitentiary Code for the
consideration of Parliament in 2006;
(d)
The allocation by the State party of additional resources to improve standards in
places of detention, in particular with respect to access to health, activities, training and living
conditions;
(e)
The 2004 Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and the Ombudsman’s office that enables the Ombudsman’s office to authorize
monitoring groups, which include representatives of non-governmental organizations, to
undertake unannounced visits to any detention facility under the responsibility of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs.