CAT/OP/24/1
United Nations
Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
9 December 2014
Original: English
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Obligations of States parties to the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment to facilitate the visits
of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
Statement adopted by the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
at its twenty-forth session (17–21 November 2014)
1.
All States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment are obliged to ensure that the
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture is able to fully carry out its visiting mandate, in
accordance with articles 12 and 14 of the Optional Protocol.
2.
That encompasses the State party’s obligation, inter alia, to provide the
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture with all necessary information, including all
documentation that it requests, both prior to and during the visit; to grant it unhindered
access to all places under its jurisdiction where people are or may be deprived of their
liberty, as defined in article 4 of the Optional Protocol; and to grant it the opportunity to
have private interviews with persons deprived of their liberty, in order to enable it to carry
out its mandate.
3.
In the event that the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture encounters obstacles in
the execution of its mandate and a State party does not cooperate fully, to the extent that the
Subcommittee considers the success of its mission to be in jeopardy, it may suspend or
terminate its visit, as stipulated in paragraph 27 of the guidelines of the Subcommittee in
relation to visits to States parties (CAT/OP/12/4).
4.
The suspension may be temporary, with the visit resuming after a brief period. The
Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture may also suspend its visit and leave the country, in
which case the visit may recommence at a later date, either in whole or in part. In such
instances, the Subcommittee will continue its direct engagement with the State party and
the delegation may return to the State party when the Subcommittee is fully satisfied that it
GE.14-23868 (E)