United Nations
General Assembly
A/HRC/19/61/Add.1
Distr.: General
2 February 2012
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Nineteenth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E.
Méndez
Addendum
Mission to Tunisia*
Summary
The present report contains the findings and recommendations of the Special
Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan
E. Méndez, on his mission to Tunisia, from 15 to 22 May 2011.
The Special Rapporteur expresses his appreciation to the interim Government for
extending an invitation to visit the country, which illustrated the willingness to open
Tunisia to independent and objective scrutiny of its human rights situation. The ratification
of several international human rights instruments, including the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, and the Ministry of Justice’s initiative to develop a draft legal framework for
the harmonization of national legislation with international human rights standards are a
manifestation of good will and the commitment to reform the legal system of Tunisia.
While welcoming the high-level consensus across the political spectrum on the need
to abolish torture and ill-treatment, and a series of positive steps taken towards restoring
justice for past and recent acts of torture and ill-treatment, the Special Rapporteur observes
that given the legacy of torture from the past regime, and the lack of sufficiently timely
investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment, it cannot be said that a culture of
impunity no longer prevails. Although the mistreatment of detainees appears to be
*
GE.12-10322
The summary of the present report is being circulated in all official languages. The report
itself, contained in the annex to the summary, is circulated in the language of submission
and in French only.