CAT/C/55/3
United Nations
Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
Distr.: General
17 September 2015
Original: English
Committee against Torture
Guidelines for follow-up to concluding observations*
Introduction
1.
At its thirtieth session, in May 2003, the Committee against Torture adopted a
procedure for follow-up to concluding observations on reports of States parties submitted
under article 19 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (see A/58/44, para. 12). The procedure consists of the Committee
identifying, among the recommendations in the concluding observations, those for which
implementation is a priority and requesting additional information from the States parties,
as established under rule 72, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Committee’s rules of procedure.
That follow-up procedure has become an important means of assessing the degree to which
compliance with the Committee’s recommendations has had an impact. It has also become
an integral part of the reporting cycle.
2.
Since then, the Committee has periodically revised its follow-up procedure. At its
fifty-third session, in November 2014, the Committee decided to establish a working group
to review the procedure and present proposals on ways to strengthen it. At the fifty-fifth
session, the working group, composed of three Committee members (Felice Gaer, Jens
Modvig and Sapana Pradhan-Malla), presented a document aimed at identifying both old
and new elements that would strengthen the procedure, thus contributing to harmonizing
the treaty bodies’ methods of work (see A/65/190, para. 33, and annex I, para. 40 (e) to (g)).
At the same session, the Committee adopted the present guidelines.
Rapporteur for follow-up to concluding observations
3.
In accordance with rule 72 of its rules of procedure, the Committee has at least one
mandate holder in charge of the follow-up procedure. To date there has been one
Rapporteur for follow-up to concluding observations at any given time.
4.
The Rapporteur’s responsibilities range from the adoption of concluding
observations to the discontinuation of the follow-up procedure, which may coincide with
the adoption of concluding observations made during the subsequent reporting cycle, when
compliance by the State party under review with the procedure is assessed.
* Adopted by the Committee at its fifty-fifth session (27 July-14 August 2015).
GE.15-15674(E)
*1515674*