CAT/C/DJI/CO/1
(d)
The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination, in 2011;
(e)
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, in 2002.
4.
The Committee welcomes the fact that, under the provisions of article 37 of the
Constitution, international treaties ratified by the State party, including the Convention,
take precedence over the State party’s domestic laws and may be applied directly in
domestic judicial proceedings.
5.
The Committee welcomes the establishment in August 2011 of the Legal and
Judicial Reform Commission, which is responsible for updating legislation and bringing it
into line with the obligations deriving from the international human rights treaties ratified
by the State party, including the Convention.
6.
The Committee notes with satisfaction that the State party abolished the death
penalty in 1995.
7.
The Committee notes with appreciation that the State party has been able to prepare
and submit its reports to the United Nations treaty bodies thanks to the Inter-ministerial
Coordinating Committee for the Preparation and Submission of Reports to the Treaty
Bodies, with technical support from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights and the United Nations Development Programme. Nevertheless, the
Committee regrets that these reports have been submitted with some delay.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Definition and criminalization of torture
8.
The Committee notes that article 16 of Djibouti’s Constitution prohibits torture,
physical abuse or inhuman, cruel, degrading or humiliating treatment. The Committee takes
note of the State party’s commitment to amend its domestic law in the light of its
obligations deriving from the international human rights conventions it has ratified,
introducing, inter alia, a definition of torture. Nevertheless, the Committee remains
concerned about the absence of any clear definition of torture in the State party’s current
Criminal Code and of any provisions criminalizing acts of torture in accordance with
articles 1 and 4 of the Convention (arts. 1 and 4).
The State party should include torture in its Criminal Code as an offence punishable
by appropriate penalties that take into account the gravity of the acts committed,
together with a definition of torture that includes all the elements mentioned in article
1 of the Convention. The Committee considers that by naming and defining the
offence of torture in accordance with the Convention and distinguishing it from other
crimes, States parties would directly advance the Convention’s overarching aim of
preventing and punishing torture.
Acts of torture
9.
The Committee notes with concern the State party’s acknowledgement that abuses,
notably acts of torture, have been committed by police officers in Djibouti in the
performance of their duties. The Committee is particularly concerned about the fact that
there has been no serious investigation of these cases, which has contributed to a situation
in which such offences go unpunished (arts. 2 and 12).
The Committee invites the State party to take immediate and specific measures to
investigate and, when appropriate, to prosecute and punish acts of torture. Moreover,
the Committee invites the State party to: ensure that law enforcement personnel do
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