E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.3
page 2
Summary
At the invitation of the Government of Georgia, the Special Rapporteur on the question
of torture undertook a visit to Georgia from 19 to 25 February 2005 within the framework of his
mandate. The Special Rapporteur expresses his appreciation to the Government for having
extended full cooperation to him during the mission. The present report contains a study of the
legal and factual aspects regarding the situation of torture or ill-treatment in Georgia. The
Special Rapporteur concludes that torture persists in Georgia, perpetuated primarily by a culture
of impunity. The Special Rapporteur also visited the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,
where he expressed concern at the existing conditions of detention. In Abkhazia in particular,
he expressed concern at the applicability of the death penalty, notwithstanding the present
moratorium, as well as the conditions of death-row prisoners. Accordingly, he recommends a
number of measures to be adopted by the authorities to prevent and suppress acts of torture and
other forms of ill-treatment.
The Special Rapporteur points to positive examples of measures taken by the
Government of Georgia, such as the establishment of monitoring mechanisms to visit places of
detention. He indicates that he received clear commitments from the Government, and was
assured that his recommendations would be taken seriously. He sees the visit as a fruitful
beginning of cooperation towards the common aim of eradicating torture and ill-treatment in the
country.
The Special Rapporteur welcomes developments that have occurred since his visit - some
of which were recommended in his preliminary note on the mission (E/CN.4/2005/62/Add.3) such as an amendment to the Criminal Code to bring the definition of the crime of torture into
line with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment, the accession of Georgia to the Optional Protocol to the Convention, and the
recognition of the competence of the Committee against Torture to consider individual
complaints. These developments are evidence of the Government’s cooperation to this end.