CAT/C/TKM/CO/1
(c)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (on 1 May 1997) and its
two Optional Protocols (on 1 May 1997 and 11 January 2000);
(d)
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (on 1 May 1997) and its Optional Protocol (on 20 May 2009);
(e)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (on 1 May
1997);
(f)
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (on 4 September 2008)
and its Optional Protocol (on 10 November 2010).
5.
The Committee notes the ongoing efforts by the State party to reform its legislation,
policies and procedures in areas of relevance to the Convention, including:
(a)
Adoption of the new Constitution, on 26 September 2008;
(b)
Adoption of the new Criminal Enforcement Code, on 26 March 2011;
(c)
Adoption of the new Criminal Code, on 10 May 2010;
(d)
Adoption of the new Code of Criminal Procedure, on 18 April 2009;
(e)
Adoption of the Courts of Law Act, on 15 August 2009;
(f)
Adoption of the Law on Combating Trafficking in Persons, on 14 December
2007;
(g)
Establishment of the State Commission to Review Citizens’ Complaints on
the Activities of Law Enforcement Agencies, through Presidential Decree, on 19 February
2007;
(h)
Abolition of the death penalty, through Presidential Decree, on 28 December
1999.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Torture and ill-treatment
6.
The Committee is deeply concerned over the numerous and consistent allegations
about the widespread practice of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in the State party.
According to reliable information presented to the Committee, persons deprived of their
liberty are tortured, ill-treated and threatened by public officers, especially at the moment of
apprehension and during pretrial detention, to extract confessions and as an additional
punishment after the confession. This information confirms the concerns expressed by a
number of international bodies, inter alia, those expressed in the report of the SecretaryGeneral (A/61/489, paras. 38-40) and in the decisions of the European Court of Human
Rights in the cases of Kolesnik v. Russia, Soldatenko v. Ukraine, Ryabkin v. Russia and
Garabayev v. Russia. While noting the existence of laws which prohibit, inter alia, abuse of
power and the use of violence by officials against individuals in their custody for the
purpose of obtaining evidence, the Committee is concerned about the substantial gap
between the legislative framework and its practical implementation (arts. 2, 4, 12 and 16).
As a matter of urgency, the State party should take immediate and effective measures
to prevent acts of torture and ill-treatment throughout the country, including by
implementing policies that would produce measurable results in the eradication of
torture and ill-treatment by State officials. Furthermore, the State party should take
vigorous steps to eliminate impunity for alleged perpetrators of acts of torture and illtreatment, carry out prompt, impartial and exhaustive investigations, try the
2