UN: Crucial Vote at ECOSOC on The Draft Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture
* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International *
25 July 2002
Human rights groups welcomed the adoption today by the UN Economic and Social Council of a new protocol on torture,
despite opposition from the United States and other governments.
The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture will now be sent for adoption by the UN General Assembly later
this year, before being opened for ratification. The Optional Protocol establishes a system of regular visits to places
of detention by an international body of experts, complemented by sustained regular visits conducted by national
visiting bodies.
A coalition of eleven human rights organizations have campaigned together in support of the Optional Protocol,
including Amnesty International (AI), Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), Human Rights Watch, the
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of
Torture (Fi.ACAT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the International League for Human Rights, the
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT),
Redress Trust for Torture Survivors and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT).
The United States sought to block the adoption of the draft Optional Protocol by requesting that the text, which was
adopted on 22 April 2002 by the 58th session of the Commission on Human Rights, be re-opened and subjected to further
consultations. Other countries such as China, Cuba, Egypt, Libya and Sudan that are traditionally hostile to
international human rights scrutiny also supported the USA proposal. But a majority of ECOSOC members, including states
from South and Central America, Africa, Asia and Europe, rejected the USA proposal and voted in support of the current
text.
The draft was adopted by a vote of 35 in Favor, with 8 Against and 10 Abstentions.
Human rights organizations welcome the strong show of support for the Optional Protocol, which would establish an
important new preventive mechanism for combating torture.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Convention against Torture, yet despite the
universal condemnation of torture it is still widespread and practiced systematically in many countries.
Human rights organizations urge governments committed to the fight against torture to rally support for adoption of the
Optional Protocol by the UN General Assembly in the fall, and to guard against further efforts by hostile governments to
obstruct this initiative.
Joint press release issued by: Amnesty International (AI), Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), Human
Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the International Federation of Action by Christians for
the Abolition of Torture (Fi.ACAT), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the International League for
Human Rights, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture
Victims (IRCT), Redress Trust for Torture Survivors and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT).
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