DRC: Torture Prevention Mechanism Urgently Needed Amid Inhuman Prison Conditions

GENEVA/KINSHASA (11 December 2024) – The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) today called for urgent action to establish a torture prevention mechanism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), following its first visit to the country from 1 to 7 December.

“The progress made by the DRC in setting up its national preventive mechanism (NPM) is very encouraging, but swift implementation is critical,” said Hamet Saloum Diakhaté, head of the SPT delegation.

“This mechanism is essential for addressing the deplorable detention conditions that we have observed during our mission and is also critical for preventing torture and ill-treatment.”

The DRC ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) in 2010, committing to create an independent NPM to monitor places of deprivation of liberty and prevent torture, and has since been working to set up its NPM in order to comply with its international obligations.

During the visit, the delegation held high-level meetings with officials, notably the Minister of Justice, “garde des sceaux”, the Minister of Human Rights, the President of the Senat and the President of the National Assembly’s Human Rights Commission, as well as with the President of the National Human Rights Commission, representatives of the diplomatic corps, civil society and UN agencies.

The delegation also made unannounced visits to several places of detention, including two prisons, different police stations and the cells of the Palais de Justice (central court) in Kinshasa. During these visits, its members conducted confidential interviews with detainees, prison officers, police officers and medical staff.

“We observed that prison overcrowding, which also extends to police stations and court cells that are unfit for holding people beyond 48 hours, is primarily caused by the systematic use of pre-trial detention for excessive prolonged periods,” Diakhaté said.

Following the visit, the SPT will submit a confidential report to the DRC detailing its observations and recommendations to prevent torture and improve detention conditions. It encouraged the government to make the report public to facilitate the implementation of its recommendations.

The SPT has a mandate to carry out unannounced visits to prisons, detention centres, police stations, psychiatric hospitals and any other place where people are deprived of their liberty in all States parties to the OPCAT. Since the beginning of its mandate in 2007, the SPT has visited more than 80 countries.

The SPT delegation comprised Hamet Saloum Diakhaté, head of delegation (Senegal), Hamida Dridi (Tunisia), Jakub Czepek (Poland) and Julia Kozma (Austria).

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