Tag Archives: APT

[From the web] Global torture prevention community calls for protection of Afghanistan’s national preventive mechanism | APT

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#HumanRights #Torture

Global torture prevention community calls for protection of Afghanistan’s national preventive mechanism

The recent Taliban military offensive poses a grave threat to the continued independence and functioning of Afghanistan’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) – the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) – and for the safety of its members and staff.

Everyone in Afghanistan who has engaged in work to promote human rights and democracy now faces a serious risk of reprisals under the Taliban. At particular risk are the women who lead and work for the AIHRC. All those under threat, including the staff of the AIHRC and their families, need protection including, if necessary, through visas and safe passage.

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[Statement] New synergies to reduce torture and ill-treatment in police custody in South East Asia | apt, suaram, tfdp, crcf

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New synergies to reduce torture and ill-treatment in police custody in South East Asia

The Association for Prevention of Torture (APT), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) in Malaysia, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP) and Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) in Thailand are launching a three and a half year cooperation, to foster national and regional synergies to prevent incommunicado detention and forced confession in the three countries. The European Union supports this cooperation.

Torture and ill-treatment are more likely to happen in the first hours of detention. This was confirmed by the independent research commissioned by the APT, “Does Torture Prevention Work”, published in 2016. Forced confession and incommunicado detention have been prevalent in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, for many years. According to thematic reports issued by SUARAM, TFDP and CrCF, these illegal practices continue due to several enabling factors: the gap between existing laws and practice; the on-going trends and culture in policing; and the persuasive narrative that supports these practices in the name of public security and safety.

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[Off-the-shelf] Prisons and COVID-19: the real lockdown -APT

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Prisons and COVID-19: the real lockdown

A third of the world’s population are facing some level of restriction on their movement as governments attempt to contain the novel coronavirus. Limits on ‘normal’ life range from mass gatherings to complete ‘lockdowns’ with penalties for leaving home without the required paperwork.

Lockdowns have also been seen in national prison systems the world over with fears of the disease ‘rampaging through places of detention’. There is a reason to be fearful. Prisons are notoriously hotbeds for infectious diseases. People live and sleep on top of each other – in the literal sense in some countries – and there is little fresh air, lack of nutritious food, and shortages in healthcare provision as documented in our recent report, Global Prison Trends 2020. To date there have been almost 40,000 cases of infection among people in prison reported and tracked across 60 countries and around 750 deaths in 28 countries – although the numbers will in fact be much higher.

When we look at the lockdowns people in prison are facing, we can see that like with many things, what is happening in the community is not only mirrored in prisons but magnified.

Read full story @www.apt.ch

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[Press Release] Torture in the Philippines over the past 30 years -APT

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Torture in the Philippines over the past 30 years
Global research on the prevention of torture: Presentation of country study

What are the key factors that can reduce torture and ill-treatment? This question has been the focus of a three-year research project, based on 16 country studies from all regions of the world. On Tuesday 17 March, Atty. Ricardo Sunga, University of the Philippines,presented the research project and gave an overview of the situation in the country.

APT

17 March 2015.The research project was commissioned in 2011 by the Geneva-based Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and carried out by a team of independent researchers under the leadership of Professor Richard Carver, Oxford Brookes University, UK. The research focuses on whether preventive measures – such as an appropriate legal framework, monitoring of places of detention and access to lawyers – have had an impact on the prevalence of torture over a period of 30 years. Apart from the Philippines, research partners have studied the situation in Argentina, Chile, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Peru, South Africa, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

The Philippines’ country study was conducted by Atty. Ricardo Sunga, a legal and human rights expert from the Human Rights Institute of the University of the Philippines. Atty. Sunga has now, for the first time, presenting his work and findings regarding torture in the Philippines, from 1985 to 2013. Torture was at its peak at the beginning of the period, at the tail end of the regime of president Ferdinand Marcos. Torture decreased slightly following the end of the Marcos regime, though its frequency, severity and geographical spread remained high. Atty. Ricardo Sunga has specifically focused on the legal developments around criminalization of torture, leading to the adoption of the Anti-Torture Act in 2009 and the growing potential of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights as an independent complaints and monitoring mechanism.

The complete, global research report will be published in 2016. The findings are of great importance and will help design more effective strategies to prevent torture, in the Philippines and internationally.

The research presentation took place in conjunction to another important gathering on the prevention of torture and ill-treatment– a national forum on the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture, which the Philippines ratified in 2012. The meeting was organised by the United Against Torture Coalition, the Commission on Human Rights and the University of the Philippines Institute of Human Rights.

For more information, please contact:
Ms. Shazeera Zawawi, Association for the Prevention of Torture (www.apt.ch) +639062775853, szawawi@apt.ch
Atty. Ricardo Sunga, Human Rights Institute of the University of the Philippines, +639178542124.

All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.

Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.