UN Geneva - Multimedia Newsroom : Press Conference: Special Rapporteur on torture

Good afternoon and thank you for joining us at this press conference by the Special Rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Edwards.

We'll begin with a few remarks from the Special Rapporteur and then proceed to take your questions.

With that, I give the floor to Doctor Edwards.

Thank you very much and thank you very much for being here and apologies for the delays.

I am presenting to the Human Rights Council 2 reports, one on current issues in prison management and the other on my fact finding visit to Ukraine, which was held from the 4th to the 10th of September last year.

In respect of the current issues and good practises in prison management, essentially there is globally a real need for countries to reform their prison institutions, but within a context of the broader criminal justice setting.

They were my main conclusions.

Too many people are incarcerated for too long, especially during pretrial detention.

Many prisons in all regions do not meet minimum minimum international standards.

Severe overcrowding is a very common problem and it is driven by practises of over incarceration, including, as I mentioned in the pretrial.

And insufficient investment in infrastructure.

Many countries are struggling to modernise their prisons.

They are.

They house people in old forts, in old palaces in the centre of the city that are not and not equipped and difficult to renovate to meet international standards.

My report also talks about the clear link between poverty and imprisonment and the over incarceration of persons from economically disadvantaged or other marginalised communities.

I put a special emphasis in terms of prison management on human rights compliant management and also a focus that prison imprisonment is the penalty and it should not be any greater than the deprivation of liberty and that conditions and standards of treatment need to be humane at all times.

That there is no permission, there is no, it is not allowed to additionally punish people through poor conditions.

The report also tackled some of the global trends that are facing the world, including climate change and natural disasters, as well as future pandemics and noting that prisons and prisons are hotspots for contagious disease spread.

The very important learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic and how countries can make sure that they are prepared for future pandemics that the World Health Organisation tells us will be occurring with greater intensity and greater ferocity.

And in terms of climate change, making sure that the conditions in prisons are upgraded or improved to withstand extreme temperatures, noting that subjecting individuals to, for example, excessive heat or excessive extreme cold, not providing appropriate shade in places that are deeply affected by **** temperatures, or placing prisons in places that are in locations likely to be affected by natural hazards, all fall foul of the prohibition on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment.

The report also looked at specific segments of the population in prison.

So there is a section on women and girls, there is a section on children and juveniles, there is a section on indigenous people, and also a section that is new, I believe.

2 discussions in the UN forum about neurodiversity in prison populations and coping with this added complexity.

Statistics on research that has been carried out show that the prison population has a **** number of individuals with neurodiversity.

The other area that is perhaps a new in relation to female detainees is a call for more research and guidance on how to handle issues around perimenopause and menopause.

Some of the symptoms make the standard healthcare but also conditions in detention problematic for women as they age and in respect of children and juveniles call to ensure that the age of criminal responsibility is no less than 14 years.

And that there's a real effort to make sure that prisons is a really a last resort and other options such as alternatives to detention entirely or alternatively residential facilities looked at and introduced, if not already available Indigenous people.

Of course there's an over representation in a number of countries of indigenous people.

The calls in the report are to ensure not only obviously humane treatment for all, but also treatment and conditions that are adapted to the cultural and spiritual needs and rights of indigenous people.

Such that they may be able to reside in communal spaces as well as be able to exercise their spiritual practises and customs, as well as prepare and eat their own food and their own culturally appropriate diets.

So I think I'll leave it there and I'm open for questions.

Of course, I also delivered my report on Ukraine and I reiterate what I've previously.

[Other language spoken]

Because is that right previous?

Previous is that Better previously have stated publicly that I found credible allegations of torture that were consistent and widespread by the Russian Armed forces and other associated groups, as well as those under their control or authority in the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine, as well as in Russia itself.

There was a clear pattern of consistency from the types of torture that were being perpetrated, the purposes for that torture, as well as the targets of that torture.

The report details also my visit to one of the Ukrainian prisoner of war camps to verify and check the conditions of detention and general standards of care for Russian prisoners of war, in which I found that the international standards were largely being met.

There was a atmosphere of respect in the Ukrainian staff to the Russian detainees and the conditions in terms of sanitation, bedding, space per person, outdoor space as well as food were of a reasonable or good standard.

I found, however, for some at at a penitentiary system in Leviev where collaborators or alleged collaborators are being detained, that the conditions were relatively poor, which were also acknowledged by the authorities, and some concerns about access to appropriate health care.

And finally, I also received allegations of abusive conduct and mistreatment by Ukrainian officials against Russian detainees, primarily indicated upon arrest or upon capture and while being transported to official sites of detention.

I think I'll leave that part of the the report there.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you, Doctor Edwards.

We will now move on to questions.

So we'll take questions from the room 1st and then move on to any questions from those of you who are joining online.

Any questions in the room for Doctor Edwards?

Then we have Moussa, who has a question.

Yeah, thank you very much.

[Other language spoken]

Does your report include conditions in Israeli prisons?

In fact, Israel has arrested.

[Other language spoken]

Seven, including.

About 300 women and hundreds of children and the Israeli newspaper Harris revealed yesterday the killing of 27 Palestinian detainees from Gaza in.

[Other language spoken]

Since last October and I am asking if you have the right.

To, to, to have.

An access to.

[Other language spoken]

Presence.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you very much for the very important question.

I am presently investigating these allegations.

I have received a number of information and I'm at the in the process stage of verifying, triangulating, substantiating such allegations in terms of the conditions as well as the treatment of Palestinian detainees in Israel's prisons.

I am I can't comment on the, the number of deaths you have mentioned.

I had previously received information about deaths in Palestinian deaths of Palestinians in Israeli custody.

Regrettably there was, there was follow up undertaken, but there was no further information.

So the information was not adequate to be able to act upon.

So I'm in the process of reviewing this material and I expect to be able to produce something in the short term.

I have also requested a visit to Israel and am in discussions with the Israeli authorities.

[Other language spoken]

Good afternoon, nice to see someone from the ANU on the podium.

[Other language spoken]

Firstly, I was wondering if you've collected data on how many countries are still exporting dual use equipment that are used for torture by governments around the world and what measures are you taking to try and stop the export of these items?

And secondly, in follow up to my colleagues question, I I didn't hear correctly if you've been given a visa to investigate in the OPT or not, but I was interested if your office has received and is investigating allegations, any allegations of medical doctors having been mistreated or tortured during the tension in medical facilities in Gaza.

[Other language spoken]

Thanks for the question, John.

In respect of this, your third question, I think it was on medical doctors.

I don't have any information on that in respect of visa or PT.

It's too early to to say at this stage.

I am in the preliminary discussion phase, but I have requested a visit to visit Israel.

At this point, in terms of data for exporting dual use equipment, I don't have information on this.

You may know that to the General Assembly last year, I presented a report on essentially the trade in torture tools as I describe it, but law enforcement equipment that either inherently is considered inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading.

And I presented a list of 20 such items which I now consider should be banned from both manufacture development as well as use and export.

And 2nd, a second list of ordinary law enforcement and other equipment being used by public authorities, which should be regulated both at national level and at international level.

And I am calling for a international treaty to be able to regulate the trade in law enforcement and other equipment used by public authorities.

But in terms of, and some of those will be dual use items.

But that's all I can say on that issue.

And I, I assume it was a general question not relating to a specific context.

[Other language spoken]

Sorry.

[Other language spoken]

Thank you for.

Taking my question.

I was just wondering on the on the credible torture allegations that you've heard from about from the Russians towards the Ukrainian prisoners.

Of war.

If do you have any idea about the numbers or sort of you're talking about this being systematic and and widespread, does that mean that this is happening in all places of detention?

To your understanding.

If you could just.

[Other language spoken]

Detail on that.

[Other language spoken]

So the information I've gathered both included information that I've sought and received prior to the visit, as well as interviews with alleged victims and survivors during the visit, as well as, of course, with the Public Prosecutor's Office and the National ombudsman and other actors.

According to Ukrainian sources, at the time of the visit there were around 103,000 open cases of any type of war crime or crime against humanity, including torture.

But of that number, 90% were registered as torture cases.

So that's only one indication.

Obviously that's a Ukrainian prosecution source.

A number of civil society organisations have also been laboriously collecting, documenting.

They have databases of sizeable numbers of victims and survivors.

Of those victims and survivors, I've been able to either the information has come directly to my office or I've been able to meet in person.

The allegations spread across a wide number of provinces.

In addition, different detention sites in those locations and an eerie consistency around the types and the purposes for that torture for intimidatory purposes, for the purposes of punishment number to collect evidence and intelligence number for the pure reason of humiliation, which is also of course prohibited.

So the the number of cases that I have reviewed myself now is around.

I had around 50 cases prior to departure and a dozen or so during the visit.

As I said with a number of and also looking at the UN zone research and documentation on that who've been interviewing a broad number as well.

Of course there is some concern about double counting.

So our numbers are always going to be inconsistent.

But in taking each case that I've looked at individually, I'm confident in my findings that these allegations are credible and regrettably that they really point to Russia's war policy, that there is an intent and purpose to carrying out the torture, that it cannot be described away as aberrant behaviour or ad hoc behaviour.

And just to add to that, I have requested a a visit to the Russian Federation.

I requested this visit in November last year.

I also requested information that they may have prior to the visit to Ukraine in order to check on the conditions and standards of their own prisoners of war.

My requests in advance of the visit were were left unanswered and in respect of my recent request for a country visit, I have had a a letter of a note verbal which has rejected my visit.

I have sought on multiple occasions to meet with the Russian authorities here in Geneva, and I will continue to do so, so that I am able to exercise my mandate independently and impartially.

[Other language spoken]

Are there any more questions, Any more questions for the special rapporteur?

[Other language spoken]

So if there are no more questions, then we will now close this press conference.

Just one quick announcement that the Special Rapporteur has a press pack prepared.

So if anybody wants access to that, you can contact my colleague Alessandro.

I will make sure that his contact details are in the chat.

[Other language spoken]

Have a good evening.

[Other language spoken]

Press Conference: Special Rapporteur on torture - 08 March 2024