Yemen: UN Committee against Torture Adopts List of Issues Prior to Reporting in View of the Country's Third Review
On 6 May 2015, during its 54th session, the United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) adopted a List of 34 issues prior to reporting (LoIPR), which was transmitted to Yemen as to facilitate the preparation of the report by the authorities. The UN experts inquired about the steps taken by the State to enforce the absolute prohibition of torture in a time of armed conflict, adopt a definition of torture compliant with the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT), prosecute the perpetrators of such acts and ensure that detainees are provided with all fundamental safeguards. All these issues had been raised in Alkarama's list of 56 issues that it submitted to the CAT in February 2015 in view of the adoption of the LOIPR.
"Contributing to the List of Issue Prior to Reporting of the Committee against Torture is extremely important to us because it is an opportunity to hold the States accountable on their obligation to ensure that torture is not committed in their territory." said Radidja Nemar, Regional Legal Officer for the Gulf at Alkarama. "Civil society can use this process to share their concerns about their State's policies and practices with the UN experts who will in turn ask the State to address these concerns. This possibility is even more valuable in certain countries where it is difficult to hold the authorities accountable to their own people for serious human rights violations such as torture, because of a lack of independent institutions that can monitor the authorities' abuses." Alkarama had submitted information on both cases of torture committed by State and non-State actors and on the laws and policies that allowed for such practices to happen in the first place.
Definition of torture in accordance with Article 1, UNCAT
In its submission, Alkarama had noted that the definition of torture currently used in Yemen's Constitution does not abide by the UN Convention against Torture's standards. Yet, adopting, in domestic law, the definition of torture enshrined in the Convention is not only an obligation but also a means to ensure that all acts falling under the definition are effectively considered as crimes. In this regard, the Committee, in its List of 34 Issues Prior to Reporting, asked Yemen to mention its progress in incorporating the crime of torture into its domestic law, adopting a definition that complies with Article 1 UNCAT*, binding upon Yemen by virtue of its accession to the Convention in November 1991.
Absolute prohibition of torture
The experts also asked questions on the State's implementation of the principle of the absolute prohibition of torture. The right to be free from torture is, in fact, an absolute and non-derogable right, which means that it cannot be justified under any circumstance, even in a state of emergency or a civil war. Under Article 2(3) UNCAT, Yemen has to enforce such prohibition in its law and policy. The UN experts thus asked for the respect of this principle even "in light of the ongoing armed conflict" between two factions claiming to constitute the Yemeni government – Southern separatists and forces loyal to the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi , supported by the Saudi coalition, and Iranian-backed Houthi forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. As such, the absolute prohibition of torture should be respected by all parties to the conflict.
Moreover, counter-terrorism laws and policies often constitute breeding grounds for human rights violations such as torture. One of the main risks is the use of torture to obtain forced or fabricated confession from individuals who are suspected of terrorism under the justification that these individuals pose a threat to the State security. This risk is even bigger when the definition of terrorism adopted by the State is large and can even encompass acts of peaceful dissent. Thus, in its contribution, Alkarama had pointed out to the State's broad definition of terrorism, which had led to the widespread use of torture, in particular with a view to extracting confessions. The Committee asked Yemen to provide information on steps taken to ensure "that confessions under torture or duress are inadmissible in all cases, in line with domestic legislation and the provisions of Article 15 of the Convention," including in retaliation to unrest in the south and north of the country, as well as in the context of the fight against terrorism, as raised by Alkarama in February.
Effective measures to prevent and punish torture
The experts requested information on other important elements that are part of Yemen's obligation to take all necessary steps to prevent torture from happening in its territory. Such measures encompass "the strengthening of educational programmes for law enforcement, security, military and prison officials" in order to make them fully aware of the absolute prohibition of torture. Awareness rising amongst all members of all State agencies, including the Political Security Department, the National Security Authority and the Ministry of the Interior is crucial since these forces are acting on security sensitive issues. Thus Alkarama had asked about "the development of specific training programmes" for all State agents but also for forensic doctors and medical personnel dealing with detained persons in order to teach them how to "detect and document physical and psychological signs and effects of torture and ill-treatment."
As a party to the Convention, Yemen not only has the obligation to take effective measures in order to prevent but also to punish those who commit torture. The Committee therefore requested the State party to provide information on specific measures taken "to investigate promptly and impartially all allegations of involvement of members of law enforcement and security agencies," in extrajudicial killings and other serious human rights violations, notably into "reports of torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, including forced disappearance, and threats against civilians involved in demonstrations."
Fundamental safeguards for detainees
The respect of fundamental rights and safeguards of detainees by the authorities are crucial to prevent acts of torture against them. The experts of the CAT therefore inquired the State on measures taken to ensure that detainees are afforded "all fundamental safeguards, from the outset of their detention, including: prompt access to a lawyer and an independent medical examination by a doctor of their choice; to notify a relative or another person of their choice; to be informed of their rights at the time of detention and about the charges against them; to appear before a judge within a time limit in accordance with international standards; and on any measures taken to establish an effective monitoring mechanism to ensure that they enjoy those safeguards" . Alkarama had raised these issues in its contribution after documenting numerous cases of incommunicado and secret detentions carried out by the authorities, in which the victims were never informed of the charges pending against them and denied the right to see their family and lawyer, or even to receive an independent medical examination – see for instance the following cases on 14 May 2014, 30 June 2014 and 2 July 2014. In all these cases, victims were placed outside the protection of the law and were vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment by the authorities.
The Committee further requested information on the "steps taken by the State to dissolve the Specialised Criminal Court, which reportedly does not guarantee international norms of fair trial." In fact, as reported by Alkarama in its list of issues, individuals tried in front of this court are often held incommunicado for long periods of time, denied the right to legal counsel, and end up being more at risk to be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.
Alkarama also raised the cases of several victims of torture and arbitrary detention that were previously sent to UN Special Procedures. Amongst the victims Alkarama mentioned in its contribution, the CAT mentioned in its List of Issues Prior to Reporting the cases of Jamil Al Dabibi, a mechanic and father of four abducted by the political security forces from his work place on 27 June 2013 and disappeared from Sana'a prison since February 2014, and of Aissaoui Taha and Ben Ayed Mourad, two French-Tunisian citizens by agents of the political security organisation on 7 and 8 May 2014 and secretly detained ever since.
In the same vein, the List of the Committee against Torture (CAT) further includes questions on the exact number and location of places of detention in the country, as well as the exact number of detainees in these places. This kind of information is central in order to ensure that no one is detained in secret and at risk of torture. It should also be complemented with the implementation of a system to monitor and inspect such facilities. Since the prohibition of torture is applicable to all stakeholders in Yemen, the authorities should also take effective steps to halt the proliferation of detention places run by tribal leaders and opposition groups and to prohibit detention facilities that are not under official State authority and control. All these issues that Alkarama raised in its contribution were also included in the List of Issues Prior to Reporting of the CAT and will have to be addressed by Yemeni authorities in their report.
Civilians living under drones
While Alkarama welcomes all the questions raised by the CAT in its List of Issues Prior to Reporting and hopes that Yemen will respond to it positively in its report, our organisation regrets that no mention was made of the issue of the cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment suffered daily by civilians living in areas where military drones are operating (with the past agreement of the Yemeni authorities) and no question was asked about the ways to ensure that families of drone strikes are "able to seek redress, in particular through an independent, thorough and prompt investigation of claims of civilians killed in drone strikes, including children." This issue will be raised again in the alternative report Alkarama will submit in parallel of the State party Report and will include information contained in new report released in an online panel discussion 24 June 2015.
What is next for Yemen?
Yemen is to provide responses to the CAT's List of Issues Prior to Reporting in its report. Once the State submits its national report, Yemen's implementation of the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT) in the country will be assessed by the Committee. Alkarama will be contributing to the review by submitting an alternative report and meeting with the Committee's experts to brief them on our key concerns. Alkarama welcomes information from Yemeni civil society in view of the preparation of this report to provide alternative information to the CAT.
For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008)
* UNCAT, Art. 1: For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.
For more information or an interview, please contact media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).