Consideration of Reports submitted by States Parties under Article 19 of the Convention; Initial reports of States parties due in 1999; Addendum; Bahrain [CAT/C/47/Add.4]
Conclusions and recommendations
of the Committee against Torture :
Bahrain. 21/06/2005.
CAT/C/CR/34/BHR.
(Concluding
Observations/Comments) |
Convention Abbreviation: CAT
- COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE
Thirty-fourth session
2-20 May
2005
CONSIDERATION OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES
PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 19 OF THE CONVENTION
Conclusions
and recommendations of the Committee against
Torture
BAHRAIN
1. The Committee considered the
initial report of Bahrain (CAT/C/47/Add.4) at its 653rd and 656th meetings
(CAT/C/SR.653 and 656), held on 12 and 13 May 2005, and adopted, at its 663rd
meeting (CAT/C/SR.633), the following conclusions and recommendations.
A. Introduction
2. The Committee
welcomes the initial report of Bahrain although it regrets that the report,
due in April 1999, was submitted with a five-year delay.
3. The
Committee notes that the report does not fully conform to the Committee's
guidelines for the preparation of initial reports and lacks information on
practical aspects of implementation of the Convention's provisions.
4.
The Committee welcomes the opportunity to discuss the report with a large
delegation knowledgeable about diverse matters addressed in the Convention,
and the full and constructive dialogue that resulted.
B. Positive aspects
5. The Committee
notes the following positive developments:
(a) The extensive political,
legal and social reforms on which the State party has embarked, including:
- (i) The adoption of the National Action Charter in 2001 which
outlines reforms aimed at enhancing non-discrimination, due process of
law and the prohibition of torture and arbitrary arrest and stating,
inter alia, that any evidence obtained through torture is
inadmissible;
(ii) The promulgation of the amended
Constitution;
(iii) The creation of the Constitutional Court in
2002;
(iv) The establishment of a new bicameral parliament with
an elected chamber of deputies;
(v) Decree No. 19 of 2000 giving
effect to the new constitutional provision establishing the Higher
Judicial Council, drawing a clear dividing line between the executive
branch and the judiciary and thereby reinforcing a separation of powers
stipulated in the Constitution;
(vi) Decree No. 4 of 2001
abolishing the State Security Court which had jurisdiction over offences
against the internal and external security of the State and emergency
legislation, which are now heard by the ordinary criminal
courts;
(vii) Decree No. 11 of 2001 repealing the State Security
Law;
(b) The State party's accession to international human
rights treaties including the Convention against Torture in 1998 and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in
2002 and assurances from the delegation that the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights "have been agreed upon and are in the process of
ratification";
(c) The withdrawal of its reservation to article 20 of
the Convention;
(d) The visit to Bahrain in 2001 by the Working Group
on Arbitrary Detention which was granted unrestricted access to all prisons
and police station holding cells and was able to speak freely and without
witnesses to prisoners it selected at random;
(e) The publication of
the foreign worker's manual;
(f) Reports that systematic torture no
longer takes place following the 2001 reforms.
C. Subjects of concern
6. The Committee
expresses its concern at:
(a) The persistent gap between the
legislative framework and its practical implementation with regard to the
obligations of the Convention;
(b) The lack of a comprehensive
definition of torture in the domestic law as set out in article 1 of the
Convention;
(c) The large number of allegations of torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of detainees committed
prior to 2001;
(d) Reports of incommunicado detention of detained
persons following the ratification of the Convention and prior to 2001, for
extended periods, particularly during pre-trial investigations;
(e) The
inadequate access to external legal advice while in police custody, to medical
assistance and to family members, thereby reducing the safeguards available to
detainees;
(f) The apparent failure to investigate promptly,
impartially and fully the numerous allegations of torture and ill-treatment
and to prosecute alleged offenders, and in particular the pattern of impunity
for torture and other ill-treatment committed by law enforcement personnel in
the past;
(g) The blanket amnesty extended to all alleged perpetrators
of torture or other crimes by Decree No. 56 of 2002 and the lack of redress
available to victims of torture;
(h) The inadequate availability in
practice of civil compensation and rehabilitation for victims of torture prior
to 2001;
(i) Certain provisions of the draft law on counter-terrorism
which, if adopted, would reduce safeguards against torture and could
re-establish conditions that characterized past abuses under the State
Security Law. These provisions include, inter alia, the broad and vague
definition of terrorism and terrorist organizations and the transfer from the
judiciary to the public prosecutor of authority to arrest and detain, in
particular, to extend pre-trial detention;
(j) Lack of access by
independent monitors to visit and inspect all places of detention without
prior notice, notwithstanding the assurances of the State party that it will
allow some access by civil society organizations;
(k) The absence of
data on complaints of torture and ill-treatment, and the results of
investigations or prosecutions related to the provisions of the
Convention;
(l) Information received regarding limits on human rights
non-governmental organizations to conduct their work, in particular regarding
activities relevant to the Convention, within the country and
abroad;
(m) The different regimes applicable, in law and in practice,
to nationals and foreigners in relation to their legal right to be free from
conduct that violates the Convention. The Committee reminds the State party
that the Convention and its protections are applicable to all acts that are in
violation of the Convention that occur within its jurisdiction, from which it
follows that all persons are entitled, in equal measure and without
discrimination, to the rights contained therein;
(n) The rejection by
the House of Deputies in March 2005 of the proposal to establish an
independent national human rights commission;
(o) The overbroad
discretionary powers of the Shariah court judges in the application of
personal status law and criminal law and, in particular, reported failures to
take into account clear evidence of violence confirmed in medical certificates
following violence against women;
(p) Reports of the beating and
mistreatment of prisoners during three strikes in 2003 at Jaw Prison, followed
by an agreement to establish an investigative commission whose findings,
however, have not been made public.
E. Recommendations
7. The Committee
recommends that the State party:
(a) Adopt in domestic penal law a
definition of torture in terms consistent with article 1 of the Convention,
including the differing purposes set forth therein, and ensure that all acts
of torture are offences under criminal law and that appropriate penalties
taking into account the grave nature of the offences are
established;
(b) Provide complete and disaggregated information about
the number of detainees who have suffered torture or ill-treatment, including
any deaths in custody, the results of investigations into the causes, and
whether any officials were found responsible;
(c) Respect the absolute
nature of article 3 in all circumstances and fully incorporate it into
domestic law;
(d) Consider steps to amend Decree No. 56 of 2002 to
ensure that there is no impunity for officials who have perpetrated or
acquiesced in torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment;
(e) Ensure that its legal system provides victims of past
acts of torture with redress and an enforceable right to fair and adequate
compensation;
(f) Ensure that any measure taken to combat terrorism,
including the draft law, is in accordance with Security Council resolutions
which require, inter alia, that anti-terrorism measures be carried out with
full respect for the applicable rules of, inter alia, international human
rights law, including the Convention;
(g) Establish an independent body
with a mandate to visit and/or supervise places
of
detention without prior notice, and allow impartial and non-governmental
organizations to make visits to prisons and places where the authorities keep
detainees;
(h) Fully ensure the independence of the judiciary and
include female judicial officials in its judicial system;
(i) Consider
adopting a Family Code, including measures to prevent and punish violence
against women, especially domestic violence, including fair standards of
proof;
(j) Ensure that all detained persons have immediate access to a
doctor and a lawyer, as well as contact with their families, and that
detainees held by the Criminal Investigation Department are given prompt
access to a judge;
(k) Take effective measures to prevent and redress
the serious problems commonly faced by foreign workers, particularly female
domestic workers;
(l) Consider the establishment of a national human
rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles;
(m) Remove
inappropriate restrictions on the work of non-governmental organizations,
especially those dealing with issues related to the Convention;
(n)
Ensure that law enforcement, civil, military and medical personnel, public
officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody, interrogation
or treatment of any individual deprived of his/her liberty are trained to
recognize the physical consequences of torture and respect the absolute
prohibition of torture;
(o) Provide information to the Committee about
the proposed committee for the prevention of vice and promotion of virtue,
including whether it exercises a precise jurisdiction in full conformity with
the requirements of the Convention and is subject to review by ordinary
judicial authority.
8. The Committee recommends that the next periodic
report comply with its guidelines and include:
(a) Statistical data,
disaggregated by crime, age, gender and nationality, on complaints relating to
torture and ill-treatment allegedly committed by law enforcement officials, as
well as on the related investigations, prosecutions, and penal and
disciplinary sentences;
(b) Information on any compensation and
rehabilitation provided to the victims;
(c) Detailed information on the
practical implementation of legislation and the recommendations of the
Committee;
(d) A core document with updated information in conformity
with the guidelines.
9. The Committee encourages the State party to
consider making the declarations under articles 21 and 22 of the Convention
and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention.
10. The State
party is encouraged to widely disseminate the reports submitted by Bahrain to
the Committee as well as the Committee's conclusions and recommendations, in
appropriate languages and through official web sites, the media and
non-governmental organizations.
11. The Committee requests the State
party to provide, within one year, information on its response to the
Committee's recommendations contained in paragraphs 6 (e), (m) and
(o).
12. The State party is invited to submit its second periodic
report by April 2007.
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