4 What the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture Requires
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Malcolm D. Evans
Abstract
Chapter 4 looks at the mandate of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) as set out in the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture. Using practical examples and drawing on personal experience, it begins the process of exploring how through its work and practice that mandate has been developed, including the forms of its visits. Key to this is the concept of ‘deprivation of liberty’ and the infinite range of possible forms that this might take, and as a result, the near impossibility of delimiting the potential boundaries of the SPT’s visiting mandate, including places which exercise de facto detention under the regulatory authority of the state. The SPT’s membership and composition is also explored in order to consider whether it is appropriate for the tasks it is required to undertake.
Abstract
Chapter 4 looks at the mandate of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) as set out in the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture. Using practical examples and drawing on personal experience, it begins the process of exploring how through its work and practice that mandate has been developed, including the forms of its visits. Key to this is the concept of ‘deprivation of liberty’ and the infinite range of possible forms that this might take, and as a result, the near impossibility of delimiting the potential boundaries of the SPT’s visiting mandate, including places which exercise de facto detention under the regulatory authority of the state. The SPT’s membership and composition is also explored in order to consider whether it is appropriate for the tasks it is required to undertake.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements vi
- Introduction 1
-
The Solution
- What Is Torture? 17
- Why Prevention? 34
- Establishing the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture 49
- What the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture Requires 65
- The Visiting Mandate of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture 84
- The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and National Preventive Mechanisms 102
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The Problem
- Visits: An Insider’s Story 123
- Accepting the Unacceptable 139
- Excusing the Inexcusable 149
- Prescribing the Inappropriate 160
- Working with Fictions 171
- Thinking Positively about Prevention 184
- References 199
- Index 203
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Acknowledgements vi
- Introduction 1
-
The Solution
- What Is Torture? 17
- Why Prevention? 34
- Establishing the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture 49
- What the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture Requires 65
- The Visiting Mandate of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture 84
- The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and National Preventive Mechanisms 102
-
The Problem
- Visits: An Insider’s Story 123
- Accepting the Unacceptable 139
- Excusing the Inexcusable 149
- Prescribing the Inappropriate 160
- Working with Fictions 171
- Thinking Positively about Prevention 184
- References 199
- Index 203
