Some progress made in preventing torture: UN

KABUL (Pajhwok): A UN report released on Wednesday on the torture and ill-treatment of conflict-related detainees in government detention facilities showed some progress and welcomed the new administration’s commitment to accelerate efforts to fully eliminate the practice of torture in detention facilities.
“The government of Afghanistan’s efforts to prevent torture and ill-treatment has shown some progress over the last two years,” said the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA, Nicholas Haysom.

“More remains to be done, however, and I welcome the new administration’s immediate attention to end these practices,” Haysom said this in a statement.
“In particular, UNAMA welcomes the incoming Government’s commitment to implement a new national plan on elimination of torture,” Mr. Haysom said.
Elements of the government’s proposed national plan on elimination of torture, include legislative reforms, ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, remedy for victims of torture, education and capacity building programmes, discrediting torture in public culture, preventive measures, and continuous observation of implementation of the national plan.
The UN report is the third one on the treatment of conflict-related detainees in Afghan custody jointly released by UNAMA and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Findings are based on interviews with 790 conflict-related detainees between February 2013 and December 2014 and with Afghan security, police and judicial officials, and analysis of documentary, medical and other information.
The report shows a 14 per cent decrease in the number of detainees tortured or ill-treated compared to the previous reporting period, with one-third of all detainees interviewed found to have endured ill-treatment or torture.
It highlights ill-treatment and torture during the arrest and interrogation phases in numerous facilities of the National Directorate of Security, the national police, the local police and the national army.

Sixteen methods of torture and ill-treatment were described including severe beatings with pipes, cables and sticks, suspension, electric shocks and near-asphyxiation.
The report notes that the National Directorate of Security and the Ministry of Interior internal accountability and oversight mechanisms remain inadequate, lacking independence, authority, transparency and capacity.
“UNAMA’s finding that torture of conflict-related detainees persists in spite of Government efforts over 2013-14 to address it is a source of serious concern,” said the UNAMA Human Rights Director, Georgette Gagnon. “Continuing impunity for the use of torture allows torture to continue. Accountability – particularly the prosecution of both those who perpetrate and administer torture, and those who order or condone it – is a key means of signalling political commitment at the highest levels to end it.”

The government of Afghanistan response to UNAMA 2015 report said that it is not official government policy to use torture and ill-treat detainees to obtain information and confessions in detention facilities.

It stated that some incidents in UNAMA’s report are not correct while some could be due to individual violations by justice and security officials. The response expressed an acknowledgment of problems and commitment to eliminating torture and ill-treatment at the highest level of government.

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