"Mr Chairperson, I have the honor to deliver this statement
on behalf of the following participating States: Albania,
Andorra, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, the
European Union and its Member States, Georgia, Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro,
North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland,
Ukraine and the United States of America.
As we mark the International Day in Support of Victims of
Torture on 26 June, we jointly reaffirm our unwavering
commitment to the prevention and eradication of torture and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
We stand in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of
victims and survivors of torture as well as with their
families and communities affected by these offences, many
of whom remain unacknowledged and unsupported.
Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment are grave and abhorrent violations of human
rights, human integrity and human dignity. Torture is
prohibited under the UN Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the European Convention on Human Rights. OSCE and
international commitments are abundantly clear: the
prohibition of torture is absolute, under all
circumstances, at any time, and in any place whatsoever.
Regrettably, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment, as well as enforced
disappearances, persist also in our region. This is of
grave concern to us. We must all redouble our efforts in
preventing such acts, prosecuting the perpetrators,
identifying the victims and ensuring effective redress,
including compensation, rehabilitation and guarantees of
non-repetition. A victim-centered approach should be at the
basis of those efforts.
All OSCE participating States have ratified the UN
Convention against Torture. Its full and effective
implementation is a mandatory first step. We also advocate
for the participating States to consider signing and
ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention, which
obligates States to establish or maintain effective
National Preventive Mechanisms to monitor places of
detention. We believe such mechanisms can play a crucial
role in the prevention of torture.
Mr Chairperson, We regret that the OSCE participating
States did not achieve consensus at the 26th OSCE
Ministerial Council meeting on the draft decision on
prevention and eradication of torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. We firmly
believe this decision would have marked an important step
forward by the OSCE’s participating States in the efforts
to eradicate torture in our region.
The OSCE is in a unique strategic position to strengthen
the international efforts in the fight against torture due
to its mandate of comprehensive security, its field
missions and its institutions. We welcome in particular
ODIHR’s important role in assisting participating States in
their efforts to implement our shared commitments in the
area of torture prevention, including during the recent
pandemic. In that regard we commend ODIHR for its new
guidance document on monitoring places of detention through
the COVID-19 pandemic, which was developed in cooperation
with the Association for the prevention of torture (APT).
We value ODIHR’s internationally recognized expertise and
we continue to strongly support its endeavors regarding the
prevention of torture.
In closing, we jointly reaffirm our strong commitment to
step up our efforts in the area of prevention and
eradication of torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. The topic needs our
continued attention to ensure that it remains high on the
OSCE agenda. Together, we should continue to work towards
ending torture for all time.
Thank you for your attention."
