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Ref.: CPT/Inf (2001) 24 [EN] - Date: 4 October 2001
Most distinguished Chairperson, Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Never has a President of the CPT addressed your Committee against such a sombre backdrop. The horrific events of September 11 are at the forefront of everyone's minds - and rightly so. The scale of the attacks in the United States is unprecedented; however, the destructive phenomenon involved is far from new. Many member States of the Council of Europe have suffered appalling acts of terrorism, and some continue to face this challenge. On September 10, in the middle of the CPT's most recent visit to Turkey, a suicide bomb attack in Istanbul resulted in the death of four persons and left many others injured. This brutal and senseless act was all the more disturbing for the CPT, as it was apparently meant as a protest against the new F-type prisons, a subject which has occupied so much of the Committee's time during the last fifteen months.
In the same way as everyone in this room, the CPT abhors terrorism. Terrorist activities must meet with a strong response from State authorities; and States which have to contend with such activities are entitled to the full support of others. At the same time, the fight against terrorism must never be allowed to degenerate into acts of torture and ill-treatment or, for that matter, into violations of other human rights and fundamental freedoms; this would be to sink to the level of the terrorist and could only undermine the foundations of our democratic societies. Civilised nations must avoid the trap of abandoning civilised values. The CPT is sure that the Council of Europe will know how to drive home this message in the weeks and months ahead.
Mr Chairman,
Your Committee has before it the CPT's 11th General Report, covering the year 2000. Naturally, I will be happy to provide any explanations or clarifications members of the Committee may require.
As you will have seen, the traditional programme of routine, periodic visits is increasingly being counterbalanced by targetted ad hoc visits addressing particularly sensitive issues. And this trend will continue.
The CPT carried out two ad hoc visits to the North Caucasian region of the Russian Federation in 2000, followed by a third visit in March 2001. I shall not dwell upon the public statement concerning the Chechen Republic subsequently made by the CPT on 10 July of this year; the text of that statement is, I hope, clear enough to speak for itself. However, I would like to express the CPT's sincere thanks to the Committee of Ministers' Chair for the very supportive declaration issued a week later, on 18 July 2001. The CPT emphasised at the end of the public statement that it remained fully committed to continuing its dialogue with the Russian authorities on matters related to the Chechen Republic; I am glad to be able to inform you that from the contacts we have had, this sentiment would appear to be shared by the Russian authorities. I trust that CPT representatives will soon be able to hold discussions in Moscow, in order to review all aspects of the Committee's activities concerning the Chechen Republic; the CPT also intends to organise further visits to the North Caucasian region. I should add that the CPT is paying close attention to the work of other Council of Europe bodies in relation to the Chechen Republic.
Mr Chairman,
Your Committee will be aware of the steps being taken by the Turkish authorities to introduce smaller living units for prisoners, and of the repercussions they have had - in particular, the hunger strike campaign and the prison interventions of December 2000. These matters have been at the centre of the CPT's activities in recent times. Since July 2000, no fewer than 5 ad hoc visits have focussed on this issue, and it was also an important theme of the periodic visit last month. Regrettably, the hunger strikes continue to this day, both inside and outside the prison system; I understand that the death toll has now reached 39. Allow me to state once again that the CPT has no fundamental objections to the Turkish authorities' plans; large capacity dormitories of the kind commonly found in Turkish prisons are for a variety of reasons not a satisfactory means of accommodating inmates. However, the Committee has also repeatedly emphasised that moves towards smaller living units for prisoners - such as those found in the new F-type prisons - must be accompanied by measures to ensure that prisoners spend a reasonable part of the day engaged in a programme of communal activities outside their living units; a generalised system of small group isolation would not be acceptable to the CPT.
F-type prisons do possess areas specifically designed for communal activities, and the Turkish authorities have made legislative changes which make it possible for all categories of prisoners to participate in activity programmes in those areas. Other very welcome prison reforms have also been introduced, such as measures to enhance prisoners' contacts with the outside world and to establish prison monitoring boards and sentence enforcement judges. The CPT continues to monitor closely the practical implementation of all these reforms, with a view to ensuring that their full potential is realised.
At the same time it should be recognised that for a situation of small-group isolation to be avoided, prisoners must themselves be willing to leave their living units and take advantage of what is on offer. The unwillingness to participate in the communal activities now available which is currently being displayed by prisoners covered by the Law to Fight Terrorism is obviously not facilitating the task of the Turkish authorities.
The CPT emphasised at the beginning of this year that bringing the hunger strikes to an end will require a process of adaptation, explanation and confidence building, and highlighted some of the key threads of that process; those threads included the diligent examination of all complaints of ill-treatment during the prison interventions of December 2000 and subsequent prisoner transfers and, where appropriate, the prosecution of State officials, as well as steps aimed at convincing prisoners that their "life security" will be guaranteed in the F-type prisons. The CPT remains hopeful that the process I have referred to will reach a successful conclusion in the not-too-distant future.
I should also mention briefly the CPT's ad hoc visit to the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, in November 2000. It should be underlined that the visiting delegation was able to carry out its mandate in the manner foreseen by the CPT's Convention; to be quite frank, the level of cooperation received from the local authorities was much better than we expected. The challenge for the Committee now is to maintain and progressively build upon the tentative links which have been made, with a view to establishing a constructive on-going dialogue. Of course, the CPT will keep the central authorities of the Republic of Moldova informed of developments.
Mr Chairman ,
The CPT has always sought to follow closely any situations of tension in Parties to the Committee's Convention, in order to ascertain whether issues falling under its mandate are involved. This year the CPT has been monitoring developments in "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", and in July fruitful talks were held in Skopje between representatives of the Committee and government officials; those talks focused in particular on the work of the police. The last CPT visit to "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" dates back to May 1998; the time would now seem to be ripe for the Committee to give a fresh impetus to its on-site activities in this country. I should add that the CPT welcomes the recent decision of the authorities of "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" to authorise publication of the report on the 1998 visit and of their responses; this will make it much easier for the Committee to engage in an open discussion of issues related to its mandate. The texts concerned will be published on 11 October 2001.
Speaking of situations of tension, I should also inform you that the CPT has taken note with concern of the allegations of ill-treatment which have arisen in recent times in relation to the policing of meetings of heads of government, most recently at the G8 Summit in Genoa in July. The Committee is currently examining the contribution it might make in this area.
Mr Chairman,
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe recently adopted certain texts concerning the CPT and, in particular, Recommendation 1517 on the Committee's working methods. I would like to provide you today with some preliminary reactions to the issues raised by the Assembly, on the understanding that the full views of the CPT will be forwarded to you later this year.
The Assembly recommends first of all that the Committee of Ministers increase the CPT's human and budgetary resources so that it may adequately perform the duties required of it. You will not be surprised to learn that the CPT finds that this recommendation has some merit. Let me assure you. The CPT is perfectly aware that the Council of Europe's budgetary situation is not the most favourable; further, as is expressly recognised by the Committee in the 11th General Report, considerable progress has been made of late towards strengthening its resources. The CPT is also fortunate to have for one year - that is until July 2002 - the services of a senior British police officer, who will audit and advise upon all aspects of the Committee's work in relation to the police; the CPT is extremely grateful to the United Kingdom authorities for financing entirely this secondment.
The CPT has now requested budgetary resources to enable it to increase the number of visit days in 2002 to 180, as compared to 165 this year, and I understand that the Secretary General will be supporting this request. This is most welcome. I must nevertheless inform you that without some further reinforcement of the Committee's Secretariat, the target of 180 days may well not be attainable.
The Assembly also recommends that the Committee of Ministers encourage the CPT to review its working methods, in particular by conducting a greater number of shorter, more targeted visits and reducing the size of delegations. The CPT fully agrees with the basic idea underlying this recommendation. Several short and very targeted visits carried out by small delegations will take place in the coming months. I should add that, as is indicated in the 11th General Report, a working group is currently carrying out a comprehensive review of all aspects of the Committee's working methods.
The Assembly's final - and most intriguing - recommendation is that the Committee of Ministers invite the States Parties to the Convention to allow the CPT more openness and less strict confidentiality in relation to its work. When the Convention was drafted back in the 1980's, the strict application of the rule of confidentiality was seen as an essential quid pro quo for granting the CPT the unparalled right to visit places of detention as and when it pleases. Further, there is no doubt that in certain cases, the existence of the rule facilitates the holding of very frank discussions between the CPT and State authorities. That said, there is also no denying the drawbacks associated with the rule of confidentiality which are highlighted in the preamble to the Assembly's Recommendation. The CPT is particularly looking forward to learning of the Committee of Minister's reply to the Assembly on this point.
Mr Chairman, Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In closing my remarks, I would like to highlight a further important expansion of the CPT's field of operations which now seems to be imminent. As you know, it is expected that Armenia and Azerbaijan will ratify the Convention within one year of their accession to the Council of Europe, namely early next year. Consequently, the CPT's on-site activities should soon extend to the whole of the Caucasus. Further, I have been informed that considerable progress has been made towards the ratification by Ukraine of the two Protocols to the Convention; this, as you will recall, is the only remaining ratification required for the entry into force of the Protocols and, more specifically, of Protocol No.1. The day when the Committee of Ministers will be able to invite non-member States to accede to the Convention is therefore about to arrive. Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia are obvious candidates for such an invitation, for the reasons explained in the 11th General Report. And other States come to mind, for a variety of reasons; the power placed in the hands of the Committee of Ministers by virtue of the entry into force of Protocol No. 1 will clearly be of a political character.
I can assure you that, whichever countries the CPT may be called upon to visit in the future, the Committee will always strive to carry out its task in the most objective and professional manner possible and continue to adhere to the principle of cooperation with each State Party, as laid down in the Convention.
I thank you for your attention.
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11th General Report on the CPT's Activities (2000): PDF
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