OSCE Centre in Bishkek marks International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
BISHKEK, 26 June 2014 – On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the OSCE Centre in Bishkek together with the National Torture Prevention Centre, Freedom House and the non-governmental organization Golos Svobody held a roundtable meeting on torture and ill-treatment in detention facilities and the army in Kyrgyzstan.
Under a multilateral Memorandum of Co-operation on Human Rights and Freedoms, the OSCE Centre has facilitated unannounced visits to detention facilities by independent monitoring groups and representatives of national human rights institutions and helped ensure access to medical aid and legal assistance for torture victims.
“We support the efforts of the Kyrgyz Government in the adoption of a national action plan on torture prevention,” said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “This should become the first comprehensive strategic programme document outlining legislative, organizational and information measures on the prevention and investigation of torture and cruel treatment in Kyrgyzstan.”
Representatives of the Jogorku Kenesh (Parliament), the General Prosecutor’s office, the Co-ordination council on human rights under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Ombudsman’s Office, the Defence Ministry, Justice Ministry, the Interior Ministry, the State Border Service, the State Penitentiary Service, international organizations, civil society and media took part in the roundtable discussion.
In 1997 the UN General Assembly proclaimed 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a view to the total eradication of torture and the effective functioning of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
All 57 OSCE participating States are state parties to the Convention; and 36 OSCE participating States have already ratified the Optional Protocol to CAT (OPCAT) which foresees the establishment of the National Preventive Mechanisms against torture. Kyrgyzstan has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) in 1999 and the Optional Protocal to CAT in 2008.