TORTURE CONVENTION

  • EMEKA NWADIOKE
  • Jan 04, 2022
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‘NIGERIA HAS TAKEN STEPS TO ENFORCE TORTURE CONVENTION,’ SAYS UN-CAT

The Committee against Torture, a United Nations entity, has commended Nigeria for its “accession to or ratification of” some international instruments since Nigeria’s accession to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

In its latest report on torture, the Committee enumerated some “positive aspects” relating to Nigeria, noting that it “welcomes the accession to or ratification of the following international instruments by the State party.” 

The Committee also commended some “legislative and institutional measures” taken by Nigeria to give effect to the Convention.

The international instruments include:

(a) The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, on 28 June 2001;
(b) The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, on 28 June 2001;
(c) The Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime on 27 September 2001;
(d) International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, on 16 June 2003;
(e) The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, on 22 November 2004;
(f) The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, on 27 July 2009;
(g) The International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, on 27 July 2009;
(h) The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, on 27 July 2009;
(i) The Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and on the involvement of children in armed conflict, on 25 September 2010 and 27 September 2012 respectively;
(j) The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional protocol, on 24 September 2010;
(k) The 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, in 2011;
(l) The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), in 2012.

Among the “legislative and institutional measures” taken by Nigeria to give effect to the Convention are:

(a) The Child Rights Act, in 2003;
(b) The African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, in 2004;
(c) The Evidence Act, in 2011;
(d) The National Human Rights Commission Act, in 2010;
(e) The Terrorism (Prevention) Act, in 2011;
(f) The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria Act, in 2012;
(g) The Administration of Criminal Justice Act, in 2015;
(h) The Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act, in 2015;
(i) The Anti-Torture Act, in 2017;
(j) The Nigerian Correctional Service Act, in 2019;
(k) The Nigerian Police (Establishment) Act, in 2020;
(l) The Judicial (Financial Autonomy) Act, in 2020;
(m) Fundamental Human Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules, in 2009;
(n) The action plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children, in 2017
(o) The national action plan for the promotion and protection of human rights and strategic work plan 2019-2022;
(p) The establishment of the Administration of Criminal Justice and Reforms Department.

The Committee against Torture is a United Nations body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State parties. The Committee against Torture is composed of 10 independent experts who are persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights. The Committee is currently chaired by Mr. Claude Heller.

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  • EMEKA NWADIOKE
  • Dec 31, 2021
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  • Comments Off on TORTURE: UN COMMITTEE URGES TRAINING FOR NIGERIA’S JUDGES, LAWYERS

TORTURE: UN COMMITTEE URGES TRAINING FOR NIGERIA’S JUDGES, LAWYERS

The Committee against Torture (CAT) has urged the Federal Government to train judges and lawyers on the application of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The Committee also expressed concern on “lack of information” on the application of the Convention by Nigeria’s courts, and on cases where the Convention has been directly applied by the domestic courts.

Rising from its 72nd meeting, CAT urged the Federal Government to “provide judicial officials and lawyers with specific training on applying the Convention directly and asserting the rights established in those provisions before the courts and submit information about specific cases in which the Convention has been invoked before the domestic courts in its next periodic report.”

While welcoming the enactment of the Anti-Torture Act that is applicable in the whole country, the Committee in its “Concluding observations in the absence of the initial report of Nigeria” noted that “it is concerned at the lack of information on the actual practice of direct application of the Convention by the domestic courts, and on cases where the Convention has been directly applied by the domestic courts (arts. 2 and 12).”

The Committee also expressed concern on the adopted definition of torture in Nigeria’s Anti-Torture Act, adding that contrary to the expectation of the Convention, a “specific purpose based on discrimination ground” is linked to the purpose of intimidation or coercion of an individual or a third party, rather than a standalone purpose.

Noting that the Anti-Torture Act “does not cover attempts to commit torture in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention and lacks specific provisions establishing statute of limitations and barring the amnesties and pardons for the acts of torture (arts. 1 and 4),” the Committee urged the Federal Government to “Continue to make efforts to bring its definition of torture fully into line with article 1 of the Convention and explicitly add the following separate purpose to the definition of torture: “or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind;” “Include criminalization of the attempts to commit torture in the Anti-Torture Act;” and “Clarify and ensure that there is no statute of limitations for the offence of torture explicitly provided in law in line with General Comment No. 3 (2012) on the implementation of article 14, and that torture is explicitly excluded from the scope of amnesty and pardon provisions.”

The Committee against Torture is a United Nations body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment by its State parties. The Committee against Torture is composed of 10 independent experts who are persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the field of human rights. The Committee is currently chaired by Mr. Claude Heller.

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