Maldives tells UN torture prevention a “priority issue” for the government

The Maldives has been elected the Asia-region representative at an international UN meeting of countries seeking the prevention of torture.

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed said that torture prevention was a “priority issue” for the government.

“Because of the Maldives’ recent history, it is right and proper that we should take a leadership role at
international level to ensure that this, one of the worst forms of human rights violations, is confronted and eventually eliminated,” he stated. “There is now no place for torture in the Maldives; and there should be no place for it anywhere in the world.”

The Meeting of States Parties to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT) will take place at the United Nations in Geneva on 28 October 2010.

The OPCAT, which came into force in 2006, has 55 States Parties and establishes a network of national bodies, in each State Party, called “National Preventative Mechanisms” (NPMs), mandated to prevent all forms of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in prisons and other places of detention. The NPMs do so by conducting unannounced visits to places of detention, making the findings public and submitting reports and recommendations to relevant government and international authorities. The NPMs also conducts training sessions for prison and police personnel to ensure that they comply with tough international standards designed to prevent the ill-treatment of detainees.

In the Maldives, the Human Rights Commission (HRCM) acts as the NPM.

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