DUSHANBE, June 8, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- A group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Tajikistan has started work on producing an alternative report on implementation of the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in the country, Ms. Nargis Zokirova, the chairperson of the Bureau on Human Rights and rule of law (BHR), said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

According to her, members of the Coalition of Public Association, an umbrella of the NGOs, namely; Amparo, League of Women Lawyers of Tajikistan, Republican Association of Barristers, Sughd barristers’ Association, Equal Opportunity Public Association, and Rural Development Initiatives (RDI) have considered issues related to implementation of the Convention in Tajikistan, experience of civil society in producing alternative report and sending it to the Committee against Torture (CAT).             

They have also discussed the second Tajikistan’s report on implementation of the UN Convention against Torture that was sent to the CAT in December 2010, she said.

The draft alternative report  on implementation of the UN Convention against Torture is expected to be prepared by late summer this year.

The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world.  The Convention requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture within their borders, and forbids states to return people to their home country if there is reason to believe they will be tortured.  The text of the Convention was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1984 and, following ratification by the 20th state party, it came into force on June 26, 1987.

The Committee against Torture (CAT) is a body of human rights experts that monitors implementation of the Convention by State parties.  The Committee is one of eight UN-linked human rights treaty bodies.  All state parties are obliged under the Convention to submit regular reports to the CAT on how rights are being implemented.  Upon ratifying the Convention, states must submit a report within one year, after which they are obliged to report every four years.  The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations.”  Under certain circumstances, the CAT may consider complaints or communications from individuals claiming that their rights under the Convention have been violated.