Parliament urged to criminalise torture

Islamabad

Participants of a consultation organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) have urged the Parliament to criminalise torture in accordance with the Convention against Torture (CAT) and enact legislation on the right to be free from torture and witness protection act.

The HRCP, in collaboration with the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT), organized a consultation for reviewing State compliance with the Convention against Torture, which Pakistan signed in 2010.

The consultation aimed at mobilising stakeholders, including civil society organizations, legal community, policymakers, national human rights institutions, media and State authorities, and generating recommendations and political will for anti-torture reforms.

Participants came up with a set of recommendations for the government, the parliament, the civil society and the media. They suggested the government to hold public debate on the draft bill against torture and fully empower and strengthen the already established National Commission on Human Rights instead of making a new panel under the executive.

A demand to reform the Council of Islamic Ideology also came forward in the meeting which also stressed trainings and access to modern and scientific methods of investigations to law enforcement agencies and the judiciary and shift away from inhumane methods of investigation and extraction of confessions.

The participants asked the government to establish rehabilitation centres for torture victims and ensure state compensation for torture victims through a mechanism. They suggested including civil society in the state reporting procedure by inter alia holding round tables with the stakeholders for a comprehensive state report.

The participants stressed for intruding a system of democratic accountability for state personnel involved in torture and establishment of an independent body that investigates and prosecutes police officers accused of torture and other forms of ill-treatment.

They demanded revision, amendment and reform of the Police Order, introduction of jail reforms and assurance of protection for women and members of religious minorities in prisons against abuse and torture. The highlighted the importance to guard against misuse of anti-terror laws against political opponents and suggested to allow local governments to control police.

For civil society and media, the recommendation of forming broad anti-torture coalition with a collective strategy in order to campaign for the implementation of the Convention against Torture was appreciated by all participants. They also pointed out to build capacity of media persons for better portrayal of torture and control portrayal of torture in films and plays.

They urged civil society to gather and share data of torture cases to be used in advocacy activities and engage with legislators at all stages of advocacy to raise strong voice in the parliament and at political parties’ level to lead to a tolerant and true democratic society.

They stressed the need to initiate societal debate and political discourse on the importance of the eradication and absolute prohibition of torture in order to denounce the general believe that torture is admissible and effective and use Pemra’s public service messaging funds to build print, online, broadcast campaigns against torture.