UN committee urges adoption of expansion of torture treaty

The United Nations Committee against Torture is urging all States parties to the Convention against Torture (CAT) to adopt an optional protocol that will allow visits to places of detention by an independent subcommittee.

The Committee adopted the recommendation by a four-member working group in Geneva yesterday. The protocol has yet to enter into force, but will do so when it has been ratified by a sufficient number of States parties to the Convention.

So far 133 countries have ratified CAT.