torture

Special Rapporteur Juan Méndez

Leading rights defender named as UN expert to combat torture

4 November 2010
Human rights defender Juan Méndez of Argentina has taken over as the new United Nations independent expert on the scourge, vowing to help victims of torture.
Claudio Grossman, Chair of the UN Committee against Torture

UN rights expert urge States to comply with Convention against Torture

19 October 2010
The Chairperson of the United Nations independent committee of experts against torture today urged States to recommit themselves to the values of the global treaty that prohibits the practice, which, he stressed, cannot be justified under any circumstances and has to be eradicated.
Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

UN experts urge US to ensure no Guantánamo detainees are forcibly returned

21 July 2010
While welcoming United States efforts to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility, two independent United Nations human rights experts have called on the Government to ensure that it does not forcibly transfer anyone to another State where the person could be subject to torture.
2003 poster of fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)

Torture remains prevalent in too many countries, UN warns

26 June 2010
Too many countries are still practising or tolerating “cruel, degrading and illegal” acts of torture, top United Nations officials said today as they pledged the UN's solidarity with the millions of torture victims worldwide.
Special Rapporteur Manfred Nowak

Cuban visit will not take place, says UN expert on torture as he voices frustration

9 June 2010
The United Nations independent expert on torture said today he was deeply disappointed that he will not be able to visit Cuba to carry out a fact-finding mission this year because the country’s authorities declined to consent to any of the dates he had proposed for the mission.