CoE+UNO anti-Torture bodies' Chiefs to EuroFora: No to Impunity of Torturers even after 15-20 Years!

Prolonged Impunity of Torturers is an unacceptable failure, stressed in substance both CoE and UNO anti-Torture watchdogs' Chiefs, replying to "EuroFora"s questions : the President of the European Committee to prevent Torture (CPT), Mauro Palma, and UNO's Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, exceptionaly united together in Strasbourg with pioneer International NGO "Association for the preventionn of Torture", the Swiss-born "APT".

    "EuroFora" asked CPT's President to react to the fact that "more than 15 Years earlier (1995), when I was strarting to work as a Journalist in European issues, two of the most important and experiencd CoE's Top Officials on Human Rights (the former long-tiime Director of ECHR's secretariat and CoE's then Director on Human Rights) had already denounced, in a special Press Conference with all Strasbourg's Journalists, the fact that certain State (no need to name it) raised serious concerns at the CoE because it didn't implement many ECHR's judgements which had condemned  it for "exceptionally grave violations" of Human Rights, including "Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatments, enforced disappearances, killings, etc, without doing any serious Investigation to discover what really happened, find and punish those esponsible...

"But now (2009), more than 15 Years later", various converging sources of information (fex NGOs, EU Parliament, CoE's CM, etc.) andd even Yourself (CPT's Head) still criticize not only continuing but even "aggravating"  of reported torture, in the same area !", and a persisting reluctance to respect ECHR's case-law;. What does this mean, in fact ? That, for some States,  all CoE's efforts for more than 15 Years were wasted ?"

- "You are right", replied to "EuroFora" CPT's President : - "Impunity (for Torturers) was indeed a Problem on the Table 15 Years ago.  And, unfortunately, it still is on the table" even now..  The only change is that, while before we had several States, more or less, several States, while now remain only a fex.

  Indeed, as Palma explained, speaking later to interested Strasbourg's Journalists, CPT has "serious concerns about continuing Impunity in cases of Torture in Turkey".     This was obviously the State that "EuroFora" did not name in our Question to CPT's President,  but which had been strongly denounced explicitly by CoE's Senior Officials already more than 15 Years earlier, for not implementing ECHR's condemnations in cases of exceptionally grave violations of Human Rights, such as killings and enforced disappearances Torture and Inhuman/Degrading treatments, etc...      

   The only big change, meanwhile, was ...that Turkey had become since 1999 a highly controversial "Candidate" to EU accession, despite these astonishing facts, naturally contrary to EU's famours "Copenhagen" Criteria on Human Rights' respect, and a well known growing Popular reaction from a Majority of EU Citizens, as many Polls and recent Elections in France, Germany, the Netherlands and even the UK, both National and European, proved (See relevant Facts annd Numbers published by"EuroFora" previously).    

- But, "Impunity" of Torturers, is not only a continuing violation of Human Rights, but also a Dangerous one, as Mauro Palma strongly denounced : - Because "Impunity sends a Disruptive Message : If you don't deliver the message, in real practice,  that that there is "Zero Tolerance" on Torture, then, all other messages are destroyed", he warned.

That's why CPT feels now that the Time has come, after all these Years, to strongly express its "Major Concern" for the "totally Improiper Messages delivered" like this. - "We need a totally differend way" to act, CPT's President stressed.   

    Now that CPT takes stock of its overall work, after the completion of more than "20 years since" the creation of CoE's anti-Torture watchdog, Palma also replied positively to another "EuroFora" question, on whether CPT could and should investigate also new facts about "old" cases,  in which a State was recently found guilty to have lied, when it claimed that it had never taken some People in custody, or that it had let them all free after a brief detention, while, on the contrary, material proof was discoverd that several persons had been, in fact, murdered in cold-blood after being detained by the State concerned, even if it persisted to refuse efficient investigations on what really happened to the victims, obliging their Families to live for many Years, sometimes even Decades, in anxiety and agony about their "Missing" father, husband, brother or son..

Such facts don't show the need to examine also, fex. all relevant Archives of the State concerned (both Prisons' and Detention Centers', but also of the Army, of Hospitals, etc), as a recent 2009 UNO Report on "Enforced Disappearances" asked at nearby Geneva, at the same moment that Associations of Families and  Friends of "Missing" People also ask elsewhere in Europe, (fex. after the notorious August 2009 macabre findings on 5 Greek Cypriot POWs who had been photographed while held alive by the Turkish Army, but were later found murdered in cold blood with bullets at their skuls) ? "Wouldn't that be necessary in order also to find out what happened to many more People who had reportedly been also detained by the same State's Army,  but became afterwards "Missing" ? "Otherwise, how can CoE know whether existed, or not, also much more "Secret Prisons"  than recent Worldwide Scandals disscovered now elsewhere ?",  "EuroFora" asked Palma.

    - "We (CPT) have a look towards the Future, but, Preventing Torture is also examining situations of the Past",  replied Palma.

    - That's why, "if there is a formal Complaint", about something serious that "was never searched", then, "you should ask for inclusive Investigations to have also a look in the Past", CPT's President concluded on "EuroFora"s question.

    Moreover, "in some cases, you can find at least Indications that an area was a place of Detention" in the past, he added, citing various examples, including a suspicion about a building "in the Tchechen Republic of the Russian Federation", as Palma noted. (Something which, even if it should be investigated, as a matter of general principle, nevertheless, because of Russia's and all Central-Eastern European Countries' much more recent Date of accession to the CoE fex. only since 1996, cannot obviously be compared with a continuing Impunity of grave crimes which persists for more than 15 or 20 Years according to hundreds of ECHR's Judgements, as is, on the contrary, the case for "old" CoE Member States as Turkey, etc. who were theoretically subjected to CoE's checks since the Cold War period of the 1950ies)...

    However, it's interesting to knox that both Palma and, afterwards, UNO's Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Nowak, replied positively to "EuroFora"s question if all relevant Archives (of Prisons, of the Military, of Hospitals, etc) should be investigated, (if need be under strict conditions of "Confidentiality", as CPT is used to work), in cases where there are strong factual  indications, or even unquestionable proof, that at least some people had been detained and "disappeared", or later found killed, while many other persons, who had also been detained in similar conditions, were later declared "Missing".

    Even more, both Palma and Nowak "did not exclude" that CPT might be inspired also by ECHR's case-law on "Missing" persons,  (according also to the Latino American cases' legal treatment), which clearly declares thaat the cirme of "Enforced Disappearances" is so grave, affecting the lives not only of the "Missing" persons themselves, but also of their Families, that it is considered as "Continuous" : At least as long as the Truth has not yet been found on what really happeed to those who "disappeared"', and those responsible for their enforced disappearance have not been identified and punished, as the experienced f. Chairman of UNO's wiorking Group on Enforced Disapperances, Professor Corcuera, from nearby Geneva, had already stressed to "EuroFora" earlier.

    Palma and Nowak said later to "EuroFora", on the sidelines of CoE's Confernce on Friday evening, expressed their willingness "to examine" whether such cases, as f.ex. that of Cyprus' "Missing" People, might be, on that basis, included, or not, also in investigaions about secret detentions, regardless of whether they took place in the Past or are going on today, since it can help to prevent similar tragedies from happening again in the Future (See above).

    - "Perthaps, a practical measure might be for the CPT to stop hesitating to use the only weapon it has in order to be really heard by recalcitrants, and make more often short but sharply critical Public Statements, whenever a State persists in letting Torturers totally Unpunished. Longer and more comprehensive statements could be left for later-on, together with mounting Presssure to publish CPT's Reports, proposed afterwards UNO's Rapporteur on Torture, Professor Manfred Nowak.

    Nowak stressed that respect of "Human Dignity", should inspite all serious Human Rights cases, whatever the circumstances might be, from "Missing" persons to Torture, etc. (or even BioEthical issues, where some inhuman or degrading treatments cannot be excluded, despite certain lobby's reluctance to use such "vague" words, as some recently claimed in Streabourg : Comp. previous "EuroFora" publication on CoE's Conference on BioEthics).

    But, "on Impunty, we must admit that we failed", denounced UNO's Rapporteur on Torture, the experienced Austrian Professor Manfred Nowak.

    - "How do we strengthen Implementation" of anti-Torture standards "is the crucial issue", where "much more needs to be done by the Political players", such as UNO' SC, "CoE's Comittee of Ministers", etc, Nowak denounced;

    - "Be credible in the long run, (f.ex. after 20 Years of CPT work), has an enormous importance, stressed Mrs Martine Brunschig Graf, President of APT, "the only" International "Organization specialized against Torture,  "whose mandate is not defined by any Government"

- "Credibility is needed not only vis a vis the National Authorities, but also vis a vis the Victilms", she pointed out.

    - "<<Institutional>>  mecanisms risk to stay "in limbo" ("pending in an empty vacuum"), if they are less, or no more supported by Politicians" at one moment or another, Graf warned.

    That's why "People should never be satisfied merely because <<Institutions>> continue to exist", the ASP's President stressed.