New Treaty Against Torture

On 7 November, the third committee of the UN General Assembly (which deals with human rights) adopted a new Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, establishing a system of inspection visits to prisons and places of detention worldwide. Human Rights Watch had campaigned tirelessly for the protocol with a coalition of NGOs during long years of difficult negotiations. A breakthrough was achieved at the 2002 session of the Commission when Costa Rica presented a composite text that received broad cross-regional support. The text was actively opposed, however, by the United States, Australia and Japan - along with more traditionally hostile governments such as Cuba, Iran and China. The United States complained about the system's potential cost and compatibility with its own constitutional requirements, but Washington's opposition appeared to reflect a deeper aversion to developing efforts to enforce international human rights law, as seen in its campaign against the International Criminal Court. Fortunately, the momentum behind this important initiative for the prevention of torture proved unstoppable, and the protocol was adopted by 104 votes, with only 8 votes against and 37 abstentions.

What You Can Do

Write to your government welcoming the adoption of the Optional Protocol and urging its early ratification so that the inspection system can come into effect.

Below is a sample letter:

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