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	New guidelines aim to dismantle barriers blocking people with disabilities from access to justice by International Disability Alliance, agencies Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities   The first-ever guidelines on access to justice for people with disabilities are an “indispensable contribution” towards ensuring justice for all. The document will help countries dismantle the barriers that block people with disabilities from being able to use justice systems worldwide.   “The guidelines respond to the challenges that people with disabilities face in accessing justice on an equal basis with others,” said Catalina Devandas, UN special rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities.   “Many barriers prevent that access. Just to name a few, court houses or police stations are often not accessible, or court officials and police officers may not think that those with disabilities can take part in legal proceedings or have the capacity to instruct a lawyer. We want to help countries dismantle obstacles and parallel systems that prevent access to the existing guarantees and rights by all people.”   A 'practical handbook' for countries   The International Principles and Guidelines on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities are the product of joint work by the three UN bodies that deal with disability rights.   They were developed in collaboration with disability rights experts, organizations of people with disabilities, States, academics, and others.   “These guidelines are an important contribution to international human rights law, and are an indispensable contribution to achieving justice for all,” said Danlami Basharu, chairperson of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.   “For the first time, countries will have a practical handbook on how to design and implement justice systems that provide equal access to justice for people with disabilities, regardless of their role in the process, to bring them into line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other international standards.”   Principles for inclusion   The guidelines outline 10 principles of access to justice for people with disabilities – such as “people with disabilities have the right to participate in the administration of justice on an equal basis with others” – and detailed steps for implementation.   They have been endorsed by the International Disability Alliance and the International Commission of Jurists.   “We believe we have supplied one pillar that many justice systems were lacking – disability inclusion,” said María Soledad Cisternas Reyes, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility.   “This should be a valuable tool for everyone in the justice system. We want to ensure that people with disabilities are part of the system in the same way they are part of society, that they can fully exercise the human rights they have by virtue of being human.”   http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Disability/SR_Disability/GoodPractices/Principles_A2_Justice.pdf Visit the related web page
	COVID-19 exacerbates the risk of ill-treatment and torture worldwide by UN Committee against Torture, agencies   Dec. 2020   Abuse of protesters and prisoners highlights urgent need to regulate torture tools, report from Amnesty International, Omega Research Foundation   The world must act urgently to prohibit the global trade in equipment designed to inflict excruciating pain and injury, Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation said today, ahead of a high-level UN meeting on the ‘torture trade’.   In a new report, Ending the Torture Trade: The Path to Global Controls on the ‘Tools of Torture’, the organizations also called for controls on standard policing equipment to ensure it does not end up in the hands of abusers.   “More than three decades after torture was outlawed internationally, people continue to be tortured, often to death, in prisons and detention centres all over the world. It is nonsensical to ban torture while allowing the trade in sinister equipment specifically designed for torture, like spiked batons and leg irons, to continue,” said Patrick Wilcken, Amnesty International’s Head of Business, Security and Human Rights.   “Meanwhile, with protesters around the world being choked by tear gas and injured by rubber bullets, there is an urgent need to strengthen controls on the trade in policing equipment.   Standard equipment like handcuffs and batons can be instruments of torture if they fall into the wrong hands. Countries must come together to create a global, legally-binding instrument to regulate the trade in these goods."   A framework for ending the trade in pain and suffering   Amnesty and Omega’s report was released to coincide with a high-level meeting of the 60-state-strong Alliance for Torture-Free Trade at the UN, part of an ongoing process exploring ways to regulate the global trade in law enforcement equipment.   To aid the UN process, Amnesty and Omega are presenting an ‘anti-Torture Trade Framework’ which sets out essential steps that states must take to effectively regulate the trade in law enforcement equipment and death penalty goods.   This includes a ban on inherently abusive equipment, such as spiked batons, electric shock belts and weighted leg irons; and robust human rights controls on the trade in commonly employed policing equipment, including handcuffs, pepper spray and tasers.   The report also highlights the need for a ban on the trade in death penalty equipment, such as gallows and electric chairs, and for export controls on dual use pharmaceutical chemicals to prevent their use in lethal injection executions.   “Our research has uncovered the promotion of a range of inherently abusive law enforcement equipment at trade fairs and on company websites: remotely activated electric shock devices attached to prisoner’s bodies; heavy leg irons; prisoner restraints bolted to walls; spiked batons and serrated shields; police electric shock batons and stun guns, electric shock gloves and even electric shock capture devices, the list goes on,” said Dr Michael Crowley, Research Associate at the Omega Research Foundation.   “For too long, states have turned a blind eye to the trade in ‘tools of torture’, allowing companies throughout the world to profit from human pain and misery. All states have a responsibility to act decisively to bring this trade under control. Our anti-Torture Trade Framework provides them with the basis for effective action – individually establishing national restrictions, and collectively agreeing international standards through the ongoing UN process.”   Tortured with electric shocks   Electric shock devices are a commonly used tool of torture globally. On September 9, 2020, for example, Javier Ordoñez was stopped by police in Bogotá, Colombia, for allegedly violating COVID-19 restrictions. Officers pinned him to the ground and administered repeated electric shocks to his body for approximately five minutes, using a taser. He died in hospital hours later as a result of blunt trauma injuries.   In Saudi Arabia, an Ethiopian detainee, Solomon, told Amnesty International that prison guards had used electric shock devices against him after he protested about the lack of health care.   “If we complain, they apply some device on you and you fall down. It’s like when you touch something with electricity. It leaves a red mark on your skin…Since then, we don’t complain anymore because we’re afraid they’ll do again the electric thing on our back. We keep quiet.”   Amnesty International and Omega are calling for a global ban on the trade and use of certain electric-shock devices which are unsuitable for law enforcement. These include body-worn devices such as shock belts and vests, and direct contact devices intended for police use such as shock batons and grabbing devices.   Some projectile electric shock devices may have a legitimate law enforcement purpose, but their trade and use need to be tightly controlled.   The report also contains harrowing testimony from people subjected to beatings with batons, truncheons and sticks by police, including a prisoner in Burundi who reported:   "[Police] beat us on our back, buttocks and feet for 20 minutes. They were six policemen and they took turns. I had problems walking for a week. I couldn’t put my shoes on, because my feet were so swollen."   Following post-election protests in Belarus in August 2020, Katsyaryna Novikava told Amnesty International she spent 34 hours at the Centre for Isolation of Offenders, where arrested men were forced to lie down in the dirt of the facility’s yard. Inside the centre, dozens of men were told to strip naked and get down on all fours while officers kicked and beat them with truncheons. Katsyaryna was herself made to kneel and listen to their screams.   Torture and ill-treatment on the streets   According to Amnesty International, many police forces have used a range of equipment and weapons outside of custodial settings in a way that may have constituted torture or other ill-treatment.   This includes the deliberate and repeated targeting of peaceful protesters with rubber bullets, plastic bullets and other potentially lethal projectiles, that have resulted in serious injuries and loss of sight.   It also includes the gratuitous and punitive use of chemical irritants such as pepper spray against individuals posing no threat, and the use of large quantities of tear gas in confined spaces.   Amnesty and Omega are calling on states to use the anti-Torture Trade Framework to introduce regulations, or strengthen existing national controls, on the trade in goods used for capital punishment, torture or other forms of ill-treatment.   Tighter controls on law enforcement equipment should include issuing licenses on a case-by-case basis, after assessments of the risk of the equipment being misused for torture or other ill-treatment.   Companies also have a responsibility to respect human rights.   “While trade controls relate to state obligations, this does not absolve companies of their part in this appalling trade,” said Patrick Wilcken.   “Companies must proactively undertake human rights due diligence to prevent their products from being misused. Those that manufacture, promote or trade in inherently abusive law enforcement equipment that could only be used for torture, ill-treatment or the death penalty must immediately stop these activities.”   http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/global-dozens-killed-and-thousands-maimed-by-police-misuse-of-rubber-bullets/ http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2020/12/abuse-of-protesters-prisoners-urgent-need-to-regulate-torture-tools/ http://omegaresearchfoundation.org/our-work/trade-tools-torture http://www.torturefreetrade.org/ http://www.omct.org/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/torture/srtorture/pages/srtortureindex.aspx http://bit.ly/3aaKlcU http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/   June 2021   Governments must protect those who help torture victims, say human rights experts. (UN News)   Top UN rights experts have appealed for all governments to ensure that victims of torture receive the rehabilitation services they need, along with guarantees that those who help them do not suffer reprisals.   In a statement to mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on Saturday, three Human Rights Council-appointed independent experts insisted that “people who have endured the ordeal of torture…have an enforceable right to fair and adequate compensation”, including rehabilitation.   They upheld that the Convention against Torture (CAT) provides for reparations for blatant human rights violations and to restore dignity.   “It is particularly important that Governments respect and uphold the right to redress”, they said, adding that authorities should ensure that medical and other professionals who treat victims of torture, can carry out their work unhindered.   The same guarantees should also be given to civil society organizations and rights defenders so that they can carry out the vital work of documenting torture and supporting the rehabilitation of victims, the rights experts said.   The term “rehabilitation” includes adequate medical psychological, social and other relevant specialized treatment.   The UN experts warned in 2012 that victims of torture face reprisals for complaining or cooperating with the UN.   “Since then the trend of reported reprisals and severity against individuals and groups specifically for engaging with the UN has increased”, they attested.   CAT, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and the Special Rapporteur on Torture have all adopted measures to address retaliation and reprisals against civil society organizations combatting torture and helping victims.   ‘Vital’ civic space   Last year, Secretary-General António Guterres adopted a Call to Action for Human Rights that makes civic space a priority area and issued the UN Guidance Note: Protection and Promotion of Civic Space.   In their statement, the experts advocated for civic space as “vital” in preventing and combatting torture and safeguarding the rights of those who have been persecuted and ill-treated.   “We urge States to uphold the absolute and universal prohibition against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to enable a conducive environment for redress and rehabilitation for victims of torture, and for civil society to operate freely”, they said. http://bit.ly/35Rglj6   June 2020   On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the UN Anti-Torture mechanisms unanimously warned that the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to an escalation of torture and ill-treatment worldwide, and torture survivors are especially in danger of getting infected by the lethal virus due to their vulnerable situation.   People deprived of liberty, already subject to the risk of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment behind bars and in other confined spaces, are now facing a new threat. As of mid-June 2020, more than 78,000 prisoners have contracted COVID-19 in 79 countries, and at least 1,100 have died of this new virus throughout prisons in 35 countries. Unfortunately, these numbers are not final.   In these critical circumstances, the UN anti-torture experts have highlighted the particularly vulnerable situation of people in detention or confined in closed spaces, where social distancing is practically impossible. They especially raised the alarm about the pre-existing unfavorable medical conditions of detainees, which have contributed to a rapid spread of COVID-19, with potentially deadly consequences.   “Governments have a greater duty than ever to guarantee the safety of all people deprived of their liberty. Inmates should enjoy the same standards of healthcare that are available in the community at large, including access to virus testing and medical treatment,” said Dr. Jens Modvig, Chair of the Committee against Torture.   “All persons deprived of their liberty should be privately examined by independent medical personnel at the time of admission to a place of detention or confinement, in order to be screened for contagious diseases and potential signs of ill-treatment”.   In many regions of the world, excessive force has reportedly been used to enforce curfews and social distancing rules. The experts warned that such action might well amount to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment.   The experts further stressed that independent documenting of the material and living conditions of persons deprived of their liberty, as well as the monitoring of the use of force by law enforcement officials are indispensable tools for the prevention of all forms of ill-treatment, and therefore, must always be part of the overall COVID-19 response.   “Monitoring places of deprivation of liberty by independent bodies such as National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) remains a fundamental safeguard against torture and ill-treatment.   Access to places of detention must be guaranteed by governments,” said Malcolm Evans, Chair of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.   “States should reduce prison populations by further resorting to alternatives to pre-trial detention and incarceration with the existing alternatives of non-custodial measures. They should also end the use of immigration detention and closed refugee camps,” he added.   The importance of vigilance was stressed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, “Governments must uphold the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment at all times, including during states of emergencies based on the COVID-19 pandemic. Protective measures, including lockdowns and curfews, cannot justify any excessive use of force and coercion, and all allegations of torture or ill-treatment must be thoroughly investigated.”   Underlining the importance of redress and rehabilitation, the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, Dr. Vivienne Nathanson, said that victims of torture are at increased risk of further traumatization from the COVID-19 pandemic.   “Torture victims are burdened with physical, social, economic and mental health problems. They may also lack the living conditions that allow them to guard against the spread of the virus. We commend the outstanding efforts undertaken by civil society organizations to continue to provide essential services to torture survivors, including during states of emergency and curfews, even when they face acts of intimidation or obstruction by the authorities.”   The coronavirus crisis has highlighted institutional and procedural failures that have exacerbated the risk of torture and ill-treatment for countless children, women and men in all regions of the world, according to the experts. They warned that the COVID-19 pandemic must not be used to avoid complying with the universally recognized duty of governments to eradicate all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/int-day-torture.aspx http://bit.ly/2Bi5gvs http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/torture/srtorture/Pages/SRTortureIndex.aspx   * UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture 40th Anniversary: http://bit.ly/3fTPAjc Visit the related web page
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