CAT/C/70/2
of all the newly elected members commenced on 1 January 2021 and are for a period of four
years, expiring on 31 December 2024.
7.
There were no changes in the structure of the Subcommittee’s regional teams, nor in
the composition of its working groups during the year under review.
8.
The regional teams examine the implementation of the Optional Protocol within their
region, reporting to the Subcommittee in plenary session, and make recommendations as
appropriate. During the reporting period, the heads of the regional teams were as follows: for
Africa, Gnambi Garba Kodjo; for Asia and the Pacific, June Caridad Pagaduan Lopez; for
Europe, Daniel Fink; and for Latin America, Maria Dolores Gomez. The composition of the
regional teams is available on the Subcommittee website.2
9.
The Subcommittee’s permanent working groups on jurisprudence and practice and on
health aspects of torture prevention met in person at the fortieth session and online (as
committees of the whole) at the forty-first and forty-second sessions. The working group on
the Special Fund met online at the forty-first session. At its fortieth session, the Subcommittee
established an ad hoc working group to consider the drafting of a general comment on article
4 (1) of the Optional Protocol, which has continued to meet online intersessionally.
10.
In June 2020, the Subcommittee held its forty-first session online, making it the first
treaty body of the United Nations to undertake a full session and full programme of work in
an online environment and using a variety of platforms, only one of which permitted
simultaneous interpretation. Regional teams met at various times during the day to facilitate
the participation of members and other participants from different time zones. The
Subcommittee decided, for the first time, to publicly webcast its opening and closing
meetings, which were also broadcast live on United Nations Web TV. The Subcommittee
also held an online informal meeting of the States parties during the forty-first session, which
was also webcast.
11.
In November 2020, the Subcommittee held its forty-second session, which was also
held online. The opening and closing meetings of the session were also webcast. At its fortysecond session, the Subcommittee met with the Chair of the Committee against Torture to
discuss issues of common interest. It also held online meetings with representatives of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Convention against Torture Initiative, the
Association for the Prevention of Torture and a research team from Bristol University to
discuss cooperation and substantive human rights issues. The Subcommittee continued its
established pattern of cooperation with the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
C.
Visits conducted during the reporting period
12.
The Subcommittee commenced its first visit of the year, to Argentina, in March 2020,
but it had to be abandoned almost immediately owing to emergency measures relating to
COVID-19. Given the travel limitations related to the pandemic and the lack of available
funding for its programme of visits, the Subcommittee was unable to undertake any of the
other visits, which had been planned in accordance with its mandate under articles 11 to 13
of the Optional Protocol. In December 2020, a visit to Tunisia was planned and preparations
for the visit were made. At the last moment, however, owing to logistical reasons, that visit
also had to be abandoned.
2
4
See www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/OPCAT/Pages/ContactRegionalTeams.aspx.