CAT/C/46/2
provided an opportunity for an exchange of information with the Chairperson of the
Committee against Torture who also addressed the General Assembly at that session.
35.
The Subcommittee has continued to be actively involved in the inter-committee
meetings (11th Inter-Committee Meeting from 28 to 30 June 2010 in Geneva) and
Chairpersons Meetings of United Nations human rights treaty bodies (from 1 to 2 July 2010
in Brussels). Within that framework, the Subcommittee also contributed to the joint
meeting with special-procedure mandate holders. In response to the High Commissioner’s
call to strengthen the treaty body system and as a follow-up to previous expert meetings
dedicated to the work of treaty bodies, the Subcommittee participated to an expert seminar
held in Poznan, Poland, in September 2010 (organized by the University of Adam
Mickiewicz and the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs). It also attended several OHCHR
activities, such as the international workshop on “Enhancing cooperation between regional
and international mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights” and the
twenty-third session of the International Coordination Committee of National Human
Rights Institutions respectively held in March and May 2010 in Geneva.
36.
The Subcommittee continued its cooperation with the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization and initiated cooperation
with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), inter alia through the
Subcommittee’s participation to a workshop on “Strategies and best practices against
overcrowding in correctional facilities” within the framework of the Twelfth United
Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice held in Brazil in April 2010.
2.
Cooperation with other relevant international organizations
37.
Based on the experience of previous visits, the Subcommittee refined the modalities
of its cooperation and coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC). In 2010, the Subcommittee held a series of meetings with representatives of ICRC
in Geneva within the context of preparations of and follow-up to Subcommittee visits and
as a process designed to identify lessons learned, with a view to maximizing its cooperation
and coordination. As the Optional Protocol provides, ICRC and the Subcommittee are key
partners in the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment.
B.
Regional cooperation
38.
Through the designation of Subcommittee focal points for the liaison and
coordination with regional bodies, the Subcommittee formalized and strengthened its
cooperation with other relevant partners in the field of torture prevention, such the African
Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human
Rights, the Council of Europe, the European Union and the ODHIR-OSCE. In addition to
ongoing activities with those regional bodies in 2010 (see chap. II, sect. E.), during its June
2010 session the Subcommittee held a meeting with the ODHIR-OSCE in order to further
exchange information and experiences and discuss potential areas of cooperation.
C.
Civil society
39.
The Subcommittee has continued to benefit from the essential support provided by
civil society actors, both the OPCAT Contact Group (present during the Subcommittee’s
November session) and academic institutions (in particular the Universities of Bristol and
Padua, and the Arizona State University, the latter through its Centre for Law and Global
GE.11-40683
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