CPT: 17TH GENERAL REPORT 27 APPENDIX 8 Statement by the President of the CPT at the Parliamentary Assembly debate on the State of Human Rights and Democracy in Europe on 18 April 2007 Mr President, Members of the Assembly, I wish first of all to pay tribute to the Parliamentary Assembly for its determined action in the 1980’s which culminated in Recommendation 971 on the protection of detainees from torture. This instigated the process that led to the adoption of the European Anti-Torture Convention in 1987. Without your Assembly, there might well never have been a CPT. Through on-site visits and dialogue with States, the CPT seeks to prevent torture and ill-treatment across the European continent. The Committee has had some success, but the present situation remains far from satisfactory. Instances of torture and other forms of deliberate severe ill-treatment still occur in the Council of Europe area. And conditions of detention can be wretched in a number of our member States, in particular in pre-trial establishments, holding facilities for foreigners and even psychiatric hospitals. Kept for months if not years in a state of enforced idleness, in overcrowded and unhygienic accommodation, subject to a constant lack of privacy, this is still the fate of tens if not hundreds of thousands of detained persons in Europe. Providing the necessary resources so that detention facilities can offer decent conditions may not be an obvious vote-winner, but it will be a good long-term investment for our societies. To quote the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, “the gap between standards on paper and the actual situation in Europe is striking”. The measures proposed in the texts presented to you provide a sound basis for removing this discrepancy, and the Assembly can count on the CPT to play fully its part in that process. At the heart of the CPT’s activities lies the principle of cooperation with national authorities; and for the most part the Committee enjoys a real spirit of partnership with States. However, the CPT does face in certain cases a persistent failure to implement recommendations on key issues. Here I must stress that the Committee does not exist simply to carry out visits and maintain cordial relations with States; its purpose is to bring about necessary change with a view to strengthening protection against ill-treatment. Only if the CPT’s dialogue with a State leads to the achievement of that purpose can one speak of effective cooperation. Faced with a failure to cooperate, the CPT is empowered to make a public statement. The Committee is extremely reluctant to take that step; only five public statements in 18 years is proof of that. The fifth of those statements was made just over one month ago, and was the third concerning the Chechen Republic. Contrary to what has been affirmed, that statement was certainly not “politically motivated”. It was the result of the continuing absence of a constructive dialogue on issues which go to the core of the principles defended by this Organisation. The CPT has every intention of pursuing its activities in the Chechen Republic, and trusts its public statement will focus everyone’s attention on the key questions to be addressed in the area of the Committee’s mandate.