A/HRC/19/61/Add.4 Government to ensure the physical and mental integrity of all detainees and undertake a prompt and impartial investigation of alleged acts of torture, including prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators, and to provide appropriate and adequate redress. Additionally, he urges the Government to abolish the practice of incommunicado detention. (b) JUA 26/05/2011 Case No. SYR 5/2011 State reply: None to date Alleged detentions and possible enforced disappearances in connection with demonstrations. 149. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic has not responded to this communication, thereby failing to cooperate with the mandate issued by the Human Rights Council. The communication referred to the reported torture and forced disappearance of Mr. Mohammed Hasan al-Labwani, as well as possible torture during the detention of Mr. Najati Tayara and Mr. Mazen Adi; incommunicado detention of Mr. Mohamed Yassin Al-Hamwi and Mr. Amjad Baiazy; and alleged enforced disappearance of Mr. Wael Al-Hamada, Mr. Abdel Rahman Al-Hamada, Mr. Hassan Abd al-Adhim, Mr. Omar Qashaash, and Mr. Yasser Al-Khayyat in connection with demonstrations. Without any evidence to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur determines that the rights of Mr. Mohammed Hasan al-Labwani and the other Syrian nationals under the UN Convention against Torture have been violated, and calls on the Government to investigate, prosecute, and punish all cases of torture, providing full redress to the victims, including fair and adequate compensation, and as full rehabilitation as possible. (c) JUA 17/06/2011 Case No. SYR 7/2011 State reply: None to date Alleged killings of protesters, excessive use of force and denial of life-saving medical treatment. 150. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of Syrian Arab Republic has failed to cooperate with the mandate established by the Human Rights Council through its lack of reply to the communication dated 17 June 2011. The communication, among other allegations, referred to the excessive use of force by Syrian security forces against peaceful protesters resulting in several hundred deaths; the alleged denial of access to life-saving medical assistance to wounded protesters, namely Mr. Moataz Bellah Shaar and Mr. Gassan Khalifa; the alleged abduction and secret detention of a large number of injured protesters; the alleged torture of a large number of detainees including children; and at least the alleged rape of one male detainee. The Special Rapporteur reiterates paragraph 1 of Human Rights Council Resolution 16/23 which “[c]ondemns all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through intimidation, which are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever and can thus never be justified, and calls upon all States to implement fully the absolute and non-derogable prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” The Special Rapporteur would like to draw the attention of the Government to paragraph 7(a) of Resolution 8/8 of the Human Rights Council which reminds the Governments that corporal punishment, including of children, can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or even to torture. The Special Rapporteur refers to the mandate‟s report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/7/3, para. 69), in which he stressed that “rape and other serious acts of sexual violence by officials in contexts of detention or control not only amount to torture or ill-treatment, but also constitute a particular egregious form of it, due to the stigmatization they carry”. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to recall article 12 of the UN Convention against Torture, which requires the competent authorities to undertake a prompt and impartial investigation wherever there are reasonable grounds to believe that torture has been committed, and article 7 of the UN Convention against Torture, which requires State parties to prosecute suspected perpetrators of torture. In light of the fact that no evidence has been provided to the contrary, the Special Rapporteur determines that there have been various and extremely serious violations of rights of victims and urges the Government to undertake prompt and impartial investigation of all cases of alleged torture, secret detention, and denial of access to medicine. The Special 66

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents