A/68/44
(g)
The Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Act (Act No. 045) of 8 October
(h)
The Judiciary Act (Act No. 025) of 24 June 2010;
2010;
(i)
Act No. 3760 of 7 November 2007, which incorporates the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples into Bolivian law;
(j)
The adoption of Act No. 2640 of 11 March 2004, which provides for special
compensation for victims of political violence during periods of unconstitutional
government, as amended by Act No. 238 of 30 April 2012, and Act No. 3955 of 6
November 2008, which provides for benefits for victims of the events of February,
September and October 2003.
(7)
The Committee also commends the State party upon the efforts it has made to
modify its policies and procedures so that they will afford greater protection for human
rights and facilitate the application of the Convention. It also notes that the State party’s
efforts in this regard have included the adoption of the National Human Rights Action Plan
for 2009–2013 by means of Supreme Decree No. 29851 of 10 December 2008.
C.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Definition of torture and the crime of torture
(8)
The Committee is concerned that, its previous concluding observations (A/56/44,
paras. 89–98) notwithstanding, the State party has not yet established a definition of the
crime of torture that is in conformity with the Convention. While it takes note of the
existence of a draft bill that would amend article 295 (ill-treatment and torture) of the
Criminal Code, the Committee is of the view that the wording of that draft bill is seriously
flawed, since it does not include the purpose of the conduct in question in the basic
definition of the offence but instead classifies the reasons for inflicting torture as
aggravating circumstances. The draft bill, as it now stands, does not cover acts of torture
carried out in order to intimidate or coerce a third person or acts committed by a person
other than a public official who is acting in an official capacity (arts. 1 and 4).
The Committee reiterates its earlier recommendation (para. 97 (a)) to the effect that
the State party should incorporate a definition of torture into its body of criminal law
that includes all the elements set forth in article 1 of the Convention. These elements
include a clear definition of intent, of aggravating circumstances, of attempted
torture, of acts of torture committed to intimidate or coerce a person or a third person
and of acts of torture committed by or at the instigation of or with the consent or
acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.
The Committee would like to draw the State party’s attention to its general comment
No. 2 (2007), on the application of article 2 by States parties, which underscores the
preventive effect of having the crime of torture defined as an offence in its own right
(CAT/C/GC/2, para. 11).
The State party should also ensure that these offences are punishable by appropriate
penalties which take into account their grave nature, as stipulated in article 4,
paragraph 2, of the Convention.
Fundamental procedural safeguards
(9)
The Committee takes note of the information provided by the State party’s
delegation about the rules and regulations governing prisoners�� rights during the initial
stages of their detention. However, it regrets the lack of information on the measures and
procedures in place to ensure that, in practice, all persons deprived of their liberty are
actually able to exercise those rights. Nor has the State party explained what obstacles it has
GE.13-46043
95
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents