Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), the United Nations
Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines) and the United Nations
Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty (the Tokyo Rules).
(14) The Committee takes note of the Asylum Bill, prepared with the assistance of the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which establishes a national commission for refugees with the
authority to provide refugees and asylum-seekers with legal and administrative protection. The Committee also
takes note of the statement by the delegation that only refugees and asylum-seekers wishing to return voluntarily to
their country of origin are invited to do so. The Committee is nevertheless concerned that in June 2005, some
8,000 Rwandan asylum-seekers were returned to their country of origin. Moreover, the Committee is concerned that,
since the State party does not have an extradition system, asylum-seekers or refugees from Rwanda and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo could be returned to their countries of origin even though they risk being
subjected to torture (art. 3).
The State party should take legislative and any other necessary measures to prohibit the expulsion,
return or extradition of persons to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that
they would be in danger of being subjected to torture, in accordance with article 3 of the Convention.
The State party should also guarantee absolute respect for their physical and mental integrity. In
addition, the State party should take the necessary measures to adopt legislation on the protection of
stateless persons in order to protect them from expulsion, return or extradition.
(15) The Committee notes that Burundi makes extradition contingent on the existence of an extradition treaty. The
Committee is nevertheless concerned by the fact that the State party, when it receives a request for extradition from
another State party with which it has no extradition treaty, does not invoke the present Convention as a legal basis
for extradition in respect of the crimes enumerated in article 4 of the Convention (art. 8).
The State party should take appropriate legislative and administrative measures to ensure that the
present Convention can be invoked as a legal basis for extradition in respect of the crimes enumerated
in article 4 of the Convention, when it receives a request for extradition from another State party with
which it has no extradition treaty, while at the same time observing the provisions of article 3 of the
Convention.
(16) The Committee is concerned at the inadequacy of training for law enforcement personnel, which fails to
focus on the elimination and prevention of torture. Moreover, the numerous allegations of acts of torture and cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment received by the Committee testify to the limited scope of such training (art. 10).
The State party should:
(a)
Organize regular training for law enforcement personnel, including police and prison
administration staff, in order to ensure that they all have a thorough understanding of the provisions
of the Convention and are aware that violations are not acceptable and will be investigated, and that
the perpetrators are liable to prosecution. All such personnel should be given specific training in
methods of detecting torture. This training should also be accessible to physicians, lawyers and judges;
(b)
Prepare a manual listing methods of questioning that are prohibited and contrary to the
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, as well as the fundamental principles
governing the treatment of prisoners, including the obligation to keep a bound registration book with
numbered pages containing information on each prisoner’s identity, the reasons for his or her
detention and the authority therefore, and the day and hour of his or her admission and release;
(c)
Ensure that law enforcement personnel and members of the armed forces, as well as the
general public, are aware of the prohibition on sexual violence, in particular against women and
children;
(d)
Encourage the involvement of non-governmental organizations active in the field of
human rights protection in the training of law enforcement personnel.
11
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