CAT/C/GRC/CO/5-6
The State party should strengthen its efforts in respect of redress, including
compensation and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible, and develop a
specific programme of assistance in respect of victims of torture and ill-treatment. The
State party should also establish more efficient and accessible procedures to ensure
that victims can exercise their right to compensation in accordance with Law
3811/2009, especially by reducing the time used by domestic courts to award damages
in such cases. The Committee also recommends that the State party should without
exception and as a matter of urgency offer prompt redress to victims of violence which
has been determined by international supervisory organs and courts, such as this
Committee and the Human Rights Committee, and the European Court of Human
Rights.
Aghia Varvara case
27.
The Committee reiterates its previous concern that 502 out of 661 Albanian Roma
street children reportedly went missing following their placement during 1998-2002 in the
Greek Aghia Varvara children’s institution and it is particularly concerned that these cases
have not been investigated by the relevant State party authorities (arts. 2 and 12).
The Committee urges the State party to engage with the Albanian authorities with a
view to promptly creating an effective mechanism to investigate these cases in order to
establish the whereabouts of the missing children, in cooperation with the
Ombudsmen of both countries and relevant civil society organizations, and identify
disciplinary and criminal responsibilities of those involved, before the passage of time
creates difficulties in ascertaining the facts. The Committee also recommends that the
State party adopt a comprehensive policy to combat violations of the rights of street
children in order to prevent recurrences in the future.
Data collection
28.
While noting with interest that a special working group has recently been set up to
submit a thorough proposal for the reorganization and modernization of the State party’s
Justice Statistics, the Committee regrets the absence of comprehensive and disaggregated
data on complaints, investigations, prosecutions and convictions of cases of torture and illtreatment by law enforcement officials, including police and prison officials and border
guards, as well as on trafficking and domestic and sexual violence (arts. 11 and 12).
The State party should establish an effective system to compile statistical data relevant
to the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention at the national level,
including data on complaints, investigations, prosecutions and convictions of cases of
torture and ill-treatment, trafficking and domestic and sexual violence, as well as on
means of redress, including compensation and rehabilitation, provided to the victims.
29.
The Committee invites the State party to ratify the core United Nations human rights
treaties to which it is not yet a party, namely the International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the International Convention for the Protection
of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
30.
The State party is requested to disseminate widely the report submitted to the
Committee and the Committee’s concluding observations, in appropriate languages,
through official websites, the media and non-governmental organizations.
31.
The State party is invited to submit its common core document, in accordance with
the requirements of the common core document contained in the harmonized guidelines on
reporting under the international human rights treaties (HRI/GEN/2/Rev.6).
9