Statement

by

Mr. Darko Göttlicher
Head of the Government's Office for Human Rights

General Assembly Fifty-eighth Session

Third Committee

Item 117
Human rights questions
a) Implementation of human rights instruments

7 November 2003

Mr. Chairman,

The eradication of the practice of torture in the world was one of the major challenges taken up by the United Nations and continues to be highly placed on its agenda, as the international environment becomes more and more affected by conflict and violence.

Existing international instruments, especially the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment and its Optional Protocol enabled us with much a needed framework for the elimination of torture and other forms of ill-treatment. As a party to the Convention against Torture since 1991, my country attaches great importance to those issues and remains committed to prevent, prohibit, investigate and punish every act of torture or other cruel and degrading treatment or punishment.

Mr. Chairman,

My delegation was an active participant in the Working Group to draft the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and supported its adoption in the General Assembly. Just two months ago, the Croatian Minster for Foreign Affairs signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture during the current session of the General Assembly.

The Optional Protocol to the Convention provides a valuable complement to the Convention, and offers additional guarantees to ensure full implementation of the Convention. Aiming at the establishment of a system of regular visits by independent international and national bodies to the places of deprivation of liberty, it further prevents torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Optional Protocol also creates an independent international monitoring mechanism whose members are distinct from those serving on the supervisory committee for the treaty.

For a number of years, the existence of the international visiting system has been a standard within the Council of Europe, where it has proven its effectiveness in torture prevention and the improvement of detention conditions. This Protocol partially follows the idea of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and will therefore enable the application of a similar mechanism on the global level. Furthermore, as an important novelty this Protocol lays down criteria for the establishment of national visiting mechanisms. This is the first time an international instrument prescribes the complementary functioning of national and international mechanisms with the common aim of implementing an international standard at the national levels.

Mr. Chairman,

Allow me to emphasize that torture, or inhuman or degrading treatment in correctional institutions is defined as a crime in Croatia's Penal Code.
The Prison Sentence Execution Act complies with international principles on the treatment of prisoners stipulating that the primary purpose of serving prison sentences, wherein the persons serving such sentences are to be treated humanely with due respect for their dignity, is to rehabilitate them for life outside of prison pursuant to the law and general social standards.
Under the provisions of this law, each convict is entitled to: accommodation suitable to human dignity and health standards, protection of individuality and confidentiality of personal data, regular meals and water in line with health standards, work, education, professional legal assistance and the legal means to defend his or her rights, health-care protection, contact with the outside world, time spent in the outdoor areas of the prison complex or detention facility for not less than two hours daily, correspondence and consultation with his or her attorney, religious services and conversations with authorized representatives of the clergy, marriage in prison or detention, voting in general elections, and other rights foreseen by the law.
A particular novelty in this law is the introduction of the sentence advocate, who protects the rights of convicts, verifies the legality of served prison sentences, and ensures the equality of the convict before the law. The independent bodies which oversee conditions in prisons, jails and other correctional facilities are the courts, the General Ombudsman Office, the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations. At a recently held meeting of the General Ombudsman, and the Head of the Government's Office for Human Rights, the General Ombudsman expressed high remarks for conditions in Croatian prisons.

Other pertinent legislation includes the Criminal Proceedings Act, which stipulates the rules to protect persons from any form of harassment and which also applies to persons held in detention. The Criminal, Business Infraction and Misdemeanor Sanctions Act governs treatment during the execution of sanctions based on crimes, infractions committed when doing business, and misdemeanors.

Mr. Chairman,

In conclusion, in line with the policy of universal ratification of international human rights documents and as an active and long-standing supporter of this Protocol, the Republic of Croatia considers the signing of the Protocol a matter of the utmost importance. In order to strengthen the system of global promotion and protection of human rights, Croatia would like to encourage other members of the United Nations that have not yet done so to undertake this important commitment and sign the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture as soon as possible.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.