OPCAT News
Iceland Ratifies the OPCAT
The ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture by Iceland brings the number of states who have ratified the treaty to 89. Following amendments to the law on the Parliamentary Ombudsman in Iceland in December 2018, aimed at bringing it into...
Video: Detention, Human Rights and the OPCAT
'Detention, Human Rights and the OPCAT' was co-hosted by the Irish Penal Reform Trust and the Irish Criminal Bar Association on Monday 12 November 2018. Details on the event are available through the link above. Event highlights are available on Youtube.
APT publishes “Towards the effective protection of LGBTI persons deprived of liberty”
In this practical guide “Towards the effective protection of LGBTI persons deprived of liberty” the APT offers practical guidance on how to account for sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics in a torture prevention framework. The manual aims to...
Submissions to UNCAT on Ireland’s one year follow-up report
In its Concluding Observations in August 2017, the UN Committee against Torture called for follow-up from the State on three issues: ratification of the OPCAT; strengthening the independence of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission; and the investigation of...
Border Criminologies: HMIP Detention Monitoring Methodology
As part of an ESRC IAA funded project, the ‘Border Criminologies’ research group in the University of Oxford has published a briefing paper outlining the methodology used by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), which inspects places of confinement in the UK, including...
Prison Law Seminar: Detention, Human Rights and the OPCAT
The Irish Penal Reform Trust and the Irish Criminal Bar Association co-hosted a seminar on Detention, Human Rights and the OPCAT on Monday 12th November 2018 at 4.30pm in the Ormond Meeting Rooms, Ormond Quay, Dublin 7. Ireland signed the Optional Protocol to the UN...
The Irish Times: Ireland has not ratified a protocol to prevent torture in places of detention
The Irish Times today (08.08.2018) published an OpEd by IPRT Executive Director Deirdre Malone, discussing Ireland's failure to ratify OPCAT. "At the end of the week, the Government is due to report to the United Nations Committee against Torture on how it is...
Ratification of torture prevention treaty will bolster Ireland’s position on international stage – IPRT
IPRT PRESS RELEASE 5th July 2018 Ratification of torture prevention treaty will bolster Ireland’s position on international stage – IPRT The Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has welcomed the commitment made by Minister for Justice and Equality Mr Charles Flanagan TD in...
Report on Penal Reform and Sentencing
The Joint Committee on Justice and Equality have published their 2018 Report on Penal Reform and Sentencing. The report is based on a series of public meetings held in 2017 with various contributing stakeholder groups. The Committee focused on measures that could be...
Irish Examiner: Migrants’ detention in breach of human rights
Around 28,000 people were refused entry between 2008 and 2016, according to Nasc’s (Irish Immigrant Support Centre) Immigration Detention and Border Control in Ireland report which was launched in Cork on 13 March 2018. Nasc, the Irish Refugee and Migrant Rights...
Australia ratifies OPCAT
Today Australia has taken the final step necessary to ratify and implement a major international treaty that combats torture and other forms of mistreatment. OPCAT will require Australia to create a regime of independent inspections for all places of detention, as...
Oireachtas Seminar
Senator Ivana Bacik hosted IPRT at an All Party Penal Reform Group Briefing Seminar of the 32nd Dáil and the 25th Seanad on Wednesday 13th December 2017 at 10.30am in the AV Room, Leinster House. Chaired by Senator Bacik, speakers were Deirdre Malone (Irish Penal...
SPT carries out first visit to Morocco
The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) carried out its first visit to Morocco from 22 to 28 October 2017. The visit’s main objective was to advise and support the Government on the establishment of a national mechanism for the prevention of...
SPT to visit Rwanda to advise establishment of NPM
The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) is due to visit Rwanda from 15 to 21 October to advise the authorities on the establishment of a national detention monitoring body officially known as the National Prevention Mechanism (NPM). The SPT will...
State’s response to OPCAT questioning
During Ireland’s second periodic hearing under the UN Convention against Torture, John Garry, Principal Officer, Criminal Law Reform Division, Department of Justice and Equality, stated that Ireland remains committed to ratifying the Optional Protocol to the...
Irish Examiner: Gaps in independent probes of detention units
There is no independent inspection in Ireland of a range of detention facilities, including Garda stations, prisoner transport and immigration units, according to an expert report. The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission called on the Government to implement a...
The Irish Times: Concern as Ireland fails to ratify UN protocol on places of detention
Ireland has yet to ratify a UN agreement allowing for the inspection of places of detention despite the then government signing it a decade ago today. While some places of detention, such as prisons, have their own inspection regimes, others such as Garda stations and...
UN experts urge Panama to promptly put into effect the national mechanism for the prevention of torture
The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), at the end of their first visit to Panama, urged the State Party of Panama to promptly put in place an independent and effective national mechanism for the prevention of torture compliant with international standards....
UNCAT release Concluding Observations on Ireland
The UN Committee against Torture has published its Concluding Observations on Ireland’s second periodic hearing under the UN Convention against Torture, which is available to read here. The Committee has produced a thorough list of recommendations, in which...
Government Under Pressure To Ratify Treaty Against Torture
Original post by KFM, available here. The Government is coming under pressure to ratify a treaty against torture after committing to it 10 years ago. The issue is expected to be highlighted in a series of recommendations being published today by the United Nation's...