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Professor Malcolm Evans reflects on UN subcommittee Cyprus visit

Malcolm Evans

3 February 2016

Sir Malcolm Evans reflects on the United Nations' successes with torture prevention in Cyprus.

Sir Malcolm Evans, Professor of Public International Law and chair of the UN Subcommittee on the Preventiuon of Torture, was in Cyprus between January 25 - 29, monitoring how the country is meeting their treaty obligations of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. The delegation was made up of Professor Evans, Mari Amos (Estonia), Margret Osterfeld (Germany), and Paul Lam Shang Leen (Mauritius).

“We were very pleased to have visited Cyprus and take note of improvements.  But the situation of those in immigration detention centres requires careful attention. It is so important to ensure that such detention is only resorted to when it is strictly necessary. The conditions of detention should reflect the fact that such places are not prisons and those detained are not prisoners.”

“It is vital that all those whose legal situation is unclear, whether asylum seekers or those detained for infringement of immigration rules, are promptly and fully informed of what is happening to them. This is an essential safeguard for their wellbeing,” said Malcolm.

The delegation accompanied members of the independent Cypriot body that monitors places of detention to the Menoyia Detention Centre, where people are held pending the outcome of their asylum application. The Centre has in the past seen riots, protests and hunger strikes.

The SPT also held discussions with representatives of the Cypriot monitoring body, officially known as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), on how they work and the challenges they face in fulfilling their role.

“We are particularly concerned that the National Preventive Mechanism for torture prevention, which is a part of the Ombudsman’s office, should be much better resourced financially and have its legal powers reviewed so that it can continue and expand its good work. It currently does not have the capacity to work as the Optional Protocol requires,” Professor Evans noted.

Following the visit, the SPT will submit a confidential report to the Government of Cyprus, containing its observations and recommendations on prevention of torture and ill-treatment of individuals deprived of their liberty.  As with all other States, the SPT is encouraging Cyprus to make this report public.

“I am sure that working together in a spirit of cooperation and collaboration, we will be able to help the Cypriot authorities make progress in achieving a betterment for all those who are in detention,” concluded Professor Evans.

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