Burkina Faso: National torture prevention mechanism launched

On the morning of Tuesday July 4, 2023, the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and its partners launched the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture and Related Practices (MNPT). The workshop, which took place on July 4 and 5, 2023, was used to present the results of visits to places of deprivation of liberty. The workshop brought together human rights defenders, actors in the penal chain, NGOs, civil society organizations, defense and security forces, institutions, technical and financial partners, etc.

Burkina Faso has ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). This convention requires each member state to set up one or more specific national bodies to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. One aspect of this mission involves visits to places where people are deprived of their liberty.

In Burkina Faso, the CNDH has been designated as the national mechanism for the prevention of torture and similar practices. It is law n°001-2016/AN of March 24, 2016 establishing the CNDH and its law n°002-2021/AN of March 30, 2021 that deal with this mandate of the commission. As a national preventive mechanism, the CNDH's remit includes preventing torture and related practices. For the CNDH, this mandate implies the right of unrestricted access to places of deprivation of liberty, as well as their equipment and facilities, and the production of an annual report on the national torture prevention mechanism.

It is with the aim of enabling the general public and the various stakeholders to become familiar with the CNDH's mandate that this workshop is being held to launch the mechanism and report on the results of visits to places of deprivation of liberty. The aim of this workshop is to raise awareness of the national mechanism for the prevention of torture (MNPT), in order to contribute more to its implementation. It also aims to raise awareness of the CNDH's role in preventing torture in Burkina Faso. The workshop will also provide an opportunity to report on the results of visits to places of detention, to discuss improvements and shortcomings observed during visits to places of deThe workshop will also provide an opportunity to review the results of visits to places of detention, discuss improvements and shortcomings observed during visits to places of detention, and lay the foundations for constructive and ongoing dialogue with actors in the criminal justice system on the prevention of torture and related practices.

The organization of this event was made possible thanks to the support of the American Bar Association'srican Bar Association-Rule of Law Initiative (ABA-ROLI) as part of the USAID-funded "Human Rights and Access to Justice in Burkina Faso" program."and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), as part of the "Integrated support for the criminal justice systems of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger" program funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

In line with its mandate, the CNDH, with the collaboration of various stakeholders, visited several places of deprivation of liberty, according to Alida Henriette Da, President of the CNDH. These included police custody cells in police stations, gendarmerie brigades, prisons and correctional facilities in various localities, the army's prison and correctional facility, and the high-security prison. "These visits resulted in analysis reports with recommendations to the relevant authorities," explains Alida Henriette Da.

The President of the CNDH also regretted the non-collaboration of certain actors in the field, and recalled the need to make the MNPT better known. "I would like to pay tribute to the collaboration and support of the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Security and the Ministry of Justice, which have enabled my institution to carry out these activities. I would also like to appeal to certain operational players in the field who have refused to take part.

Fortunately, they are in the minority. This clearly shows that the CNDH's mandate is not known to all players, and the work of presenting the MNPT must continue in all regions of the country for the benefit of the population, human rights defense and protection players and players in the penal chain", explains Alida Henriette Da.

In order to fulfill its mandate, the CNDH, through its president, will also undertake visits to psychiatric centers and any other centers where people are held or detained. Alida Henriette Da urged participants to make this workshop an opportunity for fruitful exchange and sharing, in order to give a new impetus to the prevention of torture in Burkina Faso.

According to Alain Kisombwé, Country Director of ABA-ROLI, his organization, through the "Human Rights and Access to Justice in Burkina Faso" project, has facilitated exchanges of experience with other national human rights institutions in neighboring countries that have already experimented with the implementation of the MNPT's mandate. This has enabled the CNDH Burkina Faso to save time and resources, and to be immediately ready to play its new role.

Alain Kisombwé reaffirmed the commitment of the "Human Rights and Access to Justice in Burkina Faso" program to support the CNDH's efforts to promote and protect human rights. "I am convinced that, with everyone's support, the CNDH will continue to make its contribution to building a Burkina Faso where everyone can live without fear of torture. everyone can live without fear of torture, where human rights are respected, and where human dignity is protected", he declared.

Urbain Yaméogo, representing IDLO's Country Director, also recalled that their structure had supported the CNDH in several missions to monitor places of detention and trials. While thanking the Kingdom of the Netherlands for its financial support, Urbain Yaméogo also praised the mobilization of various players in support of the MNPT.

"I would like to salute the mobilization of all the players in their diversity: ministries and institutions, public authorities at central, decentralized and deconcentrated levels, the PTFs, the courts, the FDS, in particular the investigative sub-units, who work in different areas of the country.s who work in particularly difficult conditions, CSOs and NGOs, professional associations and all those involved in the criminal justice chain. We are convinced that it is together that we will accompany the CNDH so that it properly assumes the attributions conferred to it by virtue of the MNPT", he maintains.

Source: lefaso.net/