The All-Party Parliamentary Human Rights Group (PHRG) was pleased to attend this meeting held by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

The meeting was chaired by Malcolm Evans, Professor of Public International Law at the University of Bristol, who noted the successes of the OPCAT since its inception, and argued that it is the most powerful and innovative of the UN’s human rights treaties.

Baroness Anelay, Minister for State of the FCO, reiterated the UK Government’s commitment to ending torture around the world. She also praised the work of OPCAT for helping to improve oversight and scrutiny of places of detention, which is vital for ending torture.

John Wadham, Chair of the UK’s National Preventative Mechanism, then spoke about the mechanism and its importance in preventing ill-treatment in detention in the UK. He said that the mechanism will be focusing more protecting vulnerable people, such as those with mental health problems.

Finally, Susan Jabbour, an elected member of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), spoke about the role OPCAT should play in ensuring that the large number of displaced peoples and refugees around the world are protected from torture. She also noted the successes of OPCAT’s practice of joined-up working between international bodies, as torture prevention depends upon many different areas of expertise.

The PHRG campaigns extensively against the use of torture around the world, including by drawing attention to countries where torture is practiced and by encouraging ratification of the UN Convention against Torture and OPCAT.