CAT

International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) 

Adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 39/46 of 10 December 1984. Entry into force on 26 June 1987, in accordance with article 27(1). With regard to migrant workers: see articles 3 and 6.

Status of ratification, reservations and declarations

The Committee Against Torture (CAT) is the body that monitors implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment  by its State parties.

CAT ‘s migrant-related issues are mostly concluding observations on European countries and on conditions of detention and removal of foreigners in an irregular situation: detention and procedures of expulsion often break the Convention, especially regarding discriminatory practices and non-refoulement clause. The Committee also expresses concerns about the difficulties faced by victims of abuse to obtain redress and adequate compensation, in particular when they are immigrants. For further information on the topic see The UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies and Migrants Workers: a Samizdat.

Main CAT’s General Comments concerning migrants:

• CAT General Comment N. 1 (1997), Implementation of article 3 of the Convention in the context of article 22, declares: “No State Party shall expel, return (refouler) or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.”

Documents and links:

- Fact Sheet No.17,  The Committee against Torture

- The Optional Protocol to the Convention creates the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), that has a mandate to visit places where persons are deprived of their liberty in the States parties

- Participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to the reporting process to the Committee against Torture