National Committee to Combat and Prevent Torture
Organizations call for haste in the appointment of committee members
In July 2016, the organizations were chosen that would serve on the CNPCT (National Committee to Combat and Prevent Torture) for the next two years. However, four months later, the appointment of the members has still not been sanctioned by the government. As a result, organizations including Conectas have sent a letter to the Minister of Justice, Alexandre de Moraes, and to the Human Rights Secretary, Flávia Piovesan, calling for the swift appointment of the new members.
The delay has paralyzed the work of a body that is central to the implementation and monitoring of public policies to combat torture in Brazil, jeopardizing actions aimed at preventing torture on the national level and also blocking the selection of new experts for the National Torture Prevention Mechanism.
“For the state policy to combat torture – as established in the existing federal legislation – to be effective, it is essential for this body to be reactivated as quickly as possible and for it to resume the performance of its legal duties,” said the organizations in the letter.
The CNPCT was created by federal law no. 12,847/2013 to help combat torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in detention facilities, by proposing actions and programs geared towards the eradication of torture in Brazil, by monitoring administrative and judicial investigation procedures and by following through on the recommendations resulting from inspections made at detention centers.
The letter was signed, besides Conectas, by ASBRAD (Brazilian Association for the Defense of Women), ANCED (National Association of Centers for the Defense of Children and Adolescents), ANDHEP (National Association of Human Rights, Research and Graduate Studies), APT (Association for the Prevention of Torture), the Maria dos Anjos Center for the Defense of Children and Adolescents, Human Rights Watch, CFP (Federal Psychology Council), IBCCRIM (Brazilian Criminal Sciences Institute), ITTC (Land, Employment and Citizenship Institute), Justiça Global and SMDH (Maranhão Society of Human Rights).
- Click here to read the letter in full.
