Transparency and participation
National Committee to Combat and Prevent Torture announces measures to broaden dialogue with civil society
The CNPCT (National Committee to Combat and Prevent Torture), a body linked to the Ministry of Women, Racial Equality and Human Rights, declared on December 7, 2015, that is has adopted important measures to broaden transparency and social participation in its work.
The announcement came in response to repeated requests from APT (Association for the Prevention of Torture), Conectas and Justiça Global since August 2015 calling for greater clarity in the committee’s working procedures and for the adoption of mechanisms to enable greater dialogue with civil society organizations and social movements.
Among the measures, the CNPCT has agreed to create procedures for the participation of non-member organizations in its meetings, to disclose in advance its annual conference schedule and to publish the minutes of these meetings on its website.
“Dialogue between Brazilian organizations that work on combating torture and the CNPCT is essential to strengthen the effectiveness of its actions. Accordingly, the transparency of the work of the committee is vital for this dialogue to take place,” said Vivian Calderoni, a lawyer for the Justice program at Conectas. “It is precisely in this regard that the APT, Conectas and Justiça Global believe that social movements and organizations should make use of these opportunities and the potential for strategic dialogue that the National Torture Prevention System offers to make progress in the struggle against torture,” she said.
As one of the bodies of the so-called “National System to Combat and Prevent Torture”, the CNPCT is a committee comprised of 11 government bodies and 12 civil society organizations that have the goal to help combat torture in confinement facilities, such as prisons, police stations, old people’s homes and psychiatric hospitals.
- Click here to read a summary of the measures announced by the CNPCT.
