DUSHANBE, May 13, 2014, Asia-Plus — Amnesty International has reported on torture or other ill-treatment in 141 countries over the past five years – virtually every country in which it works.
New global survey of more than 21,000 people in 21 countries across every continent reveals fear of torture exists in all these countries.
Torture is rife across the Asia-Pacific region, with China and North Korea among the worst offenders and a host of other governments betraying promises to stamp it out, Amnesty International said today as it launched its latest global campaign, Stop Torture.
“Torture is a fact of life in countries across Asia. The problem isn’t limited to a few rogue states, but is endemic throughout the region,” said Richard Bennett, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.
“Asian countries must stop paying lip service to their commitment to end torture. Signing up to the international treaties is important but not enough. It must be backed up with concrete action.”
The two-year campaign, Stop Torture, launches with a new media briefing, Torture in 2014: 30 Years of Broken Promises, which provides an overview of the use of torture in the world today.
In 2014, thirty years after the UN adopted the 1984 Convention against Torture – which commits all governments to combating the abuse – Amnesty International observed at least 23 Asia-Pacific countries still torturing or ill-treating. Given the secretive nature of the abuse, the true number is likely to be higher.
Torture is used by governments against a range of individuals across Asia-Pacific.
The human rights watchdog says many governments are “two-faced” about torture – “prohibiting it in law but facilitating it in practice.”
Radio Liberty reports that as part of its campaign, Amnesty focused on Uzbekistan where, it says, torture remains pervasive but those responsible are rarely prosecuted. The rights group said courts in Uzbekistan frequently rely on confessions obtained by torture. Complains about torture can lead to serious reprisals, including harassment, intimidation, and more torture. According to Amnesty International, torture methods allegedly used by Uzbek law-enforcement agencies include beatings, asphyxiation, and rape.
John Dalhuisen, the director of Amnesty International”s Europe and Central Asia program, said there is not a single country in Central Asia, which has a clean record on torture.
Dalhuisen criticized Central Asian countries for what he described as their “institutionalized culture of impunity, incredibly poor investigations that lack all independence and thoroughness, and the political establishment that insensitive to demands of their population to stamp out the problem.”
Amnesty International notes that suspected members of Islamist groups are particularly at risk of torture across Central Asia and Russia.
Amnesty International has documented various forms of torture and other ill-treatment used in different countries across the Asia-Pacific region, ranging from North Korea’s brutal labor camps, to Australia’s off-shore processing centers for asylum seekers or Japan’s death rows – where prisoners are kept in isolation, sometimes for decades. Impunity for torturers and denial of justice and reparations to victims are the norm across the region.
Amnesty International is calling on governments in Asia-Pacific to put in place protective mechanisms to prevent and punish torture – such as impartial medical examinations, prompt access to lawyers and courts, independent checks on places of detention, effective investigations of torture allegations, the prosecution of suspects and proper redress for victims.
