On 3 October 2019, the 165 States who are party to the UN Convention against Torture will meet in Geneva to elect five members to the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) as the term of the following five members ends on 31 December 2019:
- Ms Felice Gaer (United States)
- Mr Abdelwahab Hani (Tunisia)
- Mr Claude Heller Rouassant (Mexico)
- Ms Ana Racu (Moldova)
- Mr Sébastien Touzé (France)
APT joins a number of other non-governmental human rights organisations to publicly call on states parties to the Convention to identify and nominate the most qualified candidates, following a public process at the national level, and taking into account key criteria that all members sitting on the Committee should meet, in particular:
- Be persons of high moral standing;
- Have recognised competence and experience in the field of human rights, in particular in relation to the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment, monitoring of places of detention, documentation, investigation or prosecution of torture and other ill-treatment, or expertise in the rehabilitation of survivors of torture or other ill-treatment;
- Serve in their personal capacity and in full independence from State authorities.
It is also key that, when nominating, states give due consideration to the importance of diversity in the membership of the Committee, including geographical and gender representation.
For more on the key criteria, please click here.
