Nineteen staff members from NHRIs from Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Oman and Palestine participated in a six week blended-learning course on torture prevention held by the Asia-Pacific Forum (APF) and the APT.
After receiving their certificates from Commissioner General Dr. Mousa Burayzat, head of the Jordanian National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), on 28 March 2014 in Amman, participants committed to support each other in their endeavour to uphold human dignity everywhere, including in closed lockups and other places of detention.
The course had commenced with a five week online training in January, and was the first such training provided in Arabic. Course participants exchanged experiences and views on UN human rights mechanisms, reform of national legislation, the raising of awareness amongst the public and the training of law enforcement officers. The use of solitary confinement, the vulnerability of foreigners in detention and the monitoring of juvenile detention centres were also covered.
The face-to-face workshop was hosted by the Jordanian NCHR, who organised, together with the Jordanian authorities, a prison visiting exercise which enabled the participants to put skills into practice.
