National human rights institutions (NHRIs) in South-East Asia have discussed approaches and activities that will form the foundation for national action plans on torture prevention, as part of an interactive dialogue with the APT.
Thirty representatives from the NHRIs of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Timor Leste took part in a hybrid meeting on 21 July 2023, hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT).
The meeting – held with members of the Working Group on Torture Prevention for the Southeast Asia National Human Rights Institution Forum (SEANF) – examined the critical role of NHRIs to prevent torture and ill-treatment and the need for this work to be integrated into institutional planning.
The SEANF Guidelines on Torture Prevention set out practical ways that NHRIs can contribute to national torture prevention efforts, said APT Regional Project Officer Manachaya Yankittikul.
These include promoting legal reform, providing training programmes, raising public awareness, collaborating with civil society organisations and engaging in constructive dialogue with law enforcement agencies
Ms Yankittikul also encouraged NHRIs to raise awareness and promote the use of the Méndez Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering.
“NHRIs acts as a bridge between the international and national human rights systems and are well placed to advocate for implementation of the Méndez Principles at the domestic level,” she said.
The APT will lead discussion on this topic at the GANHRI International Conference for NHRIs in November 2023.
During the meeting, the NHRCT shared its national action plan on torture prevention, which will run for the two-year period of 2024-2025. While still finialising their respective national action plans, the other participating NHRIs shared examples of recent torture prevention activities:
- Malaysia: Advocacy for ratification of the UN Convention against Torture and cooperation with the APT on a police training module and under the #SafeInCustody project
- Philippines: Advocacy for the establishment of the National Preventive Mechanism and partnering to host the BASTA Run, bringing together 400 representatives from government, police and CSOs on the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
- Timor Leste: Delivery of a training programme for prison guards, supported by the APT.
The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission participated in the meeting as an observer.
Prior to the discussion, participants from the NHRIs of Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Timor Leste conducted a visit to the Central Women's Correctional Institution in Bangkok, where they interacted with detainees and correction staff.
