24/03/2023

New application seeks to close gaps in vital UN human rights convention

An international team of human rights lawyers has filed a joint communication to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (UNCAT) highlighting the failings in the global system for reparations for victims of torture and sexual violence in conflict.

The application, brought on behalf of a group of Yazidi women who are victims of acts of torture inflicted by Islamic State leaders, identifies a significant gap in the UNCAT framework, as these torture survivors have been unable to obtain redress for their suffering from any of the states which are connected to these acts.

UNCAT is a cornerstone of the international legal framework for protecting human rights and preventing international crimes. Accepted as binding by the vast majority of states, with 173 parties, the convention creates a global system aimed at eliminating torture.

Participating states commit to prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators of acts of torture, while also accepting the responsibility to provide redress to the victims of these crimes. While all participating states have made a commitment to ensuring that all victims of torture are able to obtain an effective remedy for their suffering, the convention is silent as to which states should be required to provide that remedy in circumstances where a number of states are connected to the victims and to the acts which they suffered.

Dr Brendan Plant is a member of the team who have made the application, instructed by Hogan Lovells and alongside counsel from 11 KBW, Doughty Street and Matrix Chambers.

“While the system established by the Convention Against Torture has achieved many successes,” Dr Plant said, “it remains imperfect, especially in respect of the protections it offers to the victims of these heinous crimes. While this application aims to ensure that the rights to redress of these Yazidi women are finally given meaningful effect, it also seeks to highlight and resolve a significant legal problem within the convention – one which has obvious and frequently distressing human consequences.”

An international team of investigators, experts and advisers in numerous jurisdictions have helped in constructing the strongest possible response to a complicated legal question.

“In its effort to obtain justice for these torture survivors,” Dr Plant continued, “this work represents a concerted effort to improve the integrity and efficacy of the system of human rights protection created by the Convention Against Torture, in the hope that a more complete form of justice – one which pays as much regard to upholding the rights of victims as it does to the punishment of perpetrators – may be achieved.”

Read more about the application on the Howell Logan website.