18 August 2016, Banjul, The Gambia
The Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights wishes to inform the general public that the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa (‘the Committee’ or ‘CPTA’), in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) and the Redress Trust (Redress), convened the Second Drafting Retreat for the General Comment on redress for victims of torture and other ill-treatment from 15 – 17 August 2016, in Nairobi, Kenya.
The First Drafting Retreat, held from 1 – 3 February 2016, generated the zero draft of the General Comment which was then uploaded on the Commission’s website for feedback from stakeholders.
Within the three months set deadline, the Committee received twenty-three (23) contributions from various stakeholders.
The aim of the Second Drafting Retreat was to review the zero draft General Comment in view of these contributions. The retreat reviewed each section of the zero draft General Comment taking account of the feedback received.
The Meeting brought together sixteen participants, including Honourable Commissioner Lawrence M. Mute (Chairperson of CPTA), Mme Hannah Forster (Member of CPTA), as well as representatives of CSVR, Redress, Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (MDAC), Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), Amnesty International, and the Centre for Reproductive Rights.
The Committee expresses its sincere gratitude to all stakeholders who sent their contributions on the zero draft General Comment, as well as all participants of the Second Drafting Retreat who were involved in the meticulous process of reviewing the zero draft General Comment.
The Committee will now finalise the draft General Comment for presentation to the Commission.
