Joint follow-up submission to the Concluding Observations of the United Nations Committee against Torture 2014

In advance of the upcoming review of the follow –up information to the Concluding Observations (CAT/C/TJK/CO/2) provided by the Government on 5 February 2014, Amnesty International and the Coalition against Torture of Tajikistan, a coalition uniting 14 NGOs across Tajikistan, submit the following information in relation to paragraphs 8, 9, 11, and 14 and 15 of the Concluding Observations to the United Nations (UN) Committee against Torture (the Committee or the Committee against Torture). This document supplements the information submitted by Amnesty International and by the Coalition against Torture prior to the 49^th session in November 2012.

On 15 August 2013, Matlubkhon Davlatov, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan and Chairman of the Commission for the Implementation of International Human Rights Obligations, approved a government Action Plan for implementation of the recommendations issued by the Committee against Torture after its review of Tajikistan in November 2012 and the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (hereafter the Special Rapporteur on Torture) during his visit to Tajikistan in May 2012 (A/HRC/22/53.Add.1). The Action Plan foresees a series of actions purportedly intended to ensure the implementation of these recommendations and provides details of timelines and the authorities responsible for implementation.

While noting this positive development, Amnesty International and the Coalition against Torture regret that Tajikistani civil society organizations were not involved in drawing up the Action Plan and that the comments and recommendations the Coalition against Torture sent to the authorities were not reflected in the final document.

Regrettably, the Action plan does not provide clear indicators which would allow for implementation to be measured or assessed. For example, the plan proposes measures such as “studying the possibility of” and “analysis of the necessity of developing and implementing” and does not refer to concrete activities to implement the recommendations made by the Committee against Torture. State representatives report that working groups have been set up for the implementation of the recommendations, but civil society in Tajikistan has not been informed about the composition and focus of these working groups. Annex 1 to this document contains a comparative table of the Committee’s recommendations and how these have been or fail to be included in the Action Plan.

The NGO Coalition against Torture in Tajikistan received financial assistance from the European Union for its contribution to the production of this document. The contents of the document are the sole responsibility of the organizations issuing it and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the positions of the European Union.

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