OSCE/ODIHR facilitates dialogue between members of UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The establishment of a national body to monitor places of detention in Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of efforts to prevent torture and other ill-treatment was the focus of high-level meetings in Sarajevo, supported by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, on 5 and 6 February 2018.

ODIHR invited members of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT), whose mandate includes advising and assisting states on establishing national preventive mechanisms (NPMs), to provide expert advice and share good practices during meetings with representatives of all ministries and institutions involved in this process in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“ODIHR supported these meetings to facilitate an open dialogue between the state authorities and members of the UN Subcommittee. The aim is to provide expert advice at a very early stage of establishing an NPM,” said Omer Fisher, Head of ODIHR’s Human Rights Department. “ODIHR can effectively contribute to the prevention of torture by assisting OSCE participating States in this manner, in conjunction with the Subcommittee.”

Victor Zaharia, the SPT's Vice-Chairperson, said: "To set-up, designate or maintain one or several visiting bodies for the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on the domestic level is a core requirement of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture."

As part of the visit, the joint delegation met with representatives of the country’s ombuds institution. They discussed the institution’s potential role as an NPM, including possible challenges, and good practices of NPMs in the OSCE region and beyond. The role of civil society in the creation of an NPM and the independent monitoring of places of detention was highlighted at a separate roundtable meeting with NGO representatives.

“The OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina appreciates the support for the establishment of an NPM in the country,” said Ambassador Bruce G. Berton, the Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. “These efforts require the involvement of a wide array of actors, including the ombuds institution, which is key to ensuring the protection of human rights in this country, and civil society organizations, whose work helps ensure respect for the human rights of persons detained in facilities governed by authorities.”

The establishment of an effective, independent NPM, in accordance with OPCAT provisions, is considered a good practice in the fight against torture in the OSCE region. Bosnia and Herzegovina has been party to OPCAT since 2008.