Professor Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón Participates in the 68th Session of the UN Committee Against Torture
Professor Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, co-director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law participates in the 68th session of the United Nations Committee against Torture in Geneva, Switzerland from November 11 to December 6, 2019.
Professor Rodríguez-Pinzón served as Rapporteur of the Committee that considered Latvia’s sixth periodic report on state party’s measures to give effect to its obligations under the United Nations Convention against Torture, which held on November 20 and 22, 2019. During the review, Professor Rodríguez-Pinzón sought clarification on a number of issues including the steps taken to align the definition of torture in Latvia’s criminal code with the requirements of the convention and the need to ensure independent review of torture complaints. A video link to his comments is available here.
Professor Rodríguez-Pinzón also served as Co-Rapporteur in the country review of Uzbekistan where he requested further elaboration on several issues including the status of the draft legislation on free legal aid as a significant step towards guaranteeing access to justice, and the incompatibility with the convention of any amnesties granted by the state party to perpetrators of torture. Video links to his comments are available here and here.
Professor Rodríguez-Pinzón also participated in the country reviews of Burkina Faso, Cyprus, Portugal and Niger.