[JURIST] A UN human rights expert on Wednesday urged [statement] UN member states to make a greater effort to tackle domestic corruption, stating that a clear link exists between torture and corrupt practices. The chairperson of the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) [official website], Malcolm Evans [official profile], presented the SPT’s annual report to the General Assembly’s Third Committee. According to the SPT’s findings, torture and ill-treatment are less likely to be discovered or prosecuted [press release] in states with higher levels of corruption, making it more difficult for the SPT to prevent it. Evans went on to stress that the protocol that the states need to follow in addressing torture is not a set of abstract legal obligations, but rather an established set of practical tools. The SPT was established pursuant to the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture [text], which was adopted by the General Assembly in 2002. Its role is to prevent and eliminate torture and cruel treatment and punishment of detainees.

Torture remains a human rights issue worldwide despite a call from UN [JURIST report] officials in June to end torture in celebration of International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Earlier this month the Supreme Court of Canada ruled [JURIST report] that citizens cannot sue foreign governments for torture as a result of the country’s State Immunity Act, which gives foreign states immunity from the jurisdiction of any Canadian court. Also this month the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] warned [JURIST report] that, despite the fragile ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, abuses such as abductions, torture and ill-treatment still affect local civilians daily. In September Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] released a report condemning [JURIST report] Nigeria’s police and military for their systematic and routine use of torture on detainees. AI also launched [JURIST report] a world-wide anti-torture campaign in May.