On 27 July 2015 the Committee against Torture opened its fifty-fifth session. In an opening statement, Carla Edelenbos, a representative of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that the appalling situation of migrants had been highlighted by the High Commissioner at the interactive dialogue on the human rights of migrants at the twenty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council in June 2015.

All States had been reminded of their human rights obligations, including the full respect of migrants’ right to be treated with dignity. People should be afforded the same standard of protection against violations of the Convention against Torture, regardless of how and when they had arrived to a country. It was fundamental to remind States that they should protect vulnerable people and not victimise them.

Ms. Edelenbos reiterated that the revised Standard Minimal Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, called the "Mandela Rules", had been adopted by the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice on 22 May 2015. It was expected that a resolution containing the revised rules would be adopted by the General Assembly in December 2015.

The "Mandela Rules" introduced the basic principle of the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment under any circumstances. They also broadened and clarified the standards on discipline and sanctions, prohibiting practices such as indefinite solitary confinement and reduction of diet or drinking water.

During the session, the Committee will consider the reports of Slovakia, Iraq and Switzerland.

Adapted from the UN