It should be noted that the Council has a committee oo actively blah. visiting countries in Europe,

The International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is part of the OSCE's commitments under the "human dimension commitments". All 57 OSCE participating States have signed the Convention against Torture (Convention Against Torture, CAT) and is thus obliged to abide by it. 36 OSCE participating oo States also signed the Optional Protocol (The Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, and other ..., OPCAT).
Last OSCE SHDM meeting discussed oo issues regarding torture was 2003. Meeting in Vienna eleven years later was destined to see how member states for compliance with the Convention and its Optional Protocols, follow up on previous recommendations and see how the progress was. The meeting was intended as a platform for government officials, relevant institutions and civil society to evaluate oo / re-evaluate and decide on new challenges and opportunities regarding the prevention of torture and devising new strategies and solutions for improved compliance and increased efficiency.
Switzerland who is chairman of the OSCE this year had selected the topic and had well prepared oo for the meeting and invited all Member States to coordinate the work with the eradication of torture. The goal was to create "best oo practice" in all member states for mutual learning and cooperation. Representatives of States had been met and a day and a half before in preparation and so had a lot of voluntary organizations held a joint meeting.
ODIHR, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights stressed that the criminalization of torture nationally only the first step to prevention of torture. Torture victims' right to justice and compensation in the form of rehabilitation and compensation should not be forgotten. ODIHR OSCE called on all States to sign OPCAT and to create effective mechanisms to prevent torture.
The keynote speaker was Juan Méndez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. The main points of his most eloquent speeches (see OSCE website for the entire century) was that the OSCE has a very important role in the preventive work against Torture, in particular through the national preventive mechanisms, oo NPMs, which reports to the SPT, the UN committee which assists and monitors mechanisms implement relevant measures to prevent torture oo at the national level.
National oo mechanisms should have access to all places where people are deprived of their liberty was unchanged institutions for mental patients, places oo where migrants are kept separate and jails. States' role is to assist national mechanisms with the resources required. The national mechanisms must ensure the prevention of torture through to educate and train staff, improve oo interrogation methods, ensure that asylum seekers are not sent back to countries where they may face torture (refoulement), report to the United Nations oo and so on.
States have an obligation to respond effectively to torture or inhuman, cruel or inhuman treatment whatsoever oo arising from its officials and practitioners. States must also report to the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Committee against Torture. States may not create a situation of tolerance to torture or to inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment in their institutions. Juan Mendez oo stayed all day for consultations.
It should be noted that the Council has a committee oo actively blah. visiting countries in Europe, CPT, "the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment", which monitors States' implementation of the Convention against Torture and regional instruments. oo Representatives of CPT was also at the meeting.
As the OSCE states have committed themselves to take effective legislative, administrative and judicial measures devoted the first part of the meeting devoted to investigating how individual states have succeeded in their preventive measures. oo In countries where national preventive mechanisms have been established surveillance, staff training, etc. clearly improved. OSCE's role has been and is actively supporting these countries and the two examples highlighted as relatively successful at work is Serbia and Kyrgyzstan.
Much time of the meeting was devoted to explain and discuss the approaches that have been effective in various countries worth emulating. Naturally enough, the representatives of civil society, particularly organizations in Russia very critical of the lack of opportunities to visit places where people are deprived of their liberty. There is unfortunately still torture and cruel and degrading practices oo in too many countries in the OSCE about which you can read more about the UN, Council of Europe and voluntary organizations annual reports. The ignorance and intolerance among staff, the corruption, the poor humanitarian situation in many prisons, detention, detention centers and institutions with overcrowded poorly managed institutions contribute to people's vulnerability to abuse.
The situation for civil society participation in the preventive work has been hampered tremendously