During the week of January 27th, experts met in Geneva to move forward with the idea of an universal protocol for investigative interviewing of detainees, as proposed by former Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez.
Juan Mendez ended his mandate as UN Special Rapporteur on Torture in 2016 with a ground-breaking proposal for a universal protocol on humane investigative interviewing. The protocol would set out minimum standards for non-coercive methods and safeguards to protecting detainees from torture and ill-treatment. Because, as Mendez writes in his report to the United Nations General Assembly, history and science offer no evidence on the strategic effectiveness of harsh questioning techniques.
The protocol sets out to change attitudes and practices in police stations and interrogation rooms, to put a stop to forced “confessions”. The proposal has received strong support from the human rights community, including Nils Melzer, current UN Special Rapporteur on Torture:
“There is growing popular belief that torture is an effective way of discovering the truth. This belief is perpetuated by misleading depictions in popular media and worse, in current political narratives. It is therefore important for me to take the work of my predecessor a step further.”
For more on the meeting, please visit: http://www.apt.ch/en/news_on_prevention/torture-is-never-the-solution-a-protocol-for-humane-interrogations/#.WJN8GlMrLX5