The Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture: challenges to its effectiveness due to poor cooperation and lack of access to institutions

The main method of the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) for promoting torture prevention is state visits. However, if governments block the SPT from accessing institutions or interviewees, on the one hand, or if the UN places barriers in its path by giving it insufficient funding, on the other, the SPT will not be able to effectively pursue this purpose. To enable the SPT to carry out the international community's mandate, these difficulties must be resolved right away. The Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) was adopted in 2002 in order to make prevention a central part of the fight against torture. This paper discusses the role of the SPT as one part of the tripartite system of OPCAT and the challenges it faces. Right now, OPCAT has been ratified by 90 States and It became the first international agreement that was binding on a legal basis and detailed some aspects of the commitment to torture prevention. Despite the fact that the SPT is the main instrument and has many rights, it has several challenges. Among some challenges, lack of human and financial resources, obstacles to access to institutions or interviewees imposed by states, and limited visits and meetings will be discussed in this paper.