RA NA delegate to PACE: `Zero tolerance approach towards torture  should be the only option for our Assembly`

ArmInfo.The member of the RA NA delegation to PACE Vladimir Vardanyan gave a speech at the Assembly Session.

As the press service of the of the Parliament of Armenia reports, the  RA NA delegate mentioned:

"Thank you, Madam Chair.  Dear colleagues,

Let me first of all congratulate Mr. Constantinos EFSTATHIOU for the  brilliant report reflecting all the topical issues of combating  torture and addressing the main strategic challenges of our  organisation in that respect.

Absolute, imperative, unacceptable, prohibited, and immoral: these  are the adjectives which may be used to describe torture as a  phenomenon prohibited under general international law for a long  time.

But torture is not just prohibited. It is absolutely prohibited under  general international law, having the status of jus cogens  prohibition with no derogation possible and no justification  acceptable.

Frankly speaking, for the first time I read the draft resolution and  faced some factual events mentioned there. I thought that I was  mistaken, and I was not reading a contemporary document but I rather  faced something which came to me from medieval times.

How is it possible, in the digital era, that there are such kinds of  manifestation of torture in the member countries of our organisation.   Ladies and gentlemen, the absolute prohibition of torture is not just  a legal imperative, it is a moral obligation that defines our  civilisation, our wellness, our organisation. And hence, a zero  tolerance approach towards torture should be the only option for our  Assembly.

Dear colleagues,

Despite the existence of innumerable international documents on the  absolute prohibition of torture at a universal and European level,  torture persists in various corners of the globe, reminding us of the  need for continued vigilance and advocacy.  We do not naively believe  that torture would be demolished as a social phenomenon entirely. The  problem is not in the phenomenon of torture, but rather in a gap  existing between international obligation taken and their  implementation in practice. We should combat the culture of impunity,  which is one of the main challenges.  It is quite alarming that in  some countries of the Council of Europe, torture has started to be  used in a widespread or systematic manner for the oppression of  certain persecuted groups, which amounts to crimes against humanity.

Dear colleagues,

The Committee on the Prevention of Torture (CPT) is one of the main  international instruments combating torture within the Council of  Europe, and its activity should be supported in the widest possible  manner, not only by incorporation of the standards in the national  legislation, but also providing their full implementation on national  level.  The automatic publication of all the CPT reports, past and  present, would be a manifestation of goodwill of all the countries  concerned and would contribute to the elimination of culture of  impunity and torture.

Last but not least, we fully agree with the rapporteur that, in the  digital era, the usage of information technologies, video recording,  and other technologies would be served as a very efficient measure to  prevent torture and ill treatment and for giving up the culture of  impunity.

Let's make the digital era synonymous of an era without torture.   Thank you so much."