28/06/2010 President
Joint Statement by the Chairman of the Committee of Ministers and the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Strasbourg, 26.06.2010 - “Today we pay our respects to all victims of torture. We also pay tribute to all those who work to denounce cases of torture and provide help to alleviate their tragic consequences. The Council of Europe has been fighting torture during the more than 60 years of its existence. All 47 Council of Europe member states stand behind the prohibition of this and other inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, as required by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Beyond the Human Rights Convention, Europe has managed to set up a unique non-judicial procedure to prevent any such treatment through its European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. We highly value the work of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and its visits to places of detention in member states. We call for the publication by all member states of CPT reports.”