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I am Chair of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT), the monitoring body established by the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT). The SPT is unusual internationally because it is the only body that has the right to access any place where persons may be deprived of their liberty in any State Party; it has the right to see any part of that place and interview any person in confidence. So, at one level, our work involves going into places of detention, producing confidential reports, and engaging in dialogue with State Parties around what we believe can be done to address any problems and improve protections against ill-treatment.Ìý

There is also a second element to my work. All State Parties to the OPCAT are obliged to set up national mechanisms of protection that work in the same way as the SPT, and our role is to work with State Parties to ensure that they set up appropriate independent inspectorates and oversight mechanisms, and then to ensure that these mechanisms work effectively.Ìý

What would you say are some of the greatest achievements of the SPT?

Without doubt the greatest achievement is that now in over 65, approaching 70, countries in the world - which is about a third of all the countries on the face of the planet - there are not only obligations to establish independent oversight of all places of detention, but such mechanisms have actually been put in place. I am not pretending that they are all working as well as they ought (many are not) but it does mean that, every day, preventive visits are taking place somewhere in the world in a way that would not have been the case five, let alone ten, years ago. I would hazard that during the course of those years, thousands of places of detention have been visited and tens and hundreds of thousands of detainees have been engaged with, and I think that is a huge achievement for a UN system.Ìý

It is incredible to hear that the work of the SPT is having such an impact at an individual level.

Absolutely, it is not just theoretical work in rooms in Geneva.Ìý

Earlier you mentioned confidentiality, which is one of the key principles guiding the SPT's work. Why is it so important?Ìý

The principle of confidentiality was important to win the confidence of states to give a UN mechanism this unique ability to access places of detention. Similar powers existed at the European level, but globally there was no monitoring body with such rights of access before. So as part of the negotiating process, it was necessary to reassure states that we would not be going in simply to broadcast problems to the world.Ìý

Also, if we are going to be effective, we need to engage in meaningful dialogue with states. It is actually quite easy to go into a country where things are bad, broadcast that there are problems, and then go away again. But if you expect to have a serious conversation with the authorities about what should happen, you have to be more measured and realistic about what is achievable, and offer some practical suggestions about how it could be achieved. So, confidentiality encourages dialogue at a practical level.

What do you see as the key priorities for future research and policy making?

I think many of the approaches to torture prevention that we have are built on what we could call the paradigm or stereotypical model of a person being subjected to severe purposive torture, normally by security forces, to obtain vital information in times of emergency or to oppress or punish political opponents. In reality, this is not the case. The vast bulk of torture that occurs in the world today just takes place on a routine basis. We need to focus more on the tools and approaches that actually address this reality and change the way people understand the nature of the problem.Ìý

Also, many practices that amount to torture are now taking place in settings outside of the criminal justice system. This includes immigration detention, compulsory detention in psychiatric or secure hospitals, places where persons are de facto detained such as social care homes or orphanages, and many other settings. Going forward, it is important that we find the right tools to talk to people responsible for these places and make appropriate suggestions to prevent ill-treatment. It is no good telling a hospital to follow criminal justice models.Ìý

Would you say there is a wide-spread disconnect between perceptions of torture and how ill-treatment manifests itself in practice?Ìý

Yes, if you go to a hospital, for example, and you say you are from a committee on torture prevention, they will look at you very strangely or simply begin to tell you what they do to help torture victims. And when you say "no, what we are actually looking at is how you may not necessarily be ensuring that people are not subjected to ill-treatment through your processes", they do not see themselves in that mode. It is about getting people to change and to realise that they might potentially be agents of ill-treatment, even if they do not necessarily see it that way.Ìý

This interview was conducted by Nicole Watson, MSc Global Governance and Ethics. It was recorded at the inaugural meeting of the UK Network on the Prohibition of Torture on 2 November 2017.