on the Robben Island Guidelines, is to provide advice to states and the African Commission on measures required to implement Article 5 of the African Charter and the Robben Island Guidelines on the prohibition and prevention of torture and other ill-treatment.
•
Since the establishment of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa, its members have carried out a number of training and awareness-raising activities in various countries and have undertaken missions to a few states. The Committee requires the consent of the state concerned in order to conduct a mission. The Committee submits progress reports on its activities to the African Commission at its ordinary sessions. Special Rapporteur on prisons, conditions of detention and policing in Africa: this is a Special Mechanism of the African Commission and was established in 1996. This Special Rapporteur is an individual expert who is mandated to examine the situation of persons deprived of their liberty within the territories of states parties to the African Charter. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur does not only cover prisons but can include other places of detention such as police stations, juvenile detention centres and mental health institutions.
The Special Rapporteur on prisons, conditions of detention and policing in Africa aims to promote compliance with the African Charter and international standards concerning the rights and conditions of persons deprived of their liberty. The Special Rapporteur can examine the content and implementation of national law and regulations to ensure conformity with the African Charter and international standards and, with the consent of the state concerned, undertake visits to countries. The Special Rapporteur can also issue interventions through “urgent actions” and provide assistance to the African Commission when it is considering communications relevant to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. Lastly, the Special Rapporteur can conduct studies on relevant thematic issues. Recently the Special Rapporteur was involved in the drafting and adoption of the Luanda Guidelines on arrest, police custody and pre-trial detention by the African Commission in 2014.22 In Africa there are also sub-regional bodies which may in the course of their work consider allegations of torture or other ill-treatment. For example the Community Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was given the competence to hear human rights cases from individuals in 2005 and has since issued a number of rulings on torture.23 The ECOWAS Court is composed of seven members who sit as full-time judges. Unlike the African Commission and Court, there is no requirement that individuals exhaust domestic remedies before bringing a case before the ECOWAS Court. 22 See Final Communiqué of the 55th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Luanda, Angola, 28 April to 12 May 2014, p. 13, §33(d). 23 See for example, Saidykhan v Gambia (2010).
Combating torture and other ill-treatment
41