Strong support and call for action
The resolution not only welcomes and encourages State Parties to support the use of the principles as a framework to prevent torture and other ill-treatment during hearings and interviews, but also calls for relevant committees and institutions to integrate them in their promotional mandate and disseminating them widely to States Parties to the African Charter. The resolution further calls upon State Parties, NGOs and other actors to widely disseminate and promote them, and invites regional and international organisations, civil society and other actors to provide the necessary support for State Parties to implement the principles. Read the full resolution.
- The commitment and support from the African Commission is a leap towards achieving a global standard on effective Interviewing for investigations and information-gathering which is fair, efficient and human rights compliant, says NCHR Rule of Law adviser, Susanne H. Flølo.
NCHR is part of the Coordination Group leading the work to develop, and now disseminate, the Méndez Principles together with the Association for the Prevention of Torture and the Anti-Torture Initiative at the Washington College of Law.
Mendez Principles referenced in two UN General Assembly resolutions
The adoption of the resolution by the Commission preceded two recent resolutions adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 15. December 2022, which both reference the principles.
The UNGA resolution on torture refers to the Principles in its preamble, and in paragraph 16 “takes note with appreciation of the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering (the Méndez Principles), and encourages States to use them as appropriate through the implementation of national measures, including non-coercive interviewing methods and procedural safeguards, thereby operationalizing the presumption of innocence, ensuring that no person is subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during questioning, as well as improving effective policing, criminal justice investigations, prosecutions, convictions and other forms of information-gathering processes".
The UNGA resolution on administration of justice in paragraph 14 “emphasizes the importance of States’ keeping under systematic review rules, instructions, methods and practices on interviewing, as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment under their jurisdiction, including by taking into account, as appropriate, the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering (the Méndez Principles);”.