View this profile on Instagram

Impact Iran (@impactiran) • Instagram photos and videos

03/02/2023 The Special Procedures

Dr. Alice Jill Edwards – Special Rapporteur on torture

Press briefing by Ms. Karima Bennoune, Special Rapporteur in the field of Cultural Rights

Dr. Alice Jill Edwards (Australia) is the seventh – and first woman – UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. Her appointment was announced on 8 July 2022 and her tenure begins on 1 August. A highly skilled lawyer, scholar and negotiator, Dr. Edwards has an established record of sustained engagement on behalf of victims of human rights violations and of critical contributions to the development of standards in international law.

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in resolution 1985/33, decided to appoint an expert for one year, a special rapporteur, to examine questions relevant to torture. Since 1985, the mandate has been renewed regularly and extended to 3 years, most recently by Human Rights Council resolution 43/20 in March 2020.

The mandate covers all countries, irrespective of whether a State has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The mandate comprises three main activities:

  1. transmitting urgent appeals to States with regard to individuals reported to be at risk of torture, as well as communications on past alleged cases of torture;
  2. undertaking fact-finding country visits; and
  3. submitting annual reports on activities, the mandate and methods of work to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.

Unlike the complaints mechanisms of the human rights treaty monitoring bodies, the Special Rapporteur does not require the exhaustion of domestic remedies to act. When the facts in question come within the scope of more than one mandate established by the Commission, the Special Rapporteur may decide to approach other thematic mechanisms and country rapporteurs with a view to sending joint communications or seeking joint missions.

Latest Report

Mandate Page

UPCOMING EVENTS

(all times in EST)

28 09 23
  • International Day for Universal Access to Information

    28 09 23

  • World Maritime Day

    28 09 23

  • World Rabies Day

    28 09 23

30 09 23
  • International Translation Day

    30 09 23

01 10 23
  • International Day of Older Persons

    01 10 23

02 10 23
  • International Day of Non-Violence

    02 10 23

  • World Habitat Day

    02 10 23

05 10 23
  • World Teachers’ Day

    05 10 23

09 10 23
  • World Post Day

    09 10 23

10 10 23
  • World Mental Health Day

    10 10 23

11 10 23
  • International Day of the Girl Child

    11 10 23

13 10 23
  • International Day for Disaster Reduction

    13 10 23

15 10 23
  • International Day of Rural Women

    15 10 23

16 10 23
  • World Food Day

    16 10 23

17 10 23
  • International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

    17 10 23

24 10 23
  • United Nations Day

    24 10 23

  • World Development Information Day

    24 10 23

27 10 23
  • World Day for Audiovisual Heritage

    27 10 23

31 10 23
  • World Cities Day

    31 10 23

02 11 23
  • International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists

    02 11 23

05 11 23
  • World Tsunami Awareness Day

    05 11 23

06 11 23
  • International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict

    06 11 23

10 11 23
  • World Science Day for Peace and Development

    10 11 23

14 11 23
  • World Diabetes Day

    14 11 23

16 11 23
  • International Day for Tolerance

    16 11 23

  • World Philosophy Day

    16 11 23

19 11 23
  • World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

    19 11 23

  • World Toilet Day

    19 11 23

20 11 23
  • Africa Industrialization Day

    20 11 23

  • Universal Children’s Day

    20 11 23

21 11 23
  • World Television Day

    21 11 23

25 11 23
  • International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

    25 11 23

29 11 23
  • International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

    29 11 23

01 12 23
  • World AIDS Day

    01 12 23

02 12 23
  • International Day for the Abolition of Slavery

    02 12 23

03 12 23
  • International Day of Persons with Disabilities

    03 12 23

05 12 23
  • International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development

    05 12 23

  • World Soil Day

    05 12 23

07 12 23
  • International Civil Aviation Day

    07 12 23

09 12 23
  • International Anti-Corruption Day

    09 12 23

  • International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime

    09 12 23

10 12 23
  • Human Rights Day

    10 12 23

11 12 23
  • International Mountain Day

    11 12 23

12 12 23
  • International Day of Neutrality

    12 12 23

18 12 23
  • Arabic Language Day

    18 12 23

  • International Migrants Day

    18 12 23

20 12 23
  • International Human Solidarity Day

    20 12 23

27 01 24
  • International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

    27 01 24