Pierre-Claver Dekpoh: Ten Portraits against Torture and Impunity

Please, briefly introduce yourself.

I am Pierre-Claver Akolly Amégnikpo DEKPOH, born on 8 September 1969 at Lomé in Togo. I am a human rights defender and a project manager. I have been engaged in the fight for human dignity and social peace and against injustice, since 1990; and have been a member of ACAT-Togo since March 1999.

My commitment to the fight against torture and ill-treatment is in keeping with my Christian faith.

Today, what is the biggest challenge in the fight against torture in your country? Can you take stock of the situation with regard to torture and ill-treatment in your country (the context, the extent of the problem, the types of victim and perpetrator, etc.)?

Since 2009 there has been a disturbing resurgence of human rights violations against citizens, in particular torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The most blatant cases were those confirmed by the National Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) in its report dated 15 February 2012 relating to the 2005 plot against the security of the State.

People from every socio-political group in the country, without distinction, are at risk of torture and ill-treatment. The most affected categories are politicians, certain persons suspected of having political ambitions and members of the security and defence forces who are suspected of conniving with them. The acts of torture and other ill-treatment are generally perpetrated by officers and members of the security and defence forces, with the complicity of certain political authorities or persons close to them.

The biggest challenge today in the fight against torture in our country is to preserve the physical integrity of its citizens and ensure respect for human dignity. In order to do so, a certain amount of legislative and institutional reform is necessary.

The reorganization of the mandate of the National Information Service (“Agence Nationale de Renseignement”) should be undertaken effectively and concurred with by the CNDH and by non-governmental organizations.

Togo ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on 18 November 1987 and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on 20 July 2010. This obligates the State of Togo to establish a National Preventive Mechanism. The setting up and functioning of such a mechanism, and its provision with sufficient logistical, human and financial resources to enable it to be independent, must be ensured. The Government’s decision to place this mechanism within the CNDH deserves to be supported; it is therefore incumbent on the various actors to take parallel steps to accompany the National Preventive Mechanism, with a view to its successfully accomplishing its mission.

The rapid adoption of the new penal code and code of criminal procedure, which make torture a criminal offence, is essential.

According to your experience, what are the root causes of torture and impunity?

The history of Togo has been marked since 1958 by political settlings of account that have torn the fabric of society and led to the intrusion of the army in political life. This army has been used for political ends and has lost its republican character. In order to consolidate their position, those in power have always solicited the army to commit acts of torture and ill-treatment against their adversaries. This complicity means that governments do not have their hands free to punish acts perpetrated by the army.

Furthermore, the police and security forces are trained by the military, which influences their behaviour on the ground and their practices.

Although, today, human rights training is given to the police and security forces, this training is not extended to the rank and file, thus preventing police and army personnel from understanding the need to apply the sacrosanct principle of respect for human dignity in the exercise of their functions.

This is done on purpose to keep soldiers in the ranks and subaltern officers at a distance from the new human rights realities, since the desire of the current regime to cling on to power pre-empts any genuine opening up to democracy and obliges it to depend on the army to repress any move in that direction.

What is your approach and what kind of activities do you carry out to fight against torture and ill-treatment in your country? Can you give us examples of achievements linked to those activities?

The fight against torture requires that the population take ownership of human rights and especially the Convention against Torture, as well as the related legislative framework. It is in this context that ACAT-Togo is engaged in educating the population with regard to human rights.

For that purpose we organize:

• Educational programmes on human rights and workshops to strengthen the capacities of the actors in that field. These activities enabled us to set up human rights clubs in primary and secondary schools in 2008, with focal points throughout the country as of 2012. This has made it possible to cover the whole of the national territory for the purposes of human rights surveillance.
• Radio and television programmes to sensitize people concerning human rights in general, and torture and ill-treatment in particular, enabling the population to participate in demanding an explanation from the authorities when they become aware of acts of torture and ill-treatment.

In order to monitor respect for human rights in the country:

• Places of detention and custody, trials and public demonstrations are monitored on a regular basis. This monitoring enables us to formulate recommendations to the Government with the aim of improving the conditions of detention and custody. It has promoted a reduction in torture and ill-treatment in places of detention and custody.

We also engage in advocacy, lobbying and negotiation with various partners and authorities.

These activities have led to a number of positive results, notably the ratification by Togo of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the amendment of the penal code to include torture as a criminal offence and its adoption by the Government, and the release of certain persons arrested during public demonstrations.

We are also collaborating with national and international partners and institutions in the implementation of recommendations concerning the human rights treaties and conventions. In that context, in 2011 we participated in the drafting of the civil society report for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and in the preparation of the alternative report to the Committee against Torture, the United Nations body composed of independent experts charged with monitoring the implementation by States parties of the Convention against Torture, at its forty-ninth session. In addition to the drafting of those reports, we participated actively during the consideration of Togo in both the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the Committee against Torture.

What obstacles do you encounter daily when carrying out your activities?

Lack of political will manifested by cumbersome administrative processes, lack of access to official information and the slowness of judicial procedures, as well as threats, constitute real obstacles encountered on a daily basis on the ground.

Do you feel threatened because of your activities? Do you face any interference in your work? If this is the case, kindly provide details.

Threats are frequent on the ground, especially when we are facing the security and defence forces and, most frequently, when we are monitoring demonstrations. As far as interference is concerned, it comes from political circles of every persuasion, all of them wanting to have done and have said that which suits them.

What must be done so that “Nothing justifies torture” becomes a reality in your country?

To arrive at the point where “Nothing justifies torture” in our country, the new penal code and code of criminal procedure, which incriminate torture in all its forms, would have to be promulgated; impunity in all its forms would have to be eradicated; and the National Preventive Mechanism would have to be set up and provided with adequate logistical, human and financial resources. All of that would have to be backed up by an ample dose of political will, which would facilitate the correct application of legal texts, the establishment of reliable and viable institutions and infrastructure, and the implementation of the various recommendations.

What part does and should public opinion play in the fight against torture and what can the public do to support that fight?

Public opinion should be sensitized regarding the Convention against Torture and especially regarding the National Preventive Mechanism in order to enable it to be on the alert and play a watchful role, pointing out the least case of torture and ill-treatment.