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CAT status Status under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment State Party since 21 August, 1986. State Party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention (OPCAT) since 18 October, 2006
Reviewed 2019 Read review

Senegal

At a glance

Senegal has benefitted from political and security stability over the last decades. Unlike in neighbouring countries, there has been no escalation of violence due to terrorism. Legal and institutional reforms of the last decade have given birth to an adequate legislation against torture. The new criminal law defines and prohibits torture as per the Convention against Torture. This is the result of continued joint advocacy by the OMCT and its Senegalese SOS-Torture Network member la Rencontre Africaine pour la Défense des Droits de l'Homme (RADDHO), who have consistently submitted alternative reports to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) since Senegal ratified the Convention in 1986.

Despite all the efforts by the government, some key challenges persist, including impunity for cases of excessive use of force by police against protesters. A second challenge are the conditions of detention that have remained harsh, leading to deaths in custody due to insanitary conditions in overcrowded prisons. The situation of street children, called Talibe, has been concerning for the last decades. The phenomenon remains rampant, despite a slew of legislative and other measures.

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