Georgia: Torture and ill-treatment: Comments on the Initial Report submitted to the United Nations Committee against Torture

In November 1996 the United Nations (UN) Committee against Torture in Geneva will examine Georgia's Initial Report under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention against Torture).Since Georgia achieved its independence following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the country has moved gradually towards building democratic institutions and reforming its judicial and legal systems, and has become a party to a number of important international standards in the field of human rights. Amnesty International welcomes these advances and acknowledges that they have been made against a background, especially in the early years of independence, of severe economic and political dislocation and armed hostilities in parts of the country. However, torture and ill-treatment have continued in custody, on the admission of the Georgian authorities themselves, with those responsible frequently going unpunished. This report examines the issues surrounding torture and ill-treatment in Georgia, and presents Amnesty International's recommendations. The report does not cover Amnesty International's concerns in the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia, as it is currently outside the de facto control of the Georgian authorities. For more information on Amnesty International's other concerns in Georgia including Abkhazia see Georgia: A summary of Amnesty International's concerns, AI Index: EUR 54/04/96, October 1996.