OSCE Permanent Council No 1571
Joint Statement
Vienna, 2 July 2026
Current Issue: International Day in Support of Victims of
Torture, observed on 26 June 2026
Thank you, Mr. Chair,
I have the honour of delivering this statement on behalf of the
following 40 participating states: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia
Herzegovina, Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Moldova,
Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Ukraine,
United Kingdom, and the European Union and its Member
States, including my own country, Denmark.
The International Day in Support of Victims of Torture provides
us with an opportunity to reaffirm our unwavering commitment
to prevent and eradicate torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. The prohibition of torture
under international law is absolute and unconditional.
Civil society organisations, human rights defenders, media and
international bodies have all reported the use of torture by a
number of participating States.
There can be no doubt that torture is a grave assault on human
dignity. Yet worryingly, such acts continue to be perpetrated in
the OSCE region.Such practices stand in stark contrast to the spirit of the
Helsinki Final Act and to the human rights commitments that
all participating States have undertaken since.
***
Various international mechanisms, including the UN Human
Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), the Independent
International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, the OSCE
Moscow Mechanism, and ODIHR report that members of Russia’s
forces have committed widespread and systematic acts of
torture and ill-treatment against prisoners of war and civilians.
Staggering accounts from Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian
detainees describe torture and ill-treatment experienced during
detention by Russian authorities clearly indicating patterns of
systemic abuse.
In addition, the lack of Russian cooperation with independent
international monitoring mechanisms is alarming. Constrained
access to places of detention and external verification denies
redress for the victims. This is a continuation of the abuse.
In Belarus, the UN Group of Independent Experts on the Human
Rights Situation in 2026 documented widespread and systematic
torture and ill-treatment. This includes beatings, electric shocks,
forced psychiatric treatment, sexual violence, and inhumane
detention conditions.
We condemn these gross violations of human rights and
international humanitarian law in the strongest possible terms.
We regret the decision of the Russian Federation to withdraw
from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ECPT) and
urge them to reconsider before the withdrawal becomes
effective by November this year.
We recall the commitments by all participating States
undertaken in the 2020 Tirana Ministerial Council Decision on
the Prevention and Eradication of Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and call for
their full implementation throughout the OSCE region.
These commitments are unequivocal: no exceptional
circumstances, whether armed conflict, security concerns or
states of emergency, can ever justify torture.
We welcome the Swiss Chairpersonship's important work
developing a Roadmap on the Prevention and Eradication of
Torture in the OSCE region.
***
Mr. Chair,
Torture does not end when the act itself ends. It leaves victims
and survivors with deep, long-lasting trauma, affecting them
both physically and psychologically. And its impact extends to
families, communities, and societies as a whole.
Fighting torture and ensuring accountability requires a joint
effort, grounded in a victim- and survivor-centred approach.
Victims and survivors must have access to effective remedies,
including justice, redress and rehabilitation. This includes
ensuring access to appropriate medical, psychological and social
support, particularly for victims of sexualized torture, conflictrelated sexual violence and other forms of gender-based abuse.
We welcome the survivor-centred approach reflected in the
Charter of Rights of Victims and Survivors of Torture as
presented by the UN Special Rapporteur on torture.
Independent and impartial efforts to document, investigate and
prosecute such violations remain essential. The relevant OSCE,
UN and other international accountability mechanisms play an
important role in this regard.
To this end we recognize the important, autonomous mandate
of ODIHR and their valuable contributions towards efforts to
combat torture and uphold human rights across the OSCE
region.
We urge the participating States that have not yet done so to
sign and ratify the UN Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) as
well as its Optional Protocol (OPCAT)
***
Mr. Chair,
We as participating States must continue to advance our efforts.
And in these efforts, the needs of victims and survivors have to
come first.
We further encourage investigation and documentation of
allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual
violence, to align with the “Méndez Principles” that outline
Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and
Information Gathering.
We urge all participating States to use all appropriate measures
to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading
treatment or punishment and to apply international standards
such as the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners, the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners
and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the so-called
Bangkok Rules), the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice (the so-called Beijing Rules)
and the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their
Liberty.
***
Mr. Chair,
In closing, we jointly reaffirm our unwavering commitment to
the absolute prohibition of torture and to strengthening our
efforts to eradicate its use across the OSCE region.
We owe that to the people of our region.
I thank you.
