Members of Togolese intelligence agency are accused of torture and perpetrating violence against prisoners who were accused of taking part in an attempted coup d’etat in 2009.
The independent report was released today. Based on the report, the country’s national human rights commission found that the prisoners were subject to physical and moral violence of an inhuman and degrading nature.
Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said the report also recommends that authorities take appropriate action against the perpetrators of the violence, make reparations to the victims, and carry out institutional reform of the national intelligence agency.
“We note the Government’s commitment to implementing the recommendations of this report and encourage them to take all necessary measures to ensure justice and reparation for the victims and to prevent such acts from occurring in the future.” -Ms. Shamdasani
She stresses that detention facilities should be subject to transparent judicial monitoring.
She calls on the Government to continue to guarantee the independence of the national human rights commission and to ensure that human rights defenders are able to carry out their work without intimidation.
Togo has been selected by the United Nations General Assembly to occupy a non-permanent seat from 2012-2013.
Togo has a long-standing history in promoting and resolving international crises. Currently, Togolese troops are deployed in peace-keeping missions all over Africa – in CA’te d’Ivoire, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo – and in Haiti. Despite its small size, Togo is among the countries that have provided the largest deployment of United Nations peacekeeping troops in CA’te d’Ivoire to promote peace, security, stability, human rights and sustainable development in the country and sub-region. It was upon these achievements, among the others, that the country was elected.
