On 20 October 2022, in Geneva, a representative from Latvia, Dr Elīna Šteinerte, was elected to the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) for the term from 2023 to 2026. The Latvian expert will provide expertise and contribution to resolving and monitoring human rights issues and to improving international norms in the matters of prevention of torture.
Nominees from 16 countries stood as candidates for the 13 vacancies of experts. The election to this UN body is the acknowledgement of Dr Šteinerte’s considerable international and national experience in the field human rights. She has been working on the OPCAT matters since 2006, and as a member of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, since 2016.
Background information
The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT), composed of 25 independent experts, is the largest UN body supervising UN human rights treaties. The SPT’s mandate includes examining the conditions of detention and the treatment of detainees, as well as providing advice on the implementation of OPCAT, especially in support of the establishment and functioning of national preventive mechanisms.
