Torture to become a separate criminal offense in Switzerland
Published: Friday, Nov 8th 2024, 18:20
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Torture is to be listed as a separate criminal offense in Swiss criminal law. The responsible National Council committee has passed a draft bill to this effect. It is to be submitted for consultation before the end of this year.
By 15 votes to 5 with 4 abstentions, the National Council's Legal Affairs Committee (RK-N) voted in principle in favor of the new definition of torture in the Criminal Code, as reported by the parliamentary services on Friday. However, there are still unanswered questions regarding the details.
Two variants are to be submitted for consultation, which differ in the definition of possible perpetrators. One variant includes only state actors as perpetrators, while the other also includes private individuals if the victim is under their control or custody.
The parliamentary initiative to make torture a criminal offense was launched by Aargau GLP National Councillor Beat Flach, which was approved by the legal affairs committees of both chambers. It is true that most acts of torture are already punishable in Switzerland. However, torture is only expressly prohibited in connection with crimes against humanity and war crimes. This was not enough, the law commissions found.
The commissions referred to international law and the obligations that Switzerland has entered into by ratifying the UN Convention against Torture. Adding the offense of torture to the Criminal Code would also create legal parallelism for international legal assistance.
According to the initiative, the UN Committee against Torture, in particular, has repeatedly urged Switzerland to include a specific offense of torture in criminal law. In other states parties, a specific criminal offense with a definition of torture has had a preventive effect.
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