Open Letter to the HRC on the Appointment of the Special Rapporteur on Torture
As the Human Rights Council prepares to appoint the next UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, an important question deserves attention.
In 41 years, the mandate has been held by seven experts. Only one mandate holder has been a woman. Six have come from the Western European and Others Group (WEOG). Only one has come from outside that group, from Latin America and the Caribbean. No expert from Africa or the Asia-Pacific region has ever held the mandate.
Against that backdrop, the shortlist proposed last week by the Human Rights Council’s Consultative Group deserves careful reflection. It is composed exclusively of men from WEOG, despite the fact that both the applicant pool and the interviewed candidates included women and experts also from Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
This is not about questioning the qualifications of the shortlisted candidates. It is about whether the Council’s commitments to gender balance and equitable geographical representation are being meaningfully considered when qualified and diverse candidates are available, and when decades of underrepresentation remain unaddressed.
It is also about the effectiveness, credibility, and legitimacy of the mandate. 94% of the mandate’s country visits and country-specific reports have concerned countries outside the WEOG region, with a majority involving countries in Africa and Asia. Similarly, despite more than four decades of work addressing violations that often affect women and men differently, only one woman has ever served as Special Rapporteur on Torture.
A mandate with such a global reach is strengthened by leadership that brings a broader range of experiences, perspectives, and lived realities.
Together with the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), GQUAL is asking the President of the Human Rights Council and the Consultative Group to adopt measures to encourage a process that gives full effect to the Council’s commitments on gender balance and equitable geographical representation.
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