Open Letter to the HRC on the Appointment of the Special Rapporteur on Torture
As the Human Rights Council prepares to appoint the next Special Rapporteur on torture at its 62nd session that will be held from 15 June to 10 July 2026, we wish to express our concern regarding the current appointment process.
Over the past 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), and only one 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 this backdrop, the shortlist recently proposed by the Council’s Consultative Group to the President warrants careful consideration.
The shortlist is composed exclusively of men from WEOG, despite the fact that both the applicant pool and the group of interviewed candidates included women, as well as highly qualified experts from Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
This is not a matter of questioning the qualifications, expertise, or independence of the shortlisted candidates. Rather, it raises the question of whether the Council’s longstanding commitments to gender balance and equitable geographical representation are being meaningfully reflected in practice, particularly when qualified and diverse candidates are available and persistent patterns of underrepresentation remain unresolved.
It also concerns the effectiveness, credibility, and legitimacy of the mandate itself. Over the past decade, 94 per cent of the mandate’s country visits and country-specific reports have concerned countries outside the WEOG region, the majority involving countries in Africa and Asia.
Likewise, despite more than four decades of work addressing violations that often affect women and men differently, only one woman has ever served in this role.
A mandate of such global scope and significance is strengthened by leadership that reflects a broader range of professional experiences, perspectives, and lived realities.
For these reasons, GQUAL, together with the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), respectfully calls upon the President of the Human Rights Council and the Consultative Group to take all appropriate measures to give full effect to the Council’s commitments to gender balance and equitable geographical representation in the present appointment process.
SHARE ON
