Press releases Special Procedures
Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit Senegal
31 January 2025
GENEVA – The UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Alice Jill Edwards, will conduct an official country visit to Senegal from 3 to 14 February.
The visit will focus on Senegal's efforts to prevent and combat torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, with a particular interest in the justice sector and prisons, law enforcement by the police and gendarmerie, including investigation practices and the use of force, the health sector and measures taken to prevent and eliminate female genital mutilation.
Edwards will meet with representatives of the Government, the judiciary, law enforcement authorities, national human rights institutions, civil society organisations, victims and survivors of torture, UN officials and other stakeholders. She will visit places of deprivation of liberty to inspect conditions and interview detainees.
Edwards will hold a press conference on 13 February, in Dakar, at 4:00 pm local time, within the premises of the Regional Office for West Africa of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (Parcelle n°20 opposite the Hôtel Azur, route du King Fahad Palace – room Capitaine Mbaye). Access will be strictly limited to journalists.
The Special Rapporteur will present a report to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2026.
Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR. Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Senegal
For more information and media requests, please contact Mr. Alessandro Marra ([email protected])
For media inquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact Dharisha Indraguptha ([email protected]) or Maya Derouaz ([email protected])
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