Public Meeting, 49th Session, Subcommittee on…

The Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) is a new kind of treaty body in the United Nations human rights system. It has a preventive mandate focused on a proactive approach to preventing torture and ill treatment. States that ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) give the SPT the right to visit their places of detention and examine the treatment of people held there. In 2022, the OPCAT entered its 20th year of existence and the SPT its 15th year of activity.