On February 11, 2020, the UN Secretary-General circulated a note verbale to states parties of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, announcing the appointment of Mr. Liu Huawen as a new member of the Committee against Torture (CAT) in accordance with Article 17 of the Convention. Mr. Liu Huawen’s appointment was proposed by the Chinese Government and approved by other state parties to the Convention after the resignation of Ms. Honghong Zhang, a Chinese member of CAT. He will carry out the Committee's duties entrusted to Ms. Zhang until the expiry of the latter's mandate, i.e. on 31 December 2021.
The CAT consists of 10 independent experts and is responsible for supervising the implementation of the Convention against Torture by its state parties. State parties to the Convention have the obligation to submit periodical reports to the CAT on the implementation of the Convention. They shall submit their first report within one year after the entry into force of the Convention for the State Party concerned. Thereafter the States Parties shall submit supplementary reports every four years on any new measures taken and such other reports as the Committee may request. Each report shall be considered by the Committee which may make such general comments on the report as it may consider appropriate and shall forward these to the State Party concerned. Apart from the state party report system, the Convention also provides for other mechanisms for the performance of functions by members of the Committee. The Committee may also issue interpretations of the provisions of the Convention.
The Convention was ratified by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China on September 5, 1988 and came into force with respect to China on November 3, 1988. The Chinese government has attached great importance to the implementation of the Convention. It has submitted six state party reports to the CAT since 1988.
Professor Liu Huawen has been engaged in the research on international human rights law for many years. He is currently the deputy director of CASS Institute of International Law and executive director of CASS Center for Human Rights Studies.
