VZCZCXRO7438
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHCO #0325/01 2081332
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271332Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY COTONOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1044
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1498
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0455

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COTONOU 000325 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W ACOOK; FOR JKNIGHT; FOR DRL/MLGA KRISTEN MCGEEN 
LONDON FOR PETER LORD 
PARIS FOR BKANEDA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM UN BN
SUBJECT: BENIN: GOB AND CIVIL SOCIETY'S INITIATIVES TO COUNTER 
TORTURE 
 
REF: STATE 70129 
 
This cable is a response to reftel. 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: Pursuant to Article 2 of the UN Convention Against 
Torture (CAT), the GOB has taken measures to prevent acts of torture 
since it ratified the Convention on March 12, 1992. The GOB has 
developed initiatives, including the National Committee to Follow Up 
and Implement International Human Rights Instruments, the Human 
Rights Office of the Ministry of Justice, and the National Human 
Rights Advisory Council. The GOB has not, to date, included a 
specific definition of torture in criminal law, which hinders 
efforts to effectively fight torture as a criminal offence. National 
and international NGOs mostly engage in surveillance and public 
awareness campaign efforts; however, acts of torture persist in 
various forms.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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GOB'S INITIATIVES TO COUNTER TORTURE 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. By the decree No 96-433 of 4 October 1996, the GOB created, the 
National Committee for the Follow Up and Implementation of 
International Human Rights Instruments. It provides efficiency 
training for committee members. In 1997, the government extended the 
Ministry of Justice's responsibility to include the protection of 
human rights by creating the Human Rights Office. The Human Rights 
Office advances and publicizes human rights through public outreach, 
developing national human rights policies, reporting on human rights 
and their related tools and documents, and partnering with NGOs to 
combat human rights violations. Officials of the Human Rights Office 
also protect and defend human rights by integrating international 
human rights instruments into internal legislation, visiting prisons 
to prevent abusive and arbitrary detention, considering human rights 
violation complaints, and protecting the rights of refugees, women 
and children. 
 
¶3.  By the decree No 97-503 of 16 October 1997, the GOB established, 
the National Human Rights Advisory Council.  The Council serves as a 
framework for communication between the authorities and NGOs to 
advance the rule of law. The Council holds biannual sessions to 
monitor the implementation of international human rights 
instruments. The Ministry of Justice trains law enforcement agents 
on human rights and, in conjunction with the Ministry of Family, 
designs action plans to support the promotion of human rights, and 
to end gender-based violence. 
 
¶4. Apart from the court system, there is a wide range of remedies 
regarding acts of torture. These include the Constitutional Court, 
the Ministry of Justice, and the Presidency for any act of torture 
committed on a citizen; the Ministry of Interior for acts of torture 
committed by the police; the Ministry of Defense for acts of torture 
committed by the military; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 
matters pertaining to extradition; and the Ministry of Civil Service 
to take disciplinary action against civil servants who commit an act 
of torture while on duty. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL NGO EFFORTS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. International and National NGOs that prove pro-active in the 
prevention of torture include: Amnesty International Benin; 
Christian Association for the Abolition of Torture in Benin 
(ACAT-Benin); Social Dimension and Organization for the Defense of 
Prisoners' Interests; Organization for the Defense of Prisoners' 
Interest (ODIP); Association of the Female Lawyers of Benin (AFJB); 
Prison Brotherhood; and Prisoners Without Borders. These NGOs focus 
mainly on prison visits, outreach awareness campaigns, and education 
programs for law enforcement agents. For instance, AFJB, Prison 
Brotherhood, and Afrika Obota, in conjunction with the Ministry of 
Justice, began implementing, in 2002, a legal assistance program for 
prisoners. The program includes all eight detention centers in Benin 
and provides each with a legal assistant. Legal assistants compile 
registers of detainees, follow cases, educate detainees on their 
rights and obligations, and provide them with legal aid. Special 
care is given to pregnant detainees. 
 
----------------------------------- 
GOB'S FAILURE TO INCLUDE DEFINITION 
OF TORTURE IN NATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶6. Torture is not criminalized under Beninese Criminal Law. Articles 
18 and 19 of the Constitution prohibit torture and other cruel, 
inhuman or degrading treatment inflicted on public officials and 
 
COTONOU 00000325  002 OF 002 
 
 
provide punishment for individuals who commit such offenses, but 
these provisions are not integrated into criminal law as prescribed 
by Article 4 of the CAT. Article 19 of the Constitution provides 
that any civil servant who commits an act of torture shall be 
punished. However, acts of torture are not defined in criminal law 
and no penalties are provided for offenders. Criminal law does 
forbid other torture-related offences, including rape and battery. 
Ministry of Justice officials argue that failure to define acts of 
torture under criminal law does not significantly impact the 
prosecution and conviction of offenders as judges invoke other 
provisions under criminal law and other legislation and decrees to 
prosecute people who commit an act of torture. The fact remains that 
torture is widespread and comes in various forms throughout Benin: 
beating in custody, arbitrary arrest, mob justice, violence against 
women, child trafficking, and child labor. 
 
BOUSTANI