A/HRC/23/18 Annex V [English only] Regional consultation for Africa on enhancing cooperation between United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms on prevention of torture and protection of victims of torture, especially people deprived of their liberty Addis Ababa, 6 and 7 February 2012 Conclusions Participants to the regional consultation included a member of the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT), a member of the United Nations Sub-committee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT), the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa, representatives of the Secretariat of the African Commission on Peoples’ and Human Rights (ACHPR), a Judge of the African Court on Peoples’ and Human Rights, staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), representatives of National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs), National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) from the region, and civil society organizations. The aim of the regional consultation was to identify concrete means and ways of cooperation between the United Nations and African human rights mechanisms on the fight against torture and other ill treatment, taking into account key areas identified during the International workshop on cooperation between international and regional human rights mechanisms held in Geneva in 2010 (A/HRC/15/56), namely: sharing of information, possible joint activities and followup on recommendations by human rights mechanisms, as well as the role of NPMs, NHRIs and civil society organizations. Participants discussed and suggested to develop means and tools of cooperation including: 1. Information sharing • It was agreed that it is necessary to share information between United Nations and African mechanisms on torture in order to avoid overlaps and duplication, as well as to improve their effectiveness. • Some challenges were highlighted with regard to information sharing, including the lack of institutionalization of ways and means to share information, internal communication problems, the principle of confidentiality of some mechanisms, the lack of trust and the competition between different actors. All these factors prevent the establishment of a regular exchange of information based on reciprocity. • The role of NGOs, NHRIs and NPMs in relation to information sharing between mechanisms was highlighted as well as the importance of building trust between mechanisms. • It was highlighted that each mechanism has a different nature and mandate. Therefore, those differences should be taken into account when sharing information. For instance, the SPT and the CPTA have similar but not identical mandates and should share information, provided that confidentiality is respected. 40