How effective is the united nations committee against torture?

Abstract

This article examines the question of how states have responded to the comments of the United Nations Committee against Torture through an analysis of eight Western European states. It is concluded that the Committee's recommendations have had a substantial impact in four of the states surveyed, however only a limited effect in two other states, and little or no impact in the two remaining states. These findings lead to concerns as regards the effectiveness of the Committee against Torture. The article focuses on the Concluding Observations made by the Committee on the reports submitted by the states in question. © EJIL 2011; all rights reserved.