MEETING OF THE STATES PARTIES

Sixth Meeting

Geneva

26 November 1997

          ELECTION OF FIVE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE TO REPLACE

          THOSE WHOSE TERMS ARE DUE TO EXPIRE ON 31 DECEMBER 1997, IN

          ACCORDANCE WITH ARTICLE 17 OF THE CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE AND

          OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT

Note by the SecretaryGeneral

1.       In accordance with article 17, paragraphs 3 and 4, of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Sixth Meeting of the States parties to the Convention will be convened by the SecretaryGeneral at the United Nations Office at Geneva, on Wednesday, 26 November 1997, to elect five members of the Committee against Torture to replace those whose terms of office are due to expire on 31 December 1997 (see annex I). The names of the other five members who will continue to serve on the Committee until 31 December 1999 appear in annex II.

2.       In accordance with article 17, paragraph 4, of the Convention, the SecretaryGeneral, in a note verbale dated 24 June 1997, invited the States parties to the Convention to submit their nominations for the election of five members of the Committee within three months, i.e. by 24 September 1997.

3.       In compliance with the provisions of article 17, paragraph 4, of the Convention, the SecretaryGeneral has the honour to list below, in alphabetical order, the names of persons nominated by 24 September 1997 for election to the Committee against Torture, and the States parties which have nominated them.

GE.9718413 (E)

Name of candidate                                             Nominated by

Mr. Farkhad S. ABDOULLAEV                          Azerbaijan

Mr. Mohammed Abdullah ALANSARI              Kuwait

Mr. Levan ALEXIDZE                                         Georgia

Mr. Joseph BRINCAT                                         Malta

Mr. Arsène CAPOCHICHI                               Benin

Mr. Piotr HOFMAŃSKI                                       Poland

Mr. Alexis DIPANDA MOUELLE                        Cameroon

Mr. Sayed Kassem EL MASRY                          Egypt

Mr. António SILVA HENRIQUES GASPAR       Portugal

Mr. Bhogendra SHARMA                                   Nepal

Mr. Bent SØRENSEN                                         Denmark

Mr. Alexander YAKOVLEV                                 Russian Federation

Mr. YE Mengjia                                                   China

Mr. Abdelkébir ZEROUAL                                  Morocco

4.       Biographical data on the persons nominated, as provided by the States parties concerned, are contained in annex III. Any further nominations and biographical data which may be received by the SecretaryGeneral will be brought to the attention of the States parties in addenda to the present document.

Annex I

LIST OF THE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WHOSE

TERMS OF OFFICE EXPIRE ON 31 DECEMBER 1997

Name                                                                  Country of nationality

Mr. Alexis DIPANDA MOUELLE                        Cameroon

Ms. Julia ILIOPOULOSSTRANGAS                Greece

Mr. Mukunda REGMI                                         Nepal

Mr. Bent SØRENSEN                                         Denmark

Mr. Alexander M. YAKOVLEV                            Russian Federation

Annex II

LIST OF THE FIVE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE WHOSE

TERMS EXPIRE ON 31 DECEMBER 1999

Name                                                                  Country of nationality

Mr. Peter Thomas BURNS                                 Canada

Mr. Guibril CAMARA                                          Senegal

Mr. Alejandro GONZÁLEZ POBLETE                Chile

Mr. Georghios M. PIKIS                                     Cyprus

Mr. Bostjan M. ZUPANČIČ                                 Slovenia

Annex III

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA ON CANDIDATES FOR ELECTION

TO THE COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE

Farkhad S. Abdoullaev (Azerbaijan)

                                                     Born 5 December 1958, Baku, Azerbaijan

Education:                                     19751980

Moscow State University, Faculty of Law

Professional record:                      1990present

Supreme Court of the Azerbaijani Republic, Judge, Member of the Board on Criminal Cases

19871990

Supreme Court of the Azerbaijani Republic, Head of Division on Individual Complaints

19851987

Supreme Court of the Azerbaijani Republic, Head of Division on Surveillance

                                                     19801987

Supreme Court of the Azerbaijani Republic, Adviser and Senior Adviser of the Division on Surveillance

Languages:                                   Azerbaijani, Russian, French

Levan Alexidze (Georgia)

Date and year of birth:                  5 July 1926, Tbilisi, Georgia

Legal education and other types of teaching and academic activity

1946                        Graduated from Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Law

19471950              Postgraduate student in International Law at the Institute of Statute and Law, Moscow Academy of Sciences

1950                        Candidate in Juridical Sciences, International Law

1964                        Doctor of Juridical Sciences, International Law, Tbilisi State University

Since 1965              Professor of International Law;

Member of the Georgian Academy of Sciences

Since 1985              Has given lecture courses and individual lectures on the theory of international law, ethnic conflicts and international law, international criminal law and protection of individuals before the State under international law at the main universities and academic institutes of the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, as well as at universities in the United States of America (Emory, Boston Universities), Germany (Humbold University) and others

In 1981 delivered lectures on The Legal Notion of Jus Cogens in Contemporary International Law at The Hague Academy of International Law

Previous positions held

Tbilisi State University

19651964              Associate Professor (Docent) of International Law, Faculty of Law

19651969              Professor of International Law, Faculty of Law

19691970              Chief, Chair of International Law, Faculty of Law

19851993              ViceRector (Vice President) of Tbilisi State University

Governmental and elective positions

19911992              Member of the Parliament of Georgia

19921993              Member of the State Council of Georgia;

Head of the International Relations Committee

19941995              Chief, Unit dealing with International Law and Human Rights Issues, State Committee for Drafting a New Constitution of Georgia

19941997              Chairman, The Georgia State Commission for Investigation of the Policy of Ethnic Cleansing/Genocide against the Georgian population in Abkhazia, Georgia

Activity in the field of human rights within the United Nations system

19701977              Senior Human Rights Officer, Division of Human Rights, United Nations Secretariat (New York, Geneva)

19701975              Secretary, SubCommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Commission on Human Rights

19751977              Chief, Section of Advisory Services and Special Assignments, Division of Human Rights. Involved in organizing United Nations seminars on various human rights issues. Represented the SecretaryGeneral at several United Nations seminars on human rights

1993 (June)             Deputy Head of the Georgian Delegation to the World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna)

19941997              Representative of Georgia at the fiftieth to fiftythird sessions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

19931995              Legal expert of the Georgian Delegation to the fortyseventh to fortyninth sessions of the General Assembly

19931995,             Member of the Georgian Delegation to the Geneva negotiations

1997                        under the auspices of the United Nations aimed at resolving the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia

1997 (March)           Head of the delegation of Georgia at the session of the Human Rights Committee

Current academic, professional and diplomatic activities

Chief adviser to the President of Georgia on International Law Matters

Chief, Chair of International Law, Faculty of International Law and International Relations. Tbilisi State University

Member, Committee of Experts on bringing Georgian legislation in line with the European Convention on Human Rights

Head, permanent delegation of Georgia to the United Nations human rights bodies

Member, State Interministerial Commission on elaborating measures providing the affective protection of human rights in Georgia

Editorinchief and member of the editorial boards of several leading Georgian legal periodical publications: Constitution and Human Rights (editorinchief); The Constitutional Court of Georgia (publisher); Journal of International Law (member of the editorial board) Faculty of International Law, Tbilisi State University (under auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Tbilisi, Georgia)

Publications

Author of 158 publications, including 20 books, monographs, manuals on international law, United Nations human rights activities, ethnic cleansing/genocide and other relevant issues published in German, Russian, English and Spanish publications

More than 500 articles published in leading newspapers and magazines in Georgia, the former Soviet Union and the Russian Federation covering issues relating to human rights, including the inhuman treatment of detained persons, ethnic conflicts, principles of democratic society, etc.

Languages:             Georgian, Russian, English, French

Other information    

          The list of international nongovernmental organizations of which Mr. Alexidze was or is a member, the awards and decorations he has received and the titles of some of the publications of which he is the author are available for consultation in the files of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mohammed Abdullah AlAnsari (Kuwait)

Date of birth:                      10 June 1954

Academic and professional activities

19771978:                       Bachelor of Laws

August 1978:                      began work as Legal Researcher at Civil Service Board

September 1985:               Diplôme d'études approfondies en droit international (D.E.A)

January 1990:                    Doctorat en droit international, Université de Montpellier

May 1992:                          began work at the Ministry of Justice as Legal Adviser at the Technical Bureau

1993:                                  head of International Relations Office

1995present:                   Director of International Relations Department

Publications

The concept of arbitration in Islamic Law (article)

The applicability of a federal regime in the Republic of Lebanon (article)

Selection of arbitrators: how they are appointed, their qualifications and skills (research paper)

Israeli aggression against the sovereignty of Lebanon, 1982 (research paper)

The tax system of the State of Kuwait: comparative study (research paper)

Guarantees of ownership in the European Convention on Human Rights (research paper)

The Legal and Documentary Approach to War Crimes committed by the Iraqi Regime against the State of Kuwait (book)

Professional memberships

Member, Arab Organization for International Arbitration, Paris

Founding Member, EuroArab Association for International Arbitration, Paris

Participation in international conferences and symposiums on human rights

Preparatory Committee for the World Conference on Human Rights, 1993, Geneva

World Conference on Human Rights, 1993, Vienna

Working group of the Commission on Human Rights on a draft optional protocol to the Convention against Torture, 1993, Geneva

Preparatory meeting of government experts for the protection of war victims, discussing scientific means for securing respect for international humanitarian law, 1994, Geneva

Expert committee of the General Secretariat of the Gulf States Cooperation Council to discuss the draft Arab Charter of Human Rights, 1994

Ad hoc committee discussing the creation of an International Criminal Court, 1995, United Nations Headquarters

Preparatory Committee for the creation of an International Criminal Court, 1996, United Nations Headquarters

Joseph Brincat (Malta)

Born in Malta, 22 March 1944.

After secondary education he pursued his studies at London University obtaining a B.A. degree in Philosophy, Latin and English Literature. Subsequently he obtained a B.Sc. honours degree in Economics with the same university.

In 1970, he finished his Doctorate in Law, summa cum laude, at the University of Malta, and embarked on the practice of the legal profession.

In 1971 he entered politics and was returned to Parliament in all successive elections until 1996, when he did not contest.

During his political career he was Minister of Justice between 1979 and 1981, and represented Malta at several international conferences.

From 1971 until 1992, with some brief interruptions, he represented Malta in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, of which he was also a VicePresident. His main activity in the Council of Europe was in the Legal Affairs Committee.

He was Rapporteur for the Legal Committee of the Council of Europe on the rights of minorities.

At present he is engaged in his private legal practice, with special attention to criminal cases and human rights. He has been recently appointed by the Government to overhaul police legislation in Malta.

He speaks various languages.

Arsène CapoChichi (Benin)

Date and place of birth: 30 October 1946, Cotonou.

Languages: French (fluent)

                     English (fairly fluent written and spoken English).

Education and academic qualifications

1.       Doctoral studies

Doctor of Law: Specializing in economic law, grade: très honorable (June 1987, University of Orleans, France).

Diplôme d'études approfondies (DEA)  economic law and business law (June 1985  University of Orleans, France).

2.       October 1976 to February 1978: Training course at the Public Administration Training Centre, Cotonou, judiciary option.

          JUDGE'S DIPLOMA

3.       October 1971 to July 1973: Benin National University  Faculty of Law, Cotonou.

          Master's degree in private law (judiciary and business law option).

Professional activities

1.       Current grade: Senior judge (category A, level 1, step 12 since 14 February 1991: Decree No. 9727 of 29 January 1997).

2.       Positions occupied at the national level

Judge ad interim at the Cotonou Court of Appeal (Decision No. 40/MJLAS of 27 February 1978).

Alternate to the Cotonou Public Prosecutor (Decision No. 67/MJLAS of 27 April 1978).

Legal Adviser to the President of the Republic (Decree No. 78150 of 13 June 1978).

Concurrently with duties as legal adviser to the Head of State, appointed Government representative to the Sèmè oil project (Republic of Benin). In this position, he was responsible for supervising and monitoring the American oil company entrusted with technical, financial and administrative management of the Sèmè oilfield and for acting as an intermediary between the Government of Benin and sources of funding (World Bank, the Governments of Norway and the United Kingdom). Decree No. 88397 of 4 October 1988, confirmed by Decree No. 90218 of 30 August 1990.

Assigned to the Ministry of Justice and Legislation by Decree No. 9194 of 27 May 1991. Appointed Head of the Legislation Department from 15 July 1992.

Director of Legislation and Codification at the Ministry of Justice and Legislation  Decree No. 9519 of 25 January 1995, responsible for human rights issues.

Principal Private Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights  Decree No. 96150 of 26 April 1996.

President of the Cotonou Court of Appeal (Decree No. 97121 of 5 March 1997).

EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1.       Consultancy activities

From 16 October to 11 November 1978, participated in the deliberations of the United Nations Conference on an International Code of Conduct on the Transfer of Technology, Geneva, Switzerland;

Member of the Sèmè Oil Project Monitoring Committee (Decree No. 8320 of 2 February 1983 and Decree No. 84130 of 15 March 1984);

2130 October 1987: participated in the expert meeting preparatory to the fifth summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Niger River Basin Authority at N'Djamena (Chad);

From November 1988 to June 1991, participated in meetings of expert committees and councils of ministers of the African Petroleum Producers Association (APPA);

Member of the Committee of Experts designated by the Abidjanbased African Development Bank (ADB) to study the impact of energy development on the environment (August 1994January 1995).

2.       International responsibilities

September 1979 to December 1984: member of the cabinet of the President of the Common African, Malagasy and Mauritian Organization as legal adviser, appointed by Decree No. 79235 of 13 September 1979;

June 1981 to November 1984: Chairman of the OAU Charter Review Committee;

July 1978 to December 1984: member of the Board of Directors of the BenineseNigerian Onigbolo Cement Company;

30 January11 March 1995, 18 March26 April 1996 and 10 March22 April 1997: member of the Beninese delegation

to the fiftyfirst, fiftysecond and fiftythird sessions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland.

Additional information

Details of Mr. CapoChichi's secondary school studies and other educational courses, research and publications and cultural activities are available for consultation in the files of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Piotr Hofmański (Poland)

Born 6 March 1956 in Poznań.

Academic degrees

LLM              Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń, Faculty of Law 1978

Higher degree in university education, Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń, 1979.

Ph.D.            Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń, 1981 (thesis: “Judicial decisions in criminal proceedings concerning compensation for damage to property caused by employers”).

Dr.Iur.           (habilitation)  Ślaski University Katowice, 1990 (thesis: “Jurisdictional independence of judges in criminal cases”).

Present positions

1990           Professor of Criminal Law, Warsaw University.

                     Faculty of Law, Bialystok.

1996           Judge, Supreme Court of Poland.

Previous positions

19911994   Professor of criminal procedure, Police Academy Szczytno (additional activity).

19821990   Associate professor, Ślaski University Katowice.

19811982   Associate professor, Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń.

19781981   Assistant professor, Nicolaus Copernicus University Toruń.

Academic honours and appointments

1991           Member of the National Committee for Criminal Law Reform.

1992           Lecturer in the International School of Human Rights (of the Helsinki Committee).

1994           Lecturer in the Central European Police Academy.

Lecture courses

Criminal law (Warsaw University, 1990 )

Criminal procedure (Police Academy, 19911994)

Human rights and criminal law and procedure (Warsaw University, 1994 )

European standards of protection of human rights (Ślaski University, 19881989)

Criminal procedure in the West European countries (Ślaski University, 19871988)

Petty crime law (Ślaski University, 19861987)

Tax law and crime (Ślaski University, 1985)

Juvenile criminal law (Ślaski University, 1982, 1984)

Criminal procedure (Nicolaus Copernicus University, 19791982)

The institutions of administration of justice (Nicolaus Copernicus University, 19801981).

University affairs

Member of the university disciplinary committee (Nicolaus Copernicus University, 19801981; Ślaski University, 19841989)

Vicedean of the Faculty of Law (Warsaw University, 19901993 and 1993 )

Head of the Criminal Law Department (Warsaw University, 1990 )

Member of library committee (Warsaw University, 1991 )

Member of editorial committee of Przeglad Policyjny (Police Review, 1991)

Vicedean of the Bialystok Law School (19911996).

Membership in professional associations

International Association of Penal Law (1988 )

Association of Criminal Law (1983 ).

Languages

Polish           Mother tongue

German        Fluent

English         Satisfactory knowledge.

Other information

A list of Mr. Hofmański's awards and scholarships received and lectures given outside Poland are available for consultation in the files of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Alexis Dipanda Mouelle (Cameroon)

Born on 25 March 1942 at Bonakou Bwapaki

Professional experience

Since 30 May 1990: Senior President of the Supreme Court of Cameroon;

6 December 1986 to 30 May 1990: Public Prosecutor in the Supreme Court of Cameroon;

26 September 1980 to 6 December 1986: SecretaryGeneral, Ministry of Justice;

2 September 1975 to 26 September 1980: Public Prosecutor in the Littoral Court of Appeal, Douala;

19 October 19722 September 1975: Chief, Judicial Professions Service, Department of Judicial Supervision, Ministry of Justice;

14 August 197119 October 1972: President of the Court of First Instance, Foumban;

7 August 197014 August 1971: Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Yaoundé Court of Appeal;

17 September 19697 August 1970: Public Prosecutor in the Court of First Instance, Ebolowa;

14 February 196817 September 1969: First Deputy Public Prosecutor in the Special Court, Yaoundé;

7 December 196514 February 1968: Court judge (Yaoundé), responsible for investigation in the Special Criminal Court, and deputy judge and special counsellor in the former Federal Court of Justice.

Other activities

Professor at the National College of Administration and Magistrates (ENAM), Judicial Division;

President of the Jury for examinations in the Judicial Division (ENAM);

Member of the board of governors of ENAM;

Member of the board of directors of the Société Nationale des Droits d'Auteur (National Copyright Company).

International activities

April 1994: Chairman of the United Nations Committee against Torture;

Since 1988: ViceChairman of the United Nations Committee against Torture;

January 1987: Head of the delegation of Cameroon to the Symposium on African Supreme Courts, Paris;

November 1985: Head of the delegation of Cameroon to the Congress of the Institut International du Droit d'Expression et d'Inspiration Française (IDEF), United States of America;

1982: Threemonth study tour to learn about the United States judicial system;

March 1981: Head of the delegation of Cameroon to the meeting of experts on the organization of the legal data bank, Paris;

September 1980: Head of the delegation of Cameroon to the IDEF Congress, Paris;

Member of the Association for the Prevention of Torture;

Member of the World Organization against Torture;

Member of the International Association of Commonwealth Jurists.

Higher education

Bachelor of Law and Economics, University of Yaoundé;

Diplôme d'études supérieures (DES) and Diplôme d'études approfondies (DEA) in judicial studies, University of Paris II.

Publications

“La torture, cette barbarie de l'humanité”;

Guide to the 10 human rights commandments;

Encylopaedia of case law of the Supreme Court of Cameroon.

Languages: French, English, Spanish, Latin

Additional information

Details of the honorary distinctions awarded to Mr. Dipanda Mouelle are available for consultation in the files of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Sayed Kassem El Masry (Egypt)

Date of birth: 7 January 1936

Qualifications: Bachelor of Political Science, Cairo University, 1958

1.                  Positions occupied

1960:                   Joined the Egyptian Diplomatic Service as attaché

19611964:        Vice Consul General of the United Arab Republic in Nigeria (Kaduna)

19661970:        Member of the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations, and member of its delegation to the ordinary sessions of the General Assembly from 1966 to 1970, the special session on Namibia and the emergency session for the Middle East in 1967

19741977:        Counsellor, Egyptian Embassy, Rome

19801984:        Plenipotentiary Minister, Egyptian Embassy, Warsaw

19841987:        Deputy Director, Department of International Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo

19881991:        Ambassador of Egypt to Saudi Arabia and Permanent Representative of Egypt to the Organization of the Islamic Conference

19911992:        Permanent Representative of Egypt to the League of Arab States, Cairo

19921995:        Ambassador of Egypt to Indonesia

1995present:    Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Cooperation and Multilateral Affairs

2.       Regional and international meetings and conferences

          Mr. El Masry has participated in various important meetings and conferences. In 1997, he was, in particular:

Head of the Egyptian delegation to the Ministerial Meeting of the D8 Group, Istanbul, January 1997;

Member of the Egyptian delegation to the NonAligned Movement Ministerial Meeting, New Delhi, April 1997;

Head of the Egyptian delegation to the Ministerial Session of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Beirut, May 1997;

Egyptian representative to the Round Table Conference on United Nations Reforms in the Social and Economic Sectors, The Hague, May 1997;

Member of the Egyptian delegation to the D8 Summit Meeting, Istanbul, June 1997.

          He has also participated in various annual meetings within the framework of the Group of 77, the NonAligned Movement, the Organization of African Unity, the Economic Commission for Africa, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the Arab League, and economic cooperation among developing countries and between Islamic countries.

Other information

          The full list of regional and international meetings and conferences in which Mr. El Masry participated, as well as a list of his decorations, are available for consultation in the files of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

António Silva Henriques Gaspar (Portugal)

Age: 48

Graduate in law from the University of Coimbra Faculty of Law

1.       Judicial functions:

10 April 1972 to October 1997: Deputy Government Procurator, appointed by public competitive examination;

October 1977 to December 1978: Judge;

December 1978 to June 1981: Government Procurator for the “Círculo judicial” (a group of courts of minor and major jurisdiction), Coimbra;

Until March 1987: Government Procurator to the Coimbra Court of Appeal (Tribunal da Relação);

Since March 1987: Deputy ProcuratorGeneral to the Advisory Council of the Office of the AttorneyGeneral;

2.       In conjunction with judicial responsibilities within the Advisory Council to the Office of the AttorneyGeneral (advisory functions similar to those of the Council of State), responsible for dealing with human rights problems;

Since 1990: Member of the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts for the Improvement of Procedures for the Protection of Human Rights (DHPR);

Since May 1992: Representative of Portugal to the European Commission of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights responsible for cases concerning Portugal, and liaison officer for publicizing the European courts' case law in Portugal;

Since 1994: Member of the Council of Europe's Steering Committee for Human Rights (CDDH);

Head of the delegation of Portugal responsible for submitting Portugal's report to the United Nations Committee against Torture, at its November 1993 session at Geneva;

3.       Publication of commentaries on the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in Portuguese reviews, including Revista Portuguesa de Ciência Criminal and Revista do Ministério Público.

Contribution to courses on human rights at the Portuguese Catholic University;

Invited by the University of Macao in January 1997 to lecture on relations between the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the territory's new Code of Penal Procedure.

Bhogendra Sharma (Nepal)

Education

M.B.B.S.                                       Institute of Medicine                       1989

                                                     Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

Diploma                                        Epidemiology, summer courses     1995

                                                     Erasmus University Rotterdam

Work experience

Centre for Victims of Torture (CVICT)                                                 1990 to present

Kathmandu, Nepal

Founder/Coordinator/Medical Director

Research on the consequences of torture among Bhutanese refugees, policy and programme formulation and implementation, proposal and report writing, training staff and volunteers in the rehabilitation of torture survivors, training health professionals on health issues and torture, clinical work with torture survivors including refugees from Tibet, Bhutan and neighbouring countries, advocacy.

CVICT is affiliated with the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization (TPO), Amsterdam which is associated with the Free University, Amsterdam, and is also a Collaborating Centre for WHO.

Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital                                              1990

Kathmandu, Nepal

Corresponding Editor, Torture, journal of the                                      1990 to present

  International Rehabilitation Council for

  Torture Victims (IRCT)

Copenhagen, Denmark

Research Technician

Conducted laboratory and community research

  for tuberculosis control programme

Institute of Medicine                                                                             19781979

Dharan, Nepal

Assistant Instructor

Trained parahealth professionals in microbiology and

  public health

Positions held

Executive Board Member                                                                    Since 1992

Regional Asian Secretariat for Rehabilitation of

  Victims of Organized Violence

Regional Consultant and Council Member                                          Since 1994

IRCT

Copenhagen, Denmark

Member

Human Rights Committee,                                                                  19891990

Nepal Medical Association

SecretaryGeneral                                                                              19891993

Physicians for Social Responsibility, Nepal

(an affiliate of International Physicians for the

  Prevention of Nuclear War)

Major papers presented

Human Rights Abuses in Nepal and Bhutan  Keynote Address to the Third International Conference on Health, Political Repression and Human Rights, 2429 November 1991, Santiago, Chile

Strategy for the Prevention of Torture and Rehabilitation of Survivors in NepalV International Symposium on Torture and the Medical Profession,

2224 October 1992, Istanbul, Turkey

Working with Torture Survivors in NepalVI International Conference on Torture as a Challenge to the Medical and other Health Professions,

2022 October 1993, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Physical Sequelae of Torture: The Experience of the Centre for Victims of Torture  First International Seminar on Doctors, Ethics and Torture,

November 1994, Beijing Medical University, China

Publications

B. Sharma and M. Van Ommeren. Preventing torture and rehabilitating survivors in a country that practices torture: The case of Nepal, Transcultural Psychiatry (in press).

N.M. Shrestha, B. Sharma, M. Van Ommeren et al. Posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and other sequelae among 526 physically tortured and 526 matched nontortured Bhutanese refugees in Nepal (submitted).

N.M. Shrestha, B. Sharma, S. Regmi and G. Sharma. A study of torture survivors in CVICT, Nepal, 33 Journal of the Nepal Medical Association, 5364 (1995).

Bent Sørensen (Denmark)

Born: 8 March 1924

Education

MD 1949

DMSc 1958

Trained in general surgery, pathology, orthopaedic surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics.

Specialist in General Surgery 1960.

Trained in plastic surgery in Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Specialist in Plastic Surgery 1964.

Top positions within the Danish Medical Health System

Chief of Staff, Dept. of Plastic Surgery and Burns Unit,

Københavns Kommunes Hvidovre Hospital

University of Copenhagen, 19651990

Retired September 1990 after 41 years as a medical doctor and 25 years as Chief of Staff, in order to work for United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT), and the European Council Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT).

Full professorship in surgery from 1971 at the University of Copenhagen.

Scientific publications

Thesis 1958: “Late results of radium therapy in cervical carcinoma”.

200 papers on surgery, plastic surgery and medical training.

100 papers on burns.

30 papers on torture, medical ethics.

Reviewer for the editor of Burns until 1990.

Reviewer for the editor of The Danish Medical Bulletin until 1988.

Reviewer for the editor of The Journal of Burn Care & Rehabilitation until 1990.

Administrative work  national

1.       University

Member of the Board of the Medical Faculty of the University of Copenhagen and Member of the Board of the University (Konsistorium), 19701975.

ViceDean, 19721973

Dean, 19741975.

ViceChairman and Chairman of the Advisory Board on Health Education to the Minster of Education (FLUSU), 19751981.

2.       Research

Member of the Danish Medical Research Council, 19761984.

Administrative work  international

1.       European Communities

          (a)      Education

Together with the late Professor Robson brought up the idea of an Advisory Committee on Medical Training (ACMT) of the Commission of the European Communities in 1973 in order to survey the Directives about the free movement of doctors.

Member of this Committee from its start in 1976, and one of the three Chairmen in the first period 19761979, and in the second period from 19791983.

          (b)      Research

Member of the Committee on Medical Research and Public Health (CRM) of the European Communities, 19771984.

Chairman of this Committee 19801984 and responsible for medical programme No. 2, medical programme No. 3, and for the incorporation of these programmes in the Framework Programme for research.

Member of the Northern Medical Research Council, 19771984.

2.       WHO

Temporary adviser on burns, 19641990

Temporary adviser on the prevention of torture, 1986.

3.       Burns

Cofounder of the International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI), 1964.

Member of the Action Committee on Nurses' Training of the ISBI, 19681975.

Chairman of the Disaster Planning Committee of the ISBI, 19781986.

Regional Representative for Europe of the ISBI, 19861990.

President of the 5th International Congress on Burn Injuries, Stockholm, 1978.

Cofounder of the European Burns Association (EBA), 1981.

Founder of the Danish Burns Association and of the Association of Burn Patients, 1981.

President of the Symposium on Burns, Copenhagen, 1981.

Cofounder of the Danish Society for Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, 1964.

Cofounder on the Danish Organization of Plastic Surgeons, Chairman, 19831988.

4.       Work on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

The Danish Medical Association's (Den Almindelige Danske Lægeforening  DADL) representative to the Board of the Research and Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (RCT), Copenhagen.

Chairman of the Board from 1984 to 1 January 1990.

ViceChairman of the Board of the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) to 1 January 1990.

Member of United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT), 1988, reelected 1990. Rapporteur for the Committee. Reelected 1994, ViceChairman of the Committee.

Member of the European Council Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT), September 19891993, reelected for 19931997. VicePresident of the Committee 19891995.

European Expert at EC's Multi-annual Programme for the Promotion of Human Rights in Central America, 19901995, reelected 1995.

Representative of CAT and CPT at the World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna, June 1993.

Other information

A list of the training courses on torture and medical ethics in which Mr. Sørensen participated as a teacher and a list of honours that he received are available for consultation in the files of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Alexander M. Yakovlev (Russian Federation)

Date of birth            20 August 1927

Position

Senior Research Fellow, Institute of State and Law of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Member of the United Nations Committee against Torture

Education

1952                        Graduate in Law, Moscow Juridical Institute

1957                        Master (“Kandidat”) of Law, Moscow University

1964                        Doctor of Legal Science (Sociology of Crime),

                                Institute of Law of the Procuracy of the USSR

1991                        Honorary Doctor of Laws, Alberta University,

                                Canada

Professional

19571975              Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Law, successively, of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, Procuracy, and Ministry of Justice

19751994              Head of the Department of Criminal Law and Criminology of the Institute of State and Law of the USSR (since 1991, Russian) Academy of Sciences

Professor of Law

19891991              Elected Deputy of the Congress of People's Deputies of the USSR. Member of the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR

19941996              Representative of the President of the Russian Federation of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation

1996present          Senior Researcher at the Institute of State and Law, Russian Academy of Sciences

International memberships

International Society of Social Defence, Paris, France (Member of the Board of Directors)

1993                      Member of the United Nations Committee against Torture

1995                      VicePresident of the United Nations Committee against Torture

Visiting professorships

1990 (one semester)          University of Manitoba, Alberta, Canada

1991 (one semester)          Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, United States

1992 (one semester)          Alberta University and York and Toronto Universities, Canada

1993 (one semester)          Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, United States

1997 (one semester)          Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

Publications in Russian

Nine books and over 100 articles in periodicals on various aspects of criminal law, criminology and the sociology of crime

Publications in English and other languages

The Bear That Wouldn't Dance: Failed Attempts to Reform the Constitution of the Former Soviet Union (with Dale Gibson), Legal Research Institute, University of Manitoba, 1992

Striving For Law in a Lawless Land: Memoirs of the Russian Reformer, M.E. Sharpe, 1995

Twelve articles in 19791995 in scholarly journals in English, French and German

Yu Mengjia (China)

Yu Mengjia was born on 9 August 1929 in Zhejiang Province, China. He graduated from Beijing University, majoring in international law and international politics.

19511952              Staff member at Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office

19551970              Served successively as attaché and Third Secretary in the Chinese Embassies in Denmark and Norway, and Deputy Division Chief in the Department of Western European Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

19721975              Started his career in multilateral diplomacy as Deputy Division Chief in the Department of International Law and International Organizations and Conferences of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

19751982              Served as First Secretary and then Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva, covering human rights, refugees, disarmament and legal affairs of the United Nations as well as specialized agencies like WHO, WMO, etc.

19821986              Served as Deputy Director of the Department of International Organizations and Conferences of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

19861991              Served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative

of China to the United Nations responsible for General Assembly, Security Council, Third, Fifth and Sixth Committee affairs.

19931995              Member of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions of the United Nations

He has, in the course of his career participated in a wide range of international conferences inter alia, 16 sessions of the General Assembly since the twentyeighth session, 5 sessions of the Economic and Social Council and 4 sessions of the Commission on Human Rights.

                                Yu Mengjia speaks English, French and Russian

Abdelkébir Zeroual (Morocco)

Born in 1945 at Ait KassouKoutbyenne, Tiflet.

Academic qualifications

Secondary education baccalaureate, El Jadida, 1967;

Law degree  grade: bien  Rabat, 1970;

Diploma of higher studies in private law  grade: bien, Rabat 1975;

State doctorate of law  grade: très honorable, Jean Moulin (Lyon III) University, 1985;

Professional experience

12 October 1970 to 30 November 1971: Section head with the Compagnie Générale

Immobilière, a subsidiary of the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion;

10 January 1972 to 30 November 1973: Senior official (Ingénieur assimilé) responsible for legal studies and documentation, Office Chérifien des Phosphates (OCPDA/SJ/E);

26 November 1973: Appointed assistant at the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences in Rabat;

Advocate at the Supreme Court;

19741994: Appointed to teach various legal subjects at the Meknès Royal Military Academy.

Administrative status

Higher education teacher at the Faculty of Legal, Economic and Social Sciences at Rabat (Grade B, first step, index 860).

Current position

Director of Cooperation and Defence of Human Rights within the Ministry responsible for human rights.

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