Russia officially leaves anti-torture convention, ending independent monitoring

لماذا يهمّ ذلك

The withdrawal ends independent monitoring of places of deprivation of liberty in Russia. This leaves a gap in oversight amid numerous reports of alleged torture and ill-treatment in detention facilities in Russia and on occupied Ukrainian territory, which the committee was unable to verify independently because Russian authorities refused cooperation. The convention also obliged Russia to prevent torture within its jurisdiction and barred extraditing people to countries where they could face torture.

ماذا حدث

Russia's withdrawal from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture took effect on 1 November 2026. The country had informed the Council of Europe on 30 October 2025 of its decision to denounce the convention, and under Article 22 the withdrawal took effect one year after that notification. The State Duma supported the relevant draft on 17 September 2025, and Vladimir Putin signed the decree denouncing the convention that September. Russia had participated in the convention since 1998.

The decision ends the mandate of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture to monitor detention facilities in Russia. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the committee received numerous reports of alleged torture and ill-treatment by Russian officials in detention facilities in Russia and on occupied Ukrainian territory, but could not conduct visits to assess the situation independently because the Russian authorities refused to cooperate. The committee will continue its mandate in 46 Council of Europe member states.

كيف تصفه المصادر الأوكرانية

Ukrainian coverage highlights that Russia is the only convention participant that systematically refused to allow publication of committee visit reports and replies to them. With the withdrawal now in force, independent monitoring of detention facilities in Russia has ended at a time when the committee cannot verify reports of alleged torture and ill-treatment in Russia and on occupied Ukrainian territory. Ukraine's approach is presented as a direct contrast: it allows committee visits to any detention facility at any time chosen by the committee, automatically publishes the reports, and facilitates transparency in monitoring.

كيف تصفه المصادر الدولية

International coverage focuses on the formal legal timetable: the notification of 30 October 2025 and the withdrawal taking effect one year later under Article 22. It also emphasizes the historical monitoring record of 30 visits, more than 450 detention facilities visited and the publication of only four reports. The main consequence is framed as the end of independent oversight in Russia, while the committee continues monitoring in 46 Council of Europe member states.

الخلفية

The convention was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1984 and binds participating states to prevent torture within their jurisdiction and prohibits extraditing people to countries where they may face torture. Russia participated from 1998. Between 1998 and 2021, the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture conducted 30 visits to Russia and visited more than 450 places of deprivation of liberty. Only four reports were published, while unpublished materials included reports on 10 visits to Chechnya and the North Caucasus between 2000 and 2017. Russia announced its withdrawal from the Council of Europe in March 2022 and ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights in September 2022.