50th Session of the Human Rights Council
Joint statement by Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, Uruguay and Argentina, in support of the Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering
Mr. President,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of 37 countries from different regions, including my own country, Argentina, to welcome this important report.
Mr. Special Rapporteur
As highlighted in your report, national authorities must take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of the legal profession and the right to practice law without prejudice or interference.
In this context, we draw your attention to the new Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering, also known as the Méndez Principles, which propose concrete and practical guidance for non-coercive interviewing and the implementation of associated procedural safeguards, including on the right of access to a lawyer. We very much welcome the contribution of the Mendez principles to make the work of law enforcement more efficient and to strengthen compliance with human rights obligations.
Rooted in practical experiences in a wide range of countries, the Principles aim at operationalizing the presumption of innocence, improving effective criminal investigations and prosecutions, avoiding wrongful convictions and gross miscarriages of justice, and ensuring that no person is subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during questioning, in accordance with human rights, the rule of law and SDG 16 on just peaceful and inclusive societies.
We encourage all UN Member States to support the use of the Principles as a useful reference framework to strengthen the right to practice law without prejudice or interference, thereby reducing the risk of unlawful, abusive and coercive practices and safeguarding the access to
justice. This would constitute a concrete contribution to our common aspiration to ban torture and ill-treatment at all times and under all circumstances.
Mr. Special Rapporteur
Would you share your thoughts and recommendations to encourage the use of the Principles as an additional framework to improve the protection of the legal profession?
Thank you.