Geneva, 27 January 2026 |
Twenty-five representatives from eight Latin American and Caribbean countries, alongside six partner organisations, convened today for a high-level follow-up to CTI’s October 2025 regional workshop, ‘Strengthening safeguards during the initial stages of police detention – Best practices in Latin America and the Caribbean.’
Held online, this meeting marked the second phase of the Santiago workshop that was hosted by the Government of Chile and organised by the Convention against Torture Initiative (CTI). It built on the strong momentum generated in Chile, reinforcing regional commitment to preventing torture and other ill-treatment at the earliest stages of police detention.
Government officials, judicial and police authorities, national oversight bodies, and leading experts reviewed key takeaways from the workshop, and shared updates and concrete progress undertaken to improve safeguards against torture in their daily work.
Participants also identified priority capacity building needs and opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and partnerships. These include developing regional standards for judicial oversight, access to legal aid and medical examination, and training of police investigators, and developing regional train-the-trainer networks on investigative interviewing.
CTI, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile and the Undersecretariat for Human Rights of Chile, warmly thanks all participating organisations and partners — APT, CogJus, DIGNITY, NCHR, and UNODC — for their invaluable contributions and constructive dialogue.
CTI remains committed to supporting States to strengthen torture-free justice and law enforcement practices in line with the United Nations Convention against Torture, human rights and the rule of law across the region and globally.