GENEVA — The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) has signaled that a long-planned visit to Burundi may be rescheduled for 2026, after the mission was deferred this year because of the United Nations’ liquidity constraints.
The SPT said several visits postponed in 2025 including those planned for Burundi, France and Mexico are expected to be reorganized next year, alongside new missions the body intends to conduct in Paraguay, Rwanda and Sri Lanka. The subcommittee’s visiting programme for 2026 is still subject to confirmation, depending on funding and logistical conditions.
In April, SPT Chair María Luisa Romero told the UN Committee against Torture that financial pressures had forced the body to delay a number of country inspections, including the one to Burundi. She said the subcommittee remains committed to carrying out its mandate of monitoring conditions in places of detention, even as it operates on a reduced schedule.
Under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), which Burundi ratified in 2013, the SPT is authorized to conduct unannounced inspections of prisons, police cells, psychiatric institutions and other detention facilities. States that ratify the treaty are required to establish a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) within one year. The subcommittee recently noted that Burundi is among several countries yet to comply fully with that obligation.
The SPT has not publicly released a detailed 2026 itinerary, but international media quoting the subcommittee’s recent session in Geneva reported that deferred missions would likely be prioritized next year. The first visit of 2026 is expected to be to Mexico in January.
Romero said that even when the subcommittee cannot travel, national preventive mechanisms where they exist remain central to preventing torture through regular inspections and monitoring. She added that the SPT plans to step up advisory work and capacity-building, particularly as two new States Parties, Bangladesh and Colombia, recently joined OPCAT.
During its latest meeting, the SPT also adopted reports on visits to Peru and Greece, prepared for upcoming webinars on drug policy for national monitoring bodies, and discussed broader global prevention measures with the Committee against Torture.
If the Burundi visit proceeds as anticipated, it would focus on the treatment and conditions of people deprived of liberty and on strengthening domestic safeguards against torture and ill-treatment areas that remain under scrutiny by UN human rights mechanisms.
