Press Releases
Result of the election of the members of the Committee against Torture
On October 1, the election of the members of the Committee against Torture was held at the 20th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland. Japan’s candidate, Professor MAEDA Naoko, Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University, was re-elected with 122 votes.
- Professor MAEDA has been engaged in research and education in the fields of international law, international human rights law, and refugee law for over 25 years, both domestically and internationally. Leveraging both her deep expertise as an international human rights scholar and her practical experience in diplomatic settings, she became the first Japanese national to serve as a member of the Committee against Torture in 2022. Furthermore, since 2024, she has served as Vice-Chair of the Committee, making significant contributions to its activities.
- Professor MAEDA’s contributions to the activities of the Committee against Torture, drawing upon her extensive knowledge of and experience in international human rights law and refugee rights, hold significant importance for Japan as an active proponent of human rights diplomacy.
(Reference1) Result of the election
- First Round Voting (Valid Votes: 166 votes)
- Elected
Japan (122 votes), Morocco (119 votes), China (115 votes), Guatemala (99 votes) - Proceeded to Runoff
Poland (79 votes), Mauritania (71 votes) - Not Elected
Zambia (69 votes), Russian Federation (69 votes), Ukraine (46 votes), Niger (21 votes) - Runoff Vote (Valid Votes: 158 votes)
- Elected
Mauritania (84 votes) - Not Elected
Poland (74 votes)
- Elected
(Reference2) Committee against Torture
The primary tasks of the Committee against Torture (Article 17 of the Convention against Torture) include considering government reports under the Convention, examining communications from States Parties and individuals, and submitting annual reports to States Parties and the UN General Assembly. The 10 members each serve a four-year term in their individual capacity (the term of the 5 members elected in this election runs from January 2026 to December 2029).
(Reference3) Convention against Torture
The full title of the Convention is the “Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.” This Convention stipulates that each State Party shall make torture committed by public officials a criminal offense under its criminal law, establish jurisdiction over such offenses, and make such offenses extraditable offenses, among other provisions, to prevent torture by public officials. It was adopted unanimously by the UN General Assembly in 1984 and entered into force in 1987. As of October 2025, 175 countries are parties. Japan acceded to the Convention in June 1999 (it entered into force in July of the same year).