Nils Melzer – Professor of International Law at Glasgow University
Thu, Oct 3rd 2019 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Prof. Melzer will address the members on his role as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
H&R: Andrew Steven & Ian St John
VoT: Ian Carrol
The guest speaker at tonight’s meeting of the Rotary Club of Motherwell and Wishaw was Swiss academic, author and practitioner in the field of international law, Professor Nils Melzer. He is Professor of International Law at the University of Glasgow, and also holds the Human Rights Chair at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, where he has been teaching since 2009, including as the Swiss Chair of International Humanitarian Law.
Since November 2016, Professor Melzer has been serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and it was his experiences in this role that formed the basis for his address.
After a short introduction on his early life, including his ambition to be an astronaut, however, after writing to Neil Armstrong seeking advice on how to achieve this, and receiving a reply advocating studying science and engineering and learning to fly aircraft. Nils, not being adept at either of the academic subjects and not being fond of flying, changed tack and studied for a law degree. Finding the practice of law in Geneva not very stimulating he joined the International Committee of the Red Cross, serving for 12 years as Delegate, Deputy Head of Delegation and Legal Adviser in various zones of conflict and violence, including Kosovo, Serbia and Albania.
As a United Nations Special Rapporteur, he is an unpaid official appointed for a term of 3 to 6 years to visit and report on the compliance of UN member states on torture legislation. Under the terms of his engagement, he can only visit states that invite him in.
There are three main pillars of his duties. First, individual intervention to assist victims of torture. Due to the numbers involved, he can only hope to investigate 10% of cases brought to his attention. Second, making 2/3 visits, each year to monitor prisons and legal systems, and third, to report to the U.N. General Assembly annually.
Prof. Melzer, accompanied by two medical experts, made an official visit to Julian Assange, in prison, on 9 May 2019 to assess his situation. He described the treatment Assange had received from the United States, United Kingdom, Sweden and Ecuador as psychological torture and the US indictments as the "criminalisation of investigative journalism".
Professor Melzer’s address was both powerful and thought provoking and his audience was held spellbound. The volume of questions posed was an indication of the interest generated. The vote of thanks was proposed by Past President Ian Carrol.
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