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health assistance, and that adequate social support is provided to them throughout
their asylum proceedings.
Training
15.
The Committee notes the information provided by the State party on training
programmes for judges, prosecutors, police officers and other law enforcement officials.
However, the Committee regrets the limited information on monitoring and evaluation of
these training programmes and the lack of available information on the impact of the
training conducted and how effective they have been in reducing incidents of torture and
ill-treatment (art. 10).
The State party should:
Continue preparing and implementing training programmes to ensure that judges,
prosecutors, law enforcement officials and prison officers are fully aware of the
provisions of the Convention, that breaches will not be tolerated and will be
investigated, and that offenders will be prosecuted;
Ensure that all relevant personnel receive specific training on the Manual on the
Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol);
Develop and implement a methodology to assess the effectiveness and impact of such
training and educational programmes on the reduction of cases of torture and illtreatment;
Conditions of detention
16.
The Committee is concerned at the detention policy applied to asylum-seekers,
including reports that they are held in police detention centres for criminal and
administrative offenders (Polizeianhaltezentrum – PAZ), in some cases confined in their
cells for 23 hours a day, only allowed visits under closed conditions and without access to
qualified medical care or legal aid. In this respect, the Committee regrets the change in the
legislative framework resulting from the last reform of the Asylum Law and Aliens Police
Act, which entered into force on 1 January 2006. Under the new article 76, paragraph 2a, of
the Aliens Police Act, detention of asylum-seekers whose claims have not been finally
decided or were only rejected on procedural grounds has, in certain circumstances, become
mandatory, where found necessary to achieve expulsion (art. 11).
In line with the concerns expressed by other relevant international and regional
human rights bodies, the State party should:
(a)
Ensure that detention of asylum-seekers is used only in exceptional
circumstances or as a measure of last resort;
(b)
Consider alternatives to detention and end the practice of detaining
asylum-seekers in police holding centres;
(c)
Take immediate and effective measures to ensure that asylum-seekers
who are detained pending deportation are held in detention centres specifically
designed for that purpose, offering material conditions and a regime appropriate to
their legal status;
(d)
Ensure that asylum-seekers have full access to free and qualified legal
counselling, adequate medical services, occupational activities and the right to receive
visits.
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