CAT/C/PHL/CO/2
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documenting incidents of sexual violence in detention, and provide the Committee
with data thereon, disaggregated by relevant indicators.
The State party should also take effective measures to ensure that detainees who
allegedly are sexually victimized are able to report the abuse without being
subjected to punitive measures by staff, protect detainees who report sexual abuse
from retaliation by the perpetrator(s), promptly, effectively and impartially
investigate and prosecute all instances of sexual abuse in custody and provide
access to confidential medical and mental health care for victims of sexual abuse in
detention, as well as access to redress, including compensation and rehabilitation,
as appropriate.
Furthermore, the Committee calls upon the State party to consider enacting the
draft Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2008.
Children in detention
19.
While appreciating the State party’s clarification of measures undertaken to reduce the
number of children in detention, including the enactment of the 2006 Juvenile Justice Welfare
Act (RA 9344), a variety of social welfare services provided for children in conflict with the law
and the release of 565 minors in 2008, the Committee is concerned that a significant number of
children remain in detention and at reports of a de facto practice of not separating children from
adults in detention facilities throughout the country, despite the requirement included in the
Juvenile Justice Welfare Act demanding such separation. (arts. 11 and 16)
The State party should further reduce the number of children in detention and
ensure that persons below 18 years of age are not detained with adults; that
alternative measures to deprivation of liberty, such as probation, community service
or suspended sentences are available; that professionals in the area of recovery and
social reintegration of children are properly trained; and that deprivation of liberty
is used only as a measure of last resort, for the shortest possible time and in
appropriate conditions.
Training
20.
The Committee takes note of the detailed information provided by the State party on the
inclusion of human rights components in the training programmes and sessions for all military
and law enforcement units of the Government, in close cooperation with the CHRP. However,
the Committee is concerned at the lack of information on monitoring and evaluation of the
impact of these training programmes in reducing incidents of torture and ill-treatment. (art. 10)
The State party should further develop and strengthen educational programmes to
ensure that all officials, including law enforcement officials and prison staff are fully
aware of the provisions of the Convention, that reported breaches will not be
tolerated and will be investigated, and that offenders will be prosecuted. All relevant
personnel should receive specific training on how to identify signs of torture and illtreatment, and such training should also include the use of the Istanbul Protocol
which should be provided to physicians and translated into the Filipino and other
languages, as appropriate, and utilized effectively. Furthermore, the State party
should assess the effectiveness and impact of such training/educational programmes.