VISITS BY THE JOINT COMMISSION Airport V Federal Police District Office in Building 177, where asylum applicants are also fingerprinted and photographed. The delegation then accompanied Federal Police officers to Building 587a, where another section of Federal Police District Office V and the Hesse Reception Centre for Refugees, Frankfurt Airport Branch is located. After speaking with officers of the Federal Police there, the Joint Commission introduced itself to the head of the facility and was shown around the building by him. It inspected several common rooms, the courtyard, a cinema room, Christian and Muslim prayer rooms, the library, a sports room, the landing for men travelling alone, and the landing for women travelling alone, families and minors who are regarded as capable of acting in the asylum procedure (“asylmündig Minderjährige”). They also spoke to a member of the church refugee support group of the Caritasverband Frankfurt e.V. (the Frankfurt branch of the welfare association of the Catholic Church in Germany) and a member of the Diakonisches Werk Frankfurt (the Frankfurt branch of the social welfare organisation of the Protestant Church in Germany), as well as to a vicar. As the visit took place in late 2013 the Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration of Hesse had not yet submitted its statement at the time this Annual Report went to press. It will be included in the Annual Report 2014. families are kept separate from the other adults. According to the social worker, in one case this led to an under-age refugee witnessing an adult attempting suicide. The Ministry for Social Affairs and Integration of Hesse admitted after the visit that the case most likely involved an underage female who was to be separated from her adult husband, as she had to be taken into care by the Youth Welfare Office. The husband thereupon attempted to hang himself using bed sheets. The incident was still being investigated. As well as this individual case, the Joint Commission has fundamental concerns about whether accommodating minors travelling alone and families with underage children together with adults is in the children’s best interests. Due to the especially stressful situation which those accommodated in the Reception Centre are generally under, it seems reasonable to assume that there is an increased risk of self-harm or suicide. This can lead to trauma or can exacerbate existing traumatisation, especially when minors experience such incidents or resistance against the enforcement of forced returns. The Joint Commission welcomes the fact that each time a person is booked in they are examined by a doctor as soon as possible. However, special attention should be paid during these examinations to diagnosing traumatisation and suicidal tendencies. The examining doctor should have been specially trained in diagnosing trauma and other mental illnesses, or he or she should bring in a specially trained psychologist. It must be ensured that traumatisation is accurately diagnosed. Detainees are informed of the house rules by means of notices hung in the common room in Arabic, English, French and Tamil. The rules also contain information about rights. An excerpt of this information is handed to new admissions in the form of a leaflet with pictogrammes. The house rules regulate the community life of those accommodated in the facility and can help to prevent conflicts arising. As is the case in facilities enforcing custody pending deportation, these house rules should therefore be available in various languages based on the detainees’ most common countries of origin. 1.10.1 – Positive findings The Reception Centre is clean, light and has modern furnishings. Detainees can use two common rooms with a TV which receives numerous foreign TV stations. In addition, there are two telephones which can be used for both incoming and outgoing calls. Further, there is a modern courtyard with a play area and a tartan field with a football pitch, as well as seating and green spaces. Detainees are free to move around the facility all day and night and can use the courtyard at any time. The Joint Commission welcomes the fact that women and men are accommodated in separate rooms but not in separate areas. Detainees can contact the church social service between 7 am and 9 pm every day. An on-call service is available at night. In addition, a doctor holds surgery twice a week in the facility. 1.10.3 – Further suggestions for improving the conditions of detention Women and juveniles can lock the doors to their rooms. It is not apparent why this opportunity is denied the men. The staff of the church social service reported about cases in which the medical and psychological examination identified problems but these were not passed on the Federal Police, who nevertheless began the procedure for returning the persons in question. It 1.10.2 – Recommendations of the Joint Commission Neither minors travelling alone who are regarded as capable of acting in the asylum procedure (i.e. they are over the age of 16) nor minors travelling with their 67