8. Public statement concerning Belgium (made on 13 July 2017) Introduction 1. The CPT has carried out ten visits to Belgium since 1993. In many respects, the co-operation which the Committee has been shown by the Belgian authorities in the course of those visits and in the implementation of its recommendations gives genuine cause for satisfaction. The Committee would like to welcome the efforts made over the years to strengthen the protection of persons deprived of their liberty in the country. The most recent periodic visit, which took place from 27 March to 6 April 2017, provided the opportunity to see further progress, including in the prison sector, which will be reflected in the future CPT report on that visit. 2. However, for 12 years, the CPT has consistently expressed its deep concern regarding the serious consequences which can result from industrial action by prison staff in Belgium. These consequences have a direct impact (for prolonged periods) on the detention conditions, health and security of the persons placed under their responsibility. They entail, in particular, almost continuous confinement of inmates in cells in conditions already deemed intolerable, serious disruption in the distribution of their meals, a dramatic deterioration of their personal hygiene conditions and conditions in cells, frequent cancellation of daily outdoor exercise, serious restrictions on their access to health care and a virtual halt to their contacts with the outside world (including with lawyers). Such industrial action, which at times takes place without any prior notice and without any limit on the number of prison staff involved or the duration of the action, generally gives rise to a significant increase in tension in the establishments concerned. Further, the occurrence, during prison strikes, of several serious incidents, which in some cases have led to deaths, raises worrying questions about the ability of the authorities and those responsible for the industrial action to deal appropriately with the consequences. During its many visits to the 47 Council of Europe member states over the last 27 years, the Committee has never observed a similar phenomenon, in terms of both the extent of the phenomenon in question and the risks involved. 3. Persons subject to a psychiatric detention measure (“internement”) are, on account of their particular needs, placed in an even more vulnerable situation during industrial action by prison staff. The CPT has also highlighted in its reports a number of general shortcomings in the care provided to these persons.13 These same shortcomings prompted the European Court of Human Rights to conclude that there 13. See, for example, paragraph 95 of the CPT report on its periodic visit to Belgium in 2013 (in French only). Appendices ► Page 55