Breaking the deadlock 10. The CPT understands the distress experienced by some trade union representatives and prison staff when faced with working conditions which at times can be well below what is required to ensure decent standards for inmates in their charge. These concerns echo those which the Committee has been voicing for many years. As the CPT has regularly pointed out, prison staff carry out a fundamental and very specific public service role which should be recognised in terms of recruitment, training and working conditions that ensure that inmates are looked after appropriately. In any event, any solution should include the introduction of a service guaranteeing the basic rights of inmates. Establishing such a service flows directly from the responsibilities of the state towards persons whom it has deprived of their liberty and from the fundamental principle that a lack of available resources cannot justify detention conditions which infringe the rights of inmates.20 11. Respect for the human dignity of all inmates should be the highest priority and should continue to guide the action being taken by the Belgian authorities. Greater attention should be focused on the vulnerable situation of persons held under psychiatric detention, awaiting care in appropriate facilities. It is imperative that, in future, in all circumstances: ► the security of all inmates, including those subject to a psychiatric detention measure, is guaranteed, ► inmates are at all times treated with humanity and respect, ► continuity of care is provided to those held under psychiatric detention, awaiting placement in an appropriate facility and to any other person suffering from psychiatric disorders in prison, ► inmates have unrestricted access to general and specialist medical care including, if absolutely necessary, in a hospital, ► meals (including one hot meal) are prepared and distributed at set times every day, ► access to an outdoor exercise area is granted for at least one hour per day, ► conditions for maintaining inmates’ personal hygiene are guaranteed, with access to showers at least twice a week, and cells are kept clean, ► inmates’ continuity of contacts with the outside world is maintained by telephone and post, and by means of weekly visits (in addition to any contacts with lawyers). 12. The CPT considers that failure to comply with these requirements may result in a large number of inmates being subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, or the aggravation of situations already characterised as intolerable, endangering the health and life of inmates and compromising the security of the establishments concerned. The lack of concrete progress over many years in establishing a viable system for these rights to be upheld in all circumstances, in 20. See, in this respect, Rules 4 and 8 of Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec (2006) 2 of 11 January 2006 on the European Prison Rules and Rule 74, paragraph 3, of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules). See also paragraphs 24 and 25 of the report on the 2016 visit to Belgium. General Report of the CPT, 2017 ► Page 58