CAT/OP/CRI/CSPRO/1 to a health centre. One of this nurse’s duties is to report signs of psychological distress to the psychology specialists. Psychiatric centres (paras. 96, 98 and 100) 146. As part of the initiatives described in paragraphs 27 and 154 of the present report, the Public Prosecution Service is working on an inter-institutional protocol for receiving and processing complaints and investigating criminal cases involving acts of torture or illtreatment against persons deprived of their liberty in the Centre for the Care of Persons with Mental Illness in Conflict with the Law. The protocol will provide for regular visits by the authorities during which persons deprived of liberty will be able to file complaints with all the proper safeguards to ensure that possible crimes are investigated promptly. 147. The Costa Rican Social Security Fund is currently implementing a project to construct a revamped Centre for the Care of Persons with Mental Illness in Conflict with the Law on the grounds of the National Psychiatric Hospital. As part of this project, four pavilions will be made available for the treatment of persons with mental illness in conflict with the law, whose location will depend on profiles determined in accordance with medical and safety criteria. The project is intended to improve the state of the infrastructure and equipment used in the care and treatment of such persons. 148. The new centre was 40 per cent complete as of October 2020. According to the original timeline, the project was due to be completed by January 2021. However, the construction company requested an extension of the deadline until February, which was granted by the Directorate for Institutional Maintenance. Accounting for the additional time needed for the final inspection and any final changes, the project should be finished by April 2021. 149. The Centre’s structured occupational therapy rehabilitation programme is designed around six basic categories of programmed activities, which are intended to help participants to develop the competencies needed for daily life and the necessary adaptive skills for optimal development. These categories are: • Adaptive skills • Use of free time • Education • Occupation • Physical activity • Cognitive stimulation 150. The move to the new facilities will not only represent an improvement in the conditions of detention for persons with mental illness in conflict with the law, but will also mean better professional care, since the new buildings will be located in a hospital centre specialized in psychiatric disorders. V. Training and labour conditions for prison personnel (para. 105) 151. As the Subcommittee rightly states in its recommendations, the continuous and efficient training of prison staff in respect for human rights is essential to ensure that the deprivation of liberty is not counterproductive and that, as part of their subsequent reintegration into society, prisoners are able to coexist normally with others. 152. Since 2012, in coordination with the national preventive mechanism of the Ombudsman’s Office, the Training School for Prison Officers has offered human rights courses in the prison system. The courses are designed for groups of 20 participants and course activities are endorsed by the Costa Rican Civil Service. In addition to these courses, lectures are frequently given on international human rights instruments and on the Constitution, with the prevention and prohibition of torture as a cross-cutting theme. GE.20-17766 19

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