The Committee recommends that the State party take specific measures to remedy the problems
caused by: the poor health care provided to detainees; the overcrowding of psychiatric wings; the
housing of some detainees among the general prison population owing to a lack of space in the
psychiatric wings; the dilapidated facilities; and the lack of activities and specialized care for detainees
in the psychiatric wings. The Committee also recommends that the State party ensure that adequate
specialized treatment be provided.
Violence against women and girls
(24) While it welcomes measures adopted by the State party to combat and eliminate violence against women,
such as the adoption of the Federal Action Plan 2004-2007 to combat domestic violence, the Committee notes with
concern the lack of any coordinated national strategy or programme to combat all forms of violence against women
and girls. The Committee is likewise concerned at the persistence of corporal punishment of children within the
family and the fact that this practice is not prohibited by law (arts. 2 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party adopt and implement a coherent and comprehensive
national strategy for the elimination of violence against women and girls that includes legal,
educational, financial and social components. It also requests the State party to strengthen its
cooperation with NGOs working in the area of violence against women. The State party should take
the necessary steps to include provisions banning corporal punishment of children within the family in
its legislation. The State party should guarantee women and child victims of violence access to
complaint mechanisms, punish the perpetrators of such acts in an appropriate manner and facilitate
victims’ physical and psychological rehabilitation.
Trafficking in persons
(25) While it welcomes the State party’s ratification of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime, the Committee is concerned that:
(a)
The State party is not doing enough to address the root causes of trafficking in women;
(b)
The resources allocated to that problem are still inadequate and that there is no coordinated
comprehensive plan at the national level;
(c)
justice;
There are gaps in international cooperation aimed at bringing those responsible for trafficking to
(d)
The fact that Belgium grants specific residence permits only to those victims of human trafficking
who cooperate with the judicial authorities (arts. 2 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party ratify the Council of Europe Convention on Action
against Trafficking in Human Beings, adopted in 2005, and continue to take all appropriate measures
to combat all forms of trafficking in women and children. In this connection, the Committee
encourages the State party to:
(a)
Focus not only on criminal justice measures and the prosecution of traffickers but also on
the protection and rehabilitation of victims;
(b)
Increase its efforts to address the root causes of trafficking in persons;
(c)
Strengthen international cooperation, in particular with countries of origin, trafficking
and transit, in order to ensure successful prosecutions;
(d)
Assist victims through counselling and reintegration measures;
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