31 6. State of progress in the field of protection from ill-treatment in 2012 During numerous visits to the detention facilities in 2012, it was observed that a number of weaknesses concerning the position of PDLs and their protection from ill-treatment occurred at different levels. An issue may arise from an individual relation between an authorised officer and the PDLs, through deficiencies in organisation and functioning of a particular institution, deficiencies of the system as a whole, to the irregularities of the regulations or lack of regulations, and finally to broad social relations manifested through stigmatization of persons deprived of liberty, implying awareness of the justification for their ill-treatment. In Serbia, the effort to protect the rights of PDLs as well as advocating the prohibition of ill-treatment, in many cases is seen as an attempt to provide privileges to such persons - to give them more rights and protection than they have, or deserve. Although human dignity, the right to inviolability of the physical and psychological integrity and the prohibition of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are guaranteed by the Constitution, by various laws and major conventions ratified by Serbia, there is no honest belief that these basic human rights are sacrosanct, that every citizen is entitled to them including the one who is arrested, detained or convicted, asylum seeker or illegal migrant, as well as all beneficiaries with mental disabilities or special needs. It was observed that efforts and commitment to respect international standards in Serbia is usually seen as something imposed as the acceptance of other people’s rules inapplicable in this area. Thesis about uniqueness of cultural human rights or cultural peculiarity, tradition and particular customs in this region have led to populist beliefs about the need for inappropriate harsh sentencing policies and even ill-treatment approval. Consequently there are ideas of re-introduction of the death penalty, increase of the length of imprisonment sentences, and among other things, ideas for introducing chemical castration as a punishment are continually being renewed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in institutions where the PDLs are placed, the trend of increasing awareness of the need to eradicate any form of ill-treatment is evident.