A/HRC/34/54/Add.2
(c)
including:
Adopt and implement measures to significantly reduce overcrowding,
(i)
Overhauling the prison system to reduce the number of detainees and
increasing prison capacities in more modern prison facilities;
(ii)
Accelerating the judicial process and reviewing sentencing policies by
introducing alternatives to incarceration (bail and electronic surveillance for
pretrial defendants; non-custodial sentences for non-violent offenders and
juveniles; parole and early release for the convicted);
(d)
Design a criminal justice system that aims at rehabilitating and
reintegrating offenders, including by creating work and education opportunities;
(e)
Allocate sufficient budgetary resources to provide adequate health care
by employing a sufficient number of qualified professionals and providing infirmaries
in detention centres with adequate equipment and medicines;
(f)
Ensure the daily presence of truly independent and qualified medical
health staff, including psychiatric and dental specialists, in all places of deprivation of
liberty, in cooperation with the public health services, to perform a medical entrance
examination for all detainees, conduct regular check-ups and provide medical
assistance as necessary;
(g)
Monitor the quantity and quality of food and water and ensure adequate
sanitary and hygienic conditions, satisfactory ventilation and adequate access to
exercise, sunlight and recreational activities;
(h)
Authorize more frequent family visits and facilitate them by providing
transportation and other support for indigent families;
(i)
Purchase and use body and parcel scanners, as promised by the Ministry
of Prison Reforms, Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Hindu Religious Affairs, to
address the indignity of invasive body searches of family members visiting detainees;
(j)
Install telephones or computers for inmates so that they are able to
communicate with their families.
118. Regarding safeguards and prevention, the Special Rapporteur recommends
that the Government:
(a)
Immediately shut down any unofficial detention facilities that may still
be in existence;
(b)
Ensure prompt and official registration of all persons deprived of their
liberty and periodically inspect records at police and prison facilities to ensure that
they are maintained in accordance with the established procedures; failure to do so
would entail investigating senior officers and holding them accountable;
(c)
Digitize all registrations and records of all persons deprived of their
liberty and make them accessible to the National Human Rights Commission;
(d)
Guarantee that access to lawyers through the Legal Aid Commission or
bar association or other service is granted, in law and in practice, from the moment of
deprivation of liberty and throughout all stages of criminal proceedings;
(e)
End the practice of incommunicado detention during the initial hours at
unofficial detention locations;
20
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