A/63/175 all sorts of institutions 9 and States have to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish such non-State officials or private actors. 10 3. Accountable for what? (a) Poor conditions of detention 52. On numerous occasions the Committee against Torture has expressed concerns about poor living conditions in psychiatric institutions and homes for persons with disabilities in the context of ill-treatment under article 16 of the Convention against Torture. 11 Poor conditions in institutions are often the result of the failure of the State to live up to its obligations to provide persons in their custody with adequate food, water, medical care and clothing, and may constitute torture and illtreatment. 12 53. States have the further obligation to ensure that treatment or conditions in detention do not directly or indirectly discriminate against persons with disabilities. If such discriminatory treatment inflicts severe pain or suffering, it may constitute torture or other form of ill-treatment. In Hamilton v. Jamaica the Human Rights Committee examined whether the alleged failure of prison authorities to take the disability of the complainant into account and make proper arrangements to allow him leave the cell and have his slop bucket removed breached articles 7 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 13 The Committee found that the complainant, who was paralysed in both legs, had not been treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person in violation of article 10, paragraph 1, of the Covenant. In Price v. The United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights found that detention conditions of a woman with physical disabilities, including inaccessible toilets and bed, amounted to degrading treatment under article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. 14 54. The Special Rapporteur notes that under article 14, paragraph 2, of CRPD, States have the obligation to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are entitled to “provision of reasonable accommodation”. This implies an obligation to make appropriate modifications in the procedures and physical facilities of detention centres, including care institutions and hospitals, to ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy the same rights and fundamental freedoms as others, when such adjustments do not impose a disproportionate or undue burden. The denial or lack of reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities may create detention and living conditions that amount to ill-treatment and torture. __________________ 9 10 11 12 13 14 12 (CAT/C/GC/2), para. 15. Ibid., para. 18. See Committee against Torture, concluding observations on the fourth periodic report of the Russian Federation (CAT/C/RUS/CO/4), para. 18, the fourth periodic report of Estonia (CAT/C/EST/CO/4), para 24, and the third periodic report of Bulgaria (CAT/C/CR/32/6), paras. 5 (e) and 6 (e). See Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Ximenes Lopes v. Brasil, judgement of 4 July 2006, paras. 132 and 150. Human Rights Committee, views on communication 616/1995, adopted on 28 July 1999 (CCPR/C/66/D/616/1995), paras. 3.1 and 8.2. See Price v. the United Kingdom, European Court of Human Rights, judgement of 10 July 2001, application No. 3394/96, para. 30. 08-44075