CAT/C/AND/CO/1
current disciplinary regulations still allow for solitary confinement of up to 30 days as a
disciplinary measure (arts. 11 and 16).
The Committee recommends that disciplinary regulations be amended to reduce the
duration of placement in solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure to as short a
time as possible and only if necessary.
Body searches
18.
The Committee is concerned that prisoners are routinely subjected to complete strip
searches before and after family visits, which may amount to ill-treatment (arts. 11 and 16).
The Committee recommends that prison staff refrain from routinely subjecting
prisoners to complete strip searches that may amount to degrading treatment.
Complete strip searches should be conducted exceptionally, using the least invasive
method possible, only when strictly necessary and with respect for the dignity of the
prisoner.
Electrical discharge weapons
19.
While noting that electrical discharge weapons (such as “tasers”) have been used in
very few instances, the Committee is concerned that they have been used in closed settings
such as prisons and are included in the standard equipment of prison staff (arts. 2, 11 and
16).
The State party should ensure that the regulations concerning the use of electrical
discharge weapons are modified so that they are not part of the standard equipment
for prison staff and can be used exclusively in extreme and limited situations where
there is a real and immediate threat to life or risk of serious injury, as a substitute for
lethal weapons and by trained law enforcement personnel only. The State party
should revise the regulations governing the use of such weapons, with a view to
establishing a high threshold for their use and expressly prohibiting their use on
children and pregnant women. The Committee is of the view that the use of electrical
discharge weapons should be subject to the principles of necessity and proportionality
and should be inadmissible in the equipment of custodial staff in prisons or any other
places of deprivation of liberty. The Committee urges the State party to provide
detailed instructions and adequate training to law enforcement personnel entitled to
use electrical discharge weapons and to strictly monitor and supervise their use.
Corporal punishment
20.
In light of the State party’s commitment under the universal periodic review to enact
and implement legislation that prohibits all corporal punishment of children, the Committee
is concerned that corporal punishment is not yet explicitly prohibited in all settings (art.
16).
The Committee recommends that the State party enact and implement legislation that
explicitly prohibits corporal punishment of children in all settings.
Other issues
21.
The Committee invites the State party to consider ratifying the Optional Protocol to
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment. It also invites the State party to consider ratifying other United Nations human
rights treaties to which it is not yet party, namely the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto; the International Convention
on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto;
and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
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