CAT/OP/KAZ/1/Add.1 reached the age of 3. In line with rule 59 of the Nelson Mandela Rules, prisoners should be allocated, to the extent possible, to prisons close to their homes. 267. Pursuant to article 116 of the Penalties Enforcement Code, children’s units have been set up in institutions of the penal correction system to create the conditions necessary for the normal accommodation and development of children aged under 3 years. Women convicted prisoners can place their children in such units and, when they are not working, can spend as much time with them as they wish. 268. Medical care is provided for women convicted prisoners who are pregnant or in labour and for their children within the framework of the guaranteed volume of free medical care (Government Decision No. 2136 of 15 December 2009 and Ministry of Internal Affairs Order No. 314 of 7 April 2015 approving rules for the provision of medical care for citizens whose freedom has been restricted and persons serving court-imposed penalties in places of deprivation of liberty or placed in special institutions). 269. One of these children’s units has been set up at institution LA-155/4 of the Almaty province Departmental Penal Correction System, providing temporary care for up to 50 children aged under 3 years. 270. The children’s unit has all the necessary equipment and facilities. The work is organized by the director of the children’s unit and the staff, which includes a paediatrician, a neurologist, a psychiatrist, five nurses, a radiographer, a midwife, an aide, teachers and nannies. 271. The children are examined by doctors on a daily basis. Children aged over 3 years are placed in the care of a close relative of the convicted prisoner. In the event that a convicted prisoner does not have any close relatives or they refuse to take the child, the child is placed in a children’s home, in accordance with a court decision. Paragraph 133 In relation to the juvenile colony visited, the Subcommittee recommends that further measures be taken to ensure that life inside the colony prepares children for life in the community, in particular the facilitation of more regular contact with the community and the discontinuance of all stigmatizing measures, including the shaving of heads and wearing of uniforms and badges. When boys are placed in close contact with adults, which is the case in pretrial detention, it must be in their best interest and should be done, as stipulated in the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, as part of a special programme that has been shown to be beneficial for the juveniles concerned. 272. The country currently has one young offenders’ institution in Almaty (institution LA155/6) and one segregated area for female juvenile convicted prisoners at institution LA155/4. 273. The institution has a total of 48 juvenile convicted prisoners. 274. The educational activities conducted in the institution are tailored to the psychological and physical characteristics of adolescents and the individual needs of the young offenders. 275. Juveniles who find themselves in conflict with the law need assistance in the form of comprehensive services and support for the process of serving a criminal sentence. 276. For this reason, the institution has a psychological service. On entry to the institution, every juvenile convicted prisoner undergoes a comprehensive initial psychological evaluation. The psychologist uses the results of the evaluation to make a character assessment of the young offender and gives officers recommendations for future interventions. Persons in need of special attention are placed on a preventive register. 277. Group sessions in psychological counselling, preventive psychology and education (training courses and lectures) are one of the most effective psychological interventions. They enable all convicted prisoners to develop communication skills, gain an outside perspective on their conduct and analyse mistakes and deficiencies in their communication. 30 GE.18-05420