about 1 hour back in 2014. The Minister of Justice also provides the list of new activities available (see Appendix) and explains that the prison administration department has developed a tool for assessing the provision of non-remunerated activities enabling time in prison to be usefully spent. The CGLPL duly notes these efforts and will assess how effective they are on the ground. The CGLPL had recommended systematically holding literacy tests for new prisoners, assessing proficiency in the French language, adapting the French language learning conditions for foreign prisoners and promoting access to radio, television and any useful teaching aid. The Minister of Justice gives a reminder that pre-detection of illiteracy is carried out for all new arrivals. She points out that French lessons or refresher courses are a major component of education provided by the National Education system and that various initiatives and activities are carried out by the prison rehabilitation and probation services to facilitate access to reading in detention. The CGLPL duly notes this point. 4. Recommendations concerning detention centres for illegal immigrants and waiting areas The CGLPL's recommendations followed by a response from the Minister of the Interior are published in full in Appendix 4. 4.1 General recommendations 4.1.1 Information and rights of defence The CGLPL has issued various recommendations aimed at improving the information given to detained migrants, their access to legal counsel or the freedom of movement of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII) and legal aid associations within detention centres for illegal immigrants - including confinement facilities. The Ministry of the Interior maintains that the CGLPL's main recommendations are subject to statutory provisions and that good practices have been developed between detention centres for illegal immigrants so as to harmonise procedures that ensure both respect for personal dignity and continuing order and security. Only the CGLPL's recommendation on the need to use interpreters so as to avoid calling on "fellow prisoners" for this task has been left unanswered. The CGLPL duly notes these points but finds that in reality they are applied with difficulty and unevenly depending on the quality of relations between the authorities and the associations. Accordingly, the list of lawyers is not always on display or up-to-date, the quality and clarity of information handed out are variable and assistance by interpreters is not possible in all cases. Such measures - even in the detention centres for illegal immigrants where they are carried out "under normal circumstances" - can very quickly go out the window when there is a sudden uptick in activity, i.e. when there is an influx of new arrivals. As a result, it seems necessary for the authorities to set up the necessary resources and tools to ensure that the law and its specific instructions are applied under all circumstances. Set up the necessary resources (extra staff, agreements, inspections, training, educational tools, good practice guides, standard documents, etc.) to guarantee complete, accessible information, given in writing and orally, in a language the recipient can understand, and the free exercise of 62

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