CAT/OP/BOL/3/Add.1
173. To that end, according to the fourth transitional provision of the Code, within 365
days of its entry into force, autonomous departmental governments, with the exception for
the moment of that of Pando, shall create specialized centres for the implementation of
socioeducational, restrictive and custodial measures, including social reintegration centres.
174. In this respect, the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of
their Liberty (Havana Rules) provide that:
• Detention facilities and services shall meet all the requirements of health and human
dignity (rule 31)
• The design of detention facilities should be in keeping with the rehabilitative aim of
residential treatment, with due regard to the need for privacy, opportunities for
association with peers and participation in sports, physical exercise and leisure-time
activities (rule 32)
175. With regard to education, rules 38 to 46 provide that minors are entitled to receive
education adapted to their needs and capacities, imparted by qualified teachers through
programmes integrated into the public education system. This reflects the importance of
ensuring the continuity of adolescents’ education when they are deprived of their liberty in
a centre, either in pretrial detention or following sentencing; the right to education must be
guaranteed, as it is one of the rights recognized by law and in international instruments.
176. With that in mind, a meeting was held with representatives of the Ministry of
Education on 22 September 2017 to take the necessary steps to guarantee access to
education, through mainstream education and the alternative education centres nationwide,
during which the Ministry undertook to request specific data, such as age, years of
schooling, etc. from the social reintegration centres in order to have standardized
information to ensure the integration of adolescents deprived of their liberty into either
formal or alternative education.
177. Lastly, article 338 of Act No. 548 provides that social reintegration centres should
have internal regulations that respect the recognized rights and safeguards applicable to
adolescents, which should cover, at a minimum, the living conditions for adolescents in the
centres, possible penalties that may be imposed during the execution of the measure and the
procedure to be followed when imposing disciplinary sanctions, all essential aspects for
safeguarding the rights of adolescents in conflict with the law during the application of the
socioeducational measure, while establishing limits and parameters on the actions of the
staff of the centre.
178. It is intended to compensate for the lack of a register of social reintegration centres
in the country through the register of the information system on children and adolescents
(SINNA) in the module of the criminal justice system for adolescents (MOSPA), which is
expected to become operational by the end of December 2018.
179. With regard to the lack of internal regulations in social reintegration centres, such
regulations are in the process of being developed and are the responsibility of the social
policy technical bodies and the care centres for adolescents in conflict with the law. So far,
the Cenvicruz centre in the governorate of Santa Cruz has presented its regulations.
180. A plan is to be launched to ease overcrowding in the social reintegration centres
with the largest populations, in coordination with the judiciary, the Public Prosecution
Service and the Plurinational Public Defender Service, through the modification of noncustodial precautionary measures, subject to a request for information on the size of the
population in each of the centres.
181. Similarly, notes have been sent to departmental autonomous governments in order to
ensure that the coordinators of social reintegration centres submit their internal regulations
and urging them to fulfil the mandate entrusted to them by law, namely to ensure respect
for the rights and safeguards of adolescents deprived of their liberty, in view of the best
interests of children and adolescents. In the event that the governorates do not reply at all, a
compliance action shall be initiated, within the framework of the powers established by law.
GE.18-12244
27
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