CAT/OP/TUN/2
human rights violations brought to the mechanism’s attention and whether the facility
is accessible to other monitoring mechanisms.
16.
On the basis of this strategy, the mechanism should draw up a programme of
work and cooperation that gradually takes in all places of deprivation of liberty and
places where persons deprived of their liberty could be held, in accordance with
articles 4 and 29 of the Optional Protocol, taking care not to exclude any particular
kind of institution or any geographical area.
17. In this regard, the mechanism should, in accordance with article 3 (8) of the Act,
establish a secure database of places of deprivation of liberty in Tunisia so that it can
plan its visits independently and fully discharge its mandate. The database should
include, inter alia, the physical features of each facility, such as the overall layout, how
the accommodation is arranged and the dimensions of buildings, yards and cells, and
should be supplemented with information gathered during visits.
18.
In addition, the Subcommittee recommends that the mechanism keep its
schedule of visits confidential, as unannounced visits give a better idea of the true
conditions in places of deprivation of liberty, including police custody facilities, and
allow day-to-day operations to be observed.
19.
In terms of making legislative and regulatory recommendations, the
mechanism is encouraged to work to strengthen the normative and institutional
framework for the prevention of torture and the fight against impunity, in close
collaboration with the State party and its institutions, taking into account the
recommendations made by the Subcommittee at the end of its visit to Tunisia and
prioritizing the observations and recommendations made by the Committee against
Torture in its concluding observations to the Government of Tunisia
(CAT/C/TUN/CO/3).
20.
The Subcommittee notes that the Government of Tunisia has undertaken to provide
the mechanism with the necessary financial resources, assessed on the basis of the needs
expressed by the mechanism itself, 5 to enable it to fully discharge its mandate, in
accordance with paragraphs 8, 11 and 12 of the Subcommittee’s Guidelines on national
preventive mechanisms. It also notes that such financial resources must be drawn annually
from “funds allocated from the State budget” and that they must be directly managed by the
mechanism, in accordance with articles 15 and 166 of the Act and the provisions of the
Optional Protocol. The Subcommittee nonetheless expresses its concern about the fact that
the funds made available to the mechanism are not sufficient to enable it to carry out its
functions properly and about the lack of an independent budget line in the overall State
budget for the year 2017, 7 which is detrimental to the mechanism’s administrative and
financial independence, called for in article 1 of the Act, and therefore to its effective
functioning.
21.
The Subcommittee recommends that the mechanism continue lobbying the
Government of Tunisia to provide it with a stable, adequate budget, separate from the
government budget and available from the beginning of each year, so as to ensure the
mechanism’s proper functioning and financial and operational independence, in
accordance with article 18 (1) and (3) of the Optional Protocol. In this regard, it
encourages the mechanism to use the means at its disposal to highlight the importance
of a more substantial budget allocation for the year 2017, on the basis of a detailed
budget of the expenses involved in launching and carrying out its annual programme
of visits across the State party; in conducting its follow-up activities, as appropriate;
in mobilizing and developing partnerships with agencies involved in the prevention of
torture; and in meeting all logistical and infrastructure requirements for its efficient
5
6
7
6
Article 17 of the Act states that the annual budget must be approved by the National Authority for the
Prevention of Torture.
Article 16 of the Act specifies that the Chair of the National Authority for the Prevention of Torture is
responsible for the “administrative and financial supervision of the Authority and its officials”.
Allocations from certain ministerial budgets, such as that for the Prime Minister’s Office, may be
made available to the mechanism for 2017.
GE.17-13879