A/HRC/40/59/Add.2
(p)
Review the reforms introduced under Act No. 27375, which undermine
the principle of the gradual reintegration of convicts into society;
(q)
Immediately cease holding detainees in police stations and other facilities
not designed for long-term detention;
(r)
Ensure that the powers of law enforcement officials to detain or hold
persons for such purposes as verification of identity are restricted by precise, detailed
and binding guidelines with a view to preventing discriminatory or otherwise abusive
practices and limiting the use of arrest and detention without a warrant to in flagrante
delicto cases.
85.
With a view to ensuring adequate conditions of detention, the Special
Rapporteur recommends that the authorities:
(a)
Allocate the funds necessary for the renovation and/or replacement of
outdated detention facilities, and ensure that all aspects of treatment and conditions of
detention fully comply with international standards, most notably the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules);
(b)
Ensure accessible, fully independent, proactive, expedient and effective
complaints, oversight and investigative mechanisms for the prevention, investigation
and prosecution of corrupt practices not only by police and prison staff, but also by
officials from all relevant branches, services of government and the judiciary that may
negatively impact on the conditions of detention and treatment of inmates;
(c)
Determine prison capacity not on the basis of available beds, but rather
on the basis of available space per inmate, in line with international minimum
specifications of 3.4 m2 per inmate in shared accommodation and 5.4 m2 per inmate in
single cells;
(d)
Allocate adequate resources to improving the forensic medical capacity
infrastructure within places of detention, and ensure the full independence of all
forensic medical staff by placing them under the authority of the Ministry of Health
and Social Development;
(e)
Adapt the medical registration forms that are currently used so that they
meet the recommendations contained in the Istanbul Protocol;
(f)
Adopt and implement special health programmes to address the
challenges of chronic or contagious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and of drug
addiction, including through the introduction of effective drug-replacement therapies;
(g)
In cases of death in custody, apply the standards developed in the Istanbul
Protocol and the Minnesota Protocol, and ensure the independence of the investigation
and the protection of witnesses;
(h)
Introduce a system of boxes for the collection of confidential complaints
in detention centres and police stations, ensuring that they are accessible to all inmates
without supervision and can be opened only by staff of independent oversight
mechanisms external to the place of detention;
(i)
Ensure that all law enforcement officials and prison staff in every province
receive initial and regularly recurring training on human rights (including the Nelson
Mandela Rules) on working with detainees in vulnerable situations and on early
identification of signs of potential mental illness and of torture and other ill-treatment;
(j)
Ensure that solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure or form of
punishment cannot be imposed without appropriate procedures and safeguards to
guard against arbitrariness;
(k)
Exercise strict supervision of body-search procedures and ensure that
such searches are conducted by trained staff of the same gender and in full respect of
human dignity;
17
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents