70
labor demand of the different penitentiaries. 234 A shortage of penitentiary personnel
creates, inter alia, internal security problems in the prisons.
Training
197.
For the Inter‐American human rights system, the Principles and Best
Practices establish:
Principle XX: […] The personnel of places of deprivation of liberty shall receive
initial instruction and periodic specialized training, with an emphasis on the social
nature of their work. Such instruction and training shall include, at least, education
on human rights; on the rights, duties, and prohibitions in the exercise of their
functions; and on national and international principles and rules regarding the use
of force, firearms, and physical restraint. For these purposes, the member States
of the Organization of American States shall promote the creation and operation
of specialized education and training programs with the participation and
235
cooperation of social institutions and private enterprises.
198.
The IACHR reiterates the principle that the effective observance of
human rights requires a system in which all law enforcement officers are trained in the
principles of a participatory and well‐informed democracy. 236 Accordingly, enforcement
personnel, medical personnel, police officers and any other persons involved in the custody
or treatment of any individual subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment
must receive appropriate instruction and training. 237 In particular, personnel assigned to
work with specific groups of persons deprived of their liberty, such as foreign nationals,
women, children, older persons and the mentally ill, among others, must receive training
specifically tailored to their specialized tasks.
199.
Training for personnel working in facilities for persons deprived of their
liberty is not just an essential precondition for appropriate penitentiary management; it is
also a key mechanism to ensure respect for and to guarantee the fundamental rights of
persons deprived of liberty. The training of all staff must include study��of international and
regional instruments for the protection of human rights.
234
For example, in the public hearing on the Situation of the Penitentiary System in Guatemala (March
6, 2006), the participants mentioned that of the 41 prisons in the country, 17 are run by the correctional
administration, and 24 by the National Civil Police.
235
In the same vein, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Rules 47 and 52.1),
and specifically with regard to children and adolescents, the Beijing Rules (Rule 12) and the United Nations Rules
for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (Rule 85).
236
IACHR, Third Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Paraguay, Ch. IV, para. 36.
237
United Nations, Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 20: Prohibition of torture, or
th
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (Article 7), adopted at the 44 session (1992), para.
10. In Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations adopted by human rights treaty bodies,
Volume I, HRI/GEN/1/Rev.9 (Vol. I) adopted on May 27, 2008, p. 240.
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