educational or cultural activity. They were allowed out for only 15 minutes a day and they had no programme of activities. The guards took away the mattresses at 5 a.m. and they were left without even a place to sit. They had no chairs or other furniture and no libraries or books. They could receive visits from their families for an hour and a half per week. While the conditions in the facility left a strong impression on the members of the delegation, their interviews with the inmates had an even greater impact. These young people told the delegation that the guards constantly reminded them of the offences or infractions for which they had been sent to the centre and that they were threatened daily. They also said that there were daily fights between inmates and some said that they lived in constant fear and that they were sometimes beaten, not only by the guards but also by other inmates, often for reasons of discrimination. The delegation was informed that one young man had committed suicide at the centre. Another young man interviewed admitted to members of the delegation that, for fear of being discriminated against by other inmates, he had lied about his nationality. 247.With respect to minor girls deprived of their liberty, members of the delegation were deeply troubled by the statement of one young woman who explained she had suffered a miscarriage while in custody at the centre, which had been followed by a serious infection because, despite having appealed to the guards repeatedly, she had not been taken to a hospital promptly. According to her statement to the delegation, when she first arrived at the centre she had asked the guards to arrange for a pregnancy test because she suspected she was pregnant. No such test was ever done. The delegation members were truly disturbed by what they heard from all the young people interviewed at this facility. The delegation was told that inmates were not allowed to keep any personal belongings, not even pictures of their families. One of the inmates recounted how the guards had taken away a photo he had of his mother. 248.The delegation wishes to express its concern at the conditions in which the minors deprived of their liberty were being held at the centre at the time of the visit. The delegation found evidence of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Members noted that this juvenile detention centre is the antithesis of what the constitutional reform in this area was intended to achieve. 249. The Subcommittee strongly recommends that the State party take immediate administrative steps and conduct an urgent situation assessment aimed at totally restructuring this institution. The physical conditions at the centre and its administration must be completely overhauled, with the introduction of a whole range of activities that should exist not only in theory, but also in practice. If the institution cannot be restructured, the Subcommittee recommends that it be closed. 250.The Subcommittee wishes to remind the Mexican Government that, in accordance with international standards, minors deprived of liberty must be treated in a manner that reinforces their sense of dignity and decorum, facilitates their reintegration into society, is conducive to their best interests and takes into account their needs as minors.In addition, the Subcommittee wishes to remind the State party that the privacy of minors held under custody by the State must be respected and that complete, secure and confidential records must be kept. 251.The delegation interviewed police officers from the Office of the Public Prosecutor, members of the State Human Rights Commission of the Federal District and members of civil society organizations with regard to the events of 17 July 2008 and the death, torture, rape and sexual abuse of minors who were inside the News Divine nightclub during a police raid in Mexico City. The Subcommittee wishes to point out that torture must be prevented in all places or situations in which the victims are under the custody of State officials, including both public and private places or modes of transport. In the case of the News Divine raid, the Subcommittee believes that, with a view to preventing similar occurrences in the future, a thorough criminal, civil and administrative investigation must be carried out in order to establish not only the criminal responsibility of those directly responsible, but also the State’s responsibility for acts or omissions of public officials in the way the raid was handled. The Subcommittee recommends that the State include in training programmes for law enforcement officials strategies for preventing torture and cruel treatment during police operations in which people in public or private places are taken into custody and transported to police stations. 252. The Subcommittee urges the State party to be mindful of rule 24 of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing Rules), which states: “efforts shall be made to provide juveniles, at all stages of the proceedings, with necessary assistance such as lodging, education or vocational training, employment or any other assistance, helpful and practical, in order to facilitate the rehabilitative process”. 253.The Subcommittee wishes to stress the importance of ensuring that personnel responsible for guarding or supervising minors receive special instruction and training, as provided under rule 12 of the Beijing Rules. Accordingly, the Subcommittee recommends that the Mexican State ensure that appropriate instruction, awareness-raising and training is provided for personnel responsible for dealing with minors who are under any type of State custody. 254. The Subcommittee urges the Mexican State to ensure that parents of minors in State custody are notified through appropriate channels of communication of their children’s whereabouts. 2.Indigenous peoples 255.It was in Oaxaca that the delegation had most direct contact with indigenous persons deprived of their liberty. The delegation’s overall impression is that, generally speaking, not enough has been done to enable these people to enjoy differentiated treatment and affirmative action, not only so that they can lead dignified lives in accordance with their world view, but so that their most basic needs will be met and they will not be uprooted from their native communities and their customs, practices and rituals. The delegation observed that indigenous persons deprived of their liberty not only have to grapple with that situation, but they must also adapt to conditions that are foreign to their way of life. As a result, they are subjected to double punishment, which may lead, in many cases, to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. 256.The delegation conducted interviews at the Valles Centrales Regional Prison in Oaxaca and found that the majority of indigenous prisoners deprived of their liberty did not, at the time of their arrest, have the services of an interpreter who spoke their native language. Some of them told the delegation that had never fully understood why they had been arrested. Most of the indigenous