CAT/C/TLS/CO/1
43.
The State party should take urgent action to protect persons with disabilities
from further abuse and ill-treatment and, to this end, should prioritize increased
investment in mental health services and train police officers and other relevant
officials on the need to intervene in cases where family or community members are
engaging in such practices. The State party should also consider ratifying the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons
44.
While welcoming the State party’s public condemnation of discrimination against
individuals on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity, the Committee
remains concerned at reports that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons are
subjected to physical maltreatment.
45.
The State party should take effective measures to prevent violence based on
real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity and ensure that all acts of
violence are investigated and prosecuted promptly, effectively and impartially,
perpetrators brought to justice and victims provided with redress.
Training
46.
While taking note of the existing general training programmes on human rights for
police officers, members of the armed forces and judicial officers, the Committee remains
concerned by the lack of information on the impact of the training provided. It also regrets
the lack of specific training provided to law enforcement officials, judges, prosecutors,
forensic doctors and medical personnel on how to detect and document physical and
psychological sequelae of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment (art. 10).
47.
The State party should:
(a)
Further develop mandatory training programmes to ensure that all
public officials, in particular law enforcement officers, military personnel, prison staff
and medical personnel employed in prisons, are well acquainted with the provisions of
the Convention and are fully aware that violations will not be tolerated and will be
investigated and that those responsible will be prosecuted;
(b)
Develop training programmes on non-coercive investigatory techniques
and apply a methodology for assessing the effectiveness of training programmes in
reducing the number of cases of torture and ill-treatment and in ensuring the
investigation and prosecution of these acts;
(c)
Ensure that all relevant staff, including medical personnel, are
specifically trained to identify cases of torture and ill-treatment, in accordance with
the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol);
(d)
Develop further training and capacity-building programmes in the
justice sector to educate prosecutors and judges about the provisions of the
Convention and the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment in domestic law.
Follow-up procedure
48.
The Committee requests the State party to provide, by 6 December 2018,
information on the follow-up given to the Committee’s recommendations on past
human rights violations; the investigation of recent allegations of excessive use of force
and ill-treatment by the police and the military; and the investigation of all complaints
of torture and ill-treatment (see paras. 9 (a)–(d), 13 (b) and 17 (a) above). In that
context, the State party is invited to inform the Committee about its plans for
implementing, within the coming reporting period, some or all of the remaining
recommendations contained in the concluding observations.
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