A/68/44
Training
(16) The Committee is concerned that no specific methodologies exist to evaluate the
efficiency of training or educational programmes for law enforcement and medical
personnel, judges and prosecutors, as well as persons working with migrants and asylum
seekers on the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment (art. 10).
The State party should:
(a)
Develop specific methodologies to evaluate the training and educational
programmes provided on the absolute prohibition of torture and ill-treatment to law
enforcement and medical personnel, judges and prosecutors, as well as persons
working with migrants and asylum seekers;
(b)
Ensure that the Istanbul Protocol is made a mandatory part of the
training for all medical professionals involved in the documentation and investigation
of allegations of torture and ill-treatment in order to permit, inter alia, the proper
diagnosis of signs of torture.
Conditions of detention
(17) The Committee is concerned by information suggesting that conditions in some
prisons and police arrest houses do not meet international standards, including with regard
to infrastructure, hygiene and sanitary conditions, hot water, heating, windows, ventilation,
lighting, furniture and living space. It is concerned that unsatisfactory conditions have also
been reported by the Chancellor of Justice in some new or renovated facilities. The
Committee is particularly concerned by the use of cells with unsuitable conditions in some
police stations. It is also concerned by the failure of the prison authorities to ensure the right
of prisoners to have their complaints about the conditions of detention heard (arts. 2, 11, 12,
13 and 16).
The State party should:
(a)
Take immediate steps to improve the material conditions in all prisons
and police arrest houses, including newly built and renovated ones, with a view to
improving the infrastructure, hygiene and sanitary conditions, hot water, heating,
ventilation, lighting and furniture, and repairing broken windows, in accordance with
international standards;
(b)
Take steps to ensure minimum international standards of at least four
square meters of living space for each detainee;
(c)
Ensure that the construction of planned additional prisons and the
expansion and renovation of existing places of detention continue according to
schedule;
(d)
Ensure the existence of impartial mechanisms to deal with the
complaints of prisoners about their conditions of detention and provide effective
follow-up to such complaints.
Categorization of prisoners according to their language proficiency
(18) The Committee is concerned by reports that since 2011, prisoners’ name badges
include information about their proficiency in the Estonian language, which some consider
to be discriminatory and humiliating (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party put an end to any discrimination
against prisoners on the basis of their proficiency in the Estonian language and ensure
that prisoners are not penalized with regard to administrative or disciplinary matters
if they do not have a sufficient understanding of the language. Translation services
GE.13-46043
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