they are reportedly used for forced labour during their detention, which might vary between
six months to two years with no access to a lawyer and appropriate medical care. The
Committee also regrets the absence of information provided by the State party as to
conditions of women held in LTPs, which are of particular concern as they allegedly lack
access to medical services including gynaecologists (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
24.
The Committee urges the State party abolish all forms of “treatment
through labour” detentions in LTPs; provide more information, including current
statistics on those currently subject to this form of detention, the reasons for their
detention, the means of challenging such detention and the safeguards put in place to
prevent torture and ill-treatment in these facilities; and guarantee an access to a proper
medical care to all people held in LTPs, in particular women.
Women in detention
25.
The Committee is concerned at reported violence against women in penitentiary
facilities attributed to the penitentiary officials, including strip searches carried out by male
guards and sexual abuse, which have been also noted by the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Belarus (A/HRC/35/40, para. 131). The Committee is also
concerned at the absence of a mechanism for receiving complaints of sexual violence in those
facilities.
26.
The Committee urges the State party to:
(a)
Improve the conditions of detention for women, in line with the United
Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for
Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules);
(b)
Establish and promote an effective mechanism for receiving complaints of
sexual violence and ensure that law enforcement personnel are duly trained on the
absolute prohibition of violence against convicted women, and on how to receive such
complaints, and ensure an independent mechanism investigates them;
(c)
Abolish strip searches conducted by the guards of the opposite sex.
Juveniles in detention
27.
The Committee is concerned at the reported incidents of juvenile suspects having been
placed in pre-trial detention facility cells along with adults. The Committee regrets the
absence of a comprehensive juvenile justice system, which is currently under the auspices of
the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including the absence of specialised juvenile courts or
specially trained and appointed judges to deal with juvenile cases. The Committee is deeply
concerned that such a lack of specialised juvenile justice system leads to reoccurrence of
cases where incarcerated minors are reportedly subjected to violence, including sexual
violence, as was noted by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus
(A/HRC/35/40, para. 80) in the case of a minor in the detention centre in Homiel, where he
has been confined despite having a mental illness. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned
at the conditions and high number of minors detained in the closed schools, where they are
allegedly subjected to solitary confinement.
28.
The State party should:
(a)
Ensure that non-custodial measures are normally used for minors who are
in conflict with the law and that minors are detained as a last resort only and for the
shortest possible period and are separated from adults and afforded full legal
safeguards; and stop the practice of placing juvenile suspects in pre-trial detention
facility cells along with adults;
(b)
Establish an effective, specialized and well-functioning juvenile justice
system in compliance with international standards, including the United Nations
Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules)
and the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the
Riyadh Guidelines) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection
of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty;
7