CAT/C/SLE/CO/1
In accordance with the undertaking made to the Committee, the State party should:
(a)
Amend the Extradition Act to ensure that the crimes enumerated in
article 4 of the Convention are considered as extraditable offences;
(b)
Take the necessary legislative and administrative measures to ensure
that the Convention can be invoked as a legal basis for extradition in respect of the
crimes enumerated in article 4 of the Convention when it receives a request for
extradition from any other State party with which it has no extradition treaty, while
at the same time observing the provisions of article 3 of the Convention;
(c)
Take the necessary legislative and administrative measures to provide
mutual judicial assistance to other State parties in all matters of criminal procedure
regarding the crimes enumerated in article 4 of the Convention, including by
incorporating into national legislation multilateral agreements with mutual assistance
provisions already ratified by the State party.
Training
23.
While noting the inclusion of the prohibition of torture in the Police Training
School-Recruit Manual, the Committee is concerned at the absence of specific and periodic
training on the Convention, and the omission of the absolute prohibition of torture in the
rules and instructions governing military personnel, police officers, prison staff,
immigration officers and law enforcement personnel such as judges, prosecutors and
lawyers. It is also concerned at the fact that the guidelines set out in the Manual on
Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol, 1999) are not followed in
investigations into cases of torture or ill-treatment (art. 10).
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Include the absolute prohibition of torture in all the rules and
instructions applicable to civil and military law enforcement personnel, or persons
involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment of persons deprived of their
liberty;
(b)
Disseminate widely training programmes with customized modules on
the Convention to ensure that security and law enforcement personnel, civil and
military, are fully aware of the provisions of the Convention and particularly of the
absolute prohibition of torture;
(c)
Provide training in respect of the Istanbul Protocol on a regular and
systematic basis to medical personnel, forensic doctors, judges, immigration officers,
prosecutors and all other persons involved in the custody, interrogation or treatment
of persons deprived of their liberty, as well as to anyone else involved in investigations
into cases of torture;
(d)
Assess and evaluate as far as practicably possible the effectiveness of
educational and training programmes dealing with the Convention and the Istanbul
Protocol.
Pretrial detention
24.
The Committee welcomes the ongoing reform of the Criminal Procedure Act, aimed
at accelerating trials and enabling the imposition of alternative methods of serving
sentences. The Committee remains concerned, however, at the fact that pretrial detainees
reportedly account for more than half of the prison population. The Committee notes with
concern the excessive resort to imprisonment for minor offences and the current restrictive
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