CAT/OP/CRI/ROSP/1 81. The Subcommittee recommends drawing up an appropriate strategy and allocating sufficient financial and human resources to provide persons deprived of their liberty with effective rehabilitation opportunities in areas such as reading, sport, art, recreation, education and work. It is important to strengthen the model being used in the comprehensive rehabilitation units and to measure outcomes, in order to be able to replicate and expand the model on the basis of reliable findings. The Subcommittee is of the view that, for the model to be successful, it is crucial that the prison population not exceed a prison’s actual capacity for accommodation. Treatment of women deprived of their liberty 82. The Vilma Curling closed rehabilitation centre is the only prison for women in all of Costa Rica, together with the female unit of the Liberia Prison, which houses 32 inmates. This reportedly generates a sense of uprooting and makes contact with family more difficult. In addition, there are practically no options for relocating prisoners with behavioural problems. Although the prison authorities were not able to indicate clearly the capacity of Vilma Curling, there were, at the time of the visit, 647 persons being held, and the Subcommittee found overcrowding in some cell blocks, with some inmates having to sleep in bathrooms. 83. The Subcommittee recommends that the State party ensure compliance with the national prison system regulations so that women prisoners may be held in areas near where their families live, in order to help them maintain close ties, especially with children older than 3 years. The Subcommittee also recommends the use of noncustodial measures, in line with the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). 84. The Subcommittee received complaints from women prisoners about insufficient medical care, in particular the irregularity of mammograms and the total lack of gynaecological care. Although there is a clinic at the Vilma Curling closed rehabilitation centre, with everything needed to provide adequate medical attention, as of the delegation’s visit, the clinic was not yet authorized to open. Moreover, as the Subcommittee was informed by the physician on site, there were many cases of diabetes and morbid obesity among women prisoners, owing to a diet excessively high in carbohydrates. In addition, sanitary pads and bedding were not distributed; they were provided to prisoners during visits. In the kitchen, the Subcommittee observed flies on the food, perishables past their expiration date and lack of cleanliness regarding the dishes used by prisoners. In addition, there was an insufficient number of working showers and toilets.11 85. The Subcommittee reiterates its previous recommendations regarding medical care, food, hygiene and sanitation and the necessary provision of personal hygiene products. It further recommends that the necessary measures be urgently adopted to ensure that the clinic receives a licence to operate and provide women with health services relevant to their needs, in accordance with the Bangkok Rules (rules 5–13). C. Centres for adolescents and young adults in conflict with the law 86. Act No. 7576 on the juvenile justice system sets the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 12 years of age – below the age recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.12 87. At the time of the Subcommittee’s visit, children and adolescents in conflict with the law were being held at the Zurquí juvenile training centre, in the city of Heredia, which also houses some young adults. The fact that there is only one such centre has led to the uprooting of those children and adolescents who hail from distant regions. In addition, the separation of children and adolescents according to gender, age and legal status, in accordance with the 11 12 14 Two toilets and three showers for 37 persons. The Committee on the Rights of the Child recommends setting the minimum age of criminal responsibility between 14 and 16 years of age; see general comment No. 10 (2007) on children’s rights in juvenile justice, paras. 32–33. GE.21-00153