A/67/44
in the sense that it allows intelligence information that may have been derived through
mistreatment by foreign States to be used within Canada; and allows CSIS to share
information with foreign agencies even when doing so poses a serious risk of torture, in
exceptional cases involving threats to public safety, in contravention to recommendation 14
from the Arar Inquiry (arts. 2, 10, 15 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party modify the Ministerial Direction to
CSIS to bring it in line with Canada’s obligations under the Convention. The State
party should strengthen its provision of training on the absolute prohibition of torture
in the context of the activities of intelligence services.
Oversight mechanism over security and intelligence operations
(18) The Committee is concerned about the lack of information on measures taken by the
State party to implement proposals made in the Policy Report from the Arar Inquiry for a
model of comprehensive review and oversight of law enforcement and security agencies
involved in national security activities (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party:
(a)
Examine options for modernizing and strengthening national security
review framework in a more timely and transparent manner;
(b)
Consider urgently implementing the model for oversight of agencies
involved in national security agencies, proposed by the Arar Inquiry; and
(c)
Inform the Committee of changes made with regard to oversight
mechanism over security and intelligence operations in the next periodic report.
Detention conditions
(19) While noting a Transformation Agenda launched by the Correctional Service of
Canada with a view to improving its operations, the Committee remains concerned at (arts.
2, 11 and 16):
(a)
The inadequate infrastructure of detention facilities to deal with the rising and
complex needs of prisoners, in particular those with mental illness;
(b)
Incidents of inter-prisoner violence and in-custody deaths resulting from
high-risk lifestyles such as abuse of drugs and alcohol, which, as acknowledged by the
delegation, still circulate in places of detention; and
(c)
The use of solitary confinement, in the forms of disciplinary and
administrative segregation, often extensively prolonged, even for persons with mental
illness.
The State party should take all necessary measures to ensure that detention conditions
in all places of deprivation of liberty are in conformity with the Standard Minimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. It should, inter alia:
(a)
Strengthen its efforts to adopt effective measures to improve material
conditions in prisons, reduce the current overcrowding, properly meet the basic needs
of all persons deprived of their liberty and eliminate drugs;
(b)
Increase the capacity of treatment centres for prisoners with
intermediate and acute mental health issues;
(c)
Limit the use of solitary confinement as a measure of last resort for as
short a time as possible under strict supervision and with a possibility of judicial
review; and
120
GE.12-44492
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