A/67/44
The State party should continue to provide training programmes to all public officials,
in particular police and other law enforcement officers, to ensure that they are fully
aware of the provisions of the Convention. The State party should also ensure that
specialized training on obligations under international refugee and human rights law
is provided to authorities involved with border surveillance processes, as well as
exercise of subsequent regular internal control.
In addition, the State party should establish a training plan for all personnel involved
in the investigation and identification of torture, including public defenders, doctors
and psychologists, so that the contents of the Istanbul Protocol are known and applied
in practice. It should further undertake an assessment of the effectiveness and impact
of training schemes and education in reducing incidences of torture and ill-treatment.
Redress, including compensation and rehabilitation
(26) The Committee reiterates its concern at the insufficient information provided
relating to redress, including fair and adequate compensation as well as rehabilitation,
available to victims of torture or their dependants, in accordance with article 14 of the
Convention. The Committee is also concerned at the significant delays in offering redress
to victims of violence which has been determined by international supervisory organs and
courts (art. 14).
The State party should strengthen its efforts in respect of redress, including
compensation and the means for as full rehabilitation as possible, and develop a
specific programme of assistance in respect of victims of torture and ill-treatment. The
State party should also establish more efficient and accessible procedures to ensure
that victims can exercise their right to compensation in accordance with Law
3811/2009, especially by reducing the time used by domestic courts to award damages
in such cases. The Committee also recommends that the State party should without
exception and as a matter of urgency offer prompt redress to victims of violence which
has been determined by international supervisory organs and courts, such as this
Committee and the Human Rights Committee, and the European Court of Human
Rights.
Aghia Varvara case
(27) The Committee reiterates its previous concern that 502 out of 661 Albanian Roma
street children reportedly went missing following their placement during 1998–2002 in the
Greek Aghia Varvara children’s institution and it is particularly concerned that these cases
have not been investigated by the relevant State party authorities (arts. 2 and 12).
The Committee urges the State party to engage with the Albanian authorities with a
view to promptly creating an effective mechanism to investigate these cases in order to
establish the whereabouts of the missing children, in cooperation with the
Ombudsmen of both countries and relevant civil society organizations, and identify
disciplinary and criminal responsibilities of those involved, before the passage of time
creates difficulties in ascertaining the facts. The Committee also recommends that the
State party adopt a comprehensive policy to combat violations of the rights of street
children in order to prevent recurrences in the future.
Data collection
(28) While noting with interest that a special working group has recently been set up to
submit a thorough proposal for the reorganization and modernization of the State party’s
Justice Statistics, the Committee regrets the absence of comprehensive and disaggregated
data on complaints, investigations, prosecutions and convictions of cases of torture and illtreatment by law enforcement officials, including police and prison officials and border
guards, as well as on trafficking and domestic and sexual violence (arts. 11 and 12).
148
GE.12-44492
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