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inadequate medical care, the non-separation of convicted and remand prisoners and the
failure to keep adult detainees and juvenile offenders separate, as reported by the Special
Rapporteur on the question of torture (A/HRC/7/3/Add.6 and A/HRC/13/39/Add.6). In this
respect, the Committee regrets the absence of information provided by the State party on
measures taken to improve conditions of detention for those held on remand and for
convicted persons (arts. 11 and 16).
The State party should:
(a)
Ensure that conditions of detention in the country’s prisons are
compatible with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the
Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women
Offenders (the Bangkok Rules);
(b)
Increase its efforts to remedy prison overcrowding, in particular by
instituting alternatives to custodial sentences;
(c)
Continue to expand the prison infrastructure and the remand centres,
including those for juvenile offenders;
(d)
Take effective measures to improve the adequacy of health-care
resources in penitentiary institutions, and ensure that the medical assistance given to
detainees is of high quality.
Deaths in custody
(15) The Committee is concerned at reports from non-governmental organisations on
deaths in custody, including police killings of criminal suspects in alleged staged
“encounters” or “escape” attempts. The Committee notes with concern that the State party
only reported two cases of death in custody, where the cause of death was determined to be
suicide, for the entire period 2006–2011, while for a similar period between 2000–2005 the
State party had reported in its core document approximately 65 annual deaths in custody
from all causes (HRI/CORE/LKA/2008, p. 87).
The Committee urges the State party to investigate promptly, thoroughly and
impartially all deaths of detainees assessing any possible liability of law enforcement
officers and prison personnel, and provide, where appropriate punishment of the
perpetrators and compensation to the families of the victims.
The State party should provide comprehensive data regarding reported cases of
deaths in custody, disaggregated by location of detention, sex, age, ethnicity of the
deceased and cause of death.
Monitoring detention facilities
(16) While noting the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka’s (HRCSL) broad inquiry
powers to investigate human rights violations vested in Section 11 of the Human Rights
Commission Act No 21 of 1996, the Committee is concerned about its reported inactivity,
the lack of cooperation from the police and the Government and the limited resources and
challenges to its independence and impartiality as a result of the 18th Amendment to the Sri
Lankan Constitution, which places the appointment of its members solely in the hands of
the Head of State. The Committee is also concerned that, contrary to the information
provided by the State party, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is not
allowed to visit the “rehabilitation centres” or facilities holding LTTE suspects yet to be
formally charged. The Committee notes with concern that during 2009 the military
administration in closed internment camps for IDPs denied access to humanitarian
organisations, including the United Nations and the ICRC (arts. 2, 11, 12, 13 and 16).
GE.12-44492
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