CAT/OP/12 (d) The use of surveys, questionnaires, written inquiries, telephone interviews and video calls to monitor the situation of persons deprived of liberty and of personnel working in places of deprivation of liberty, in the absence of regular visits; (e) The reinforcement of contact with the relevant authorities, including direct contact with places of deprivation of liberty and its medical staff, when regular visits had to be interrupted; (f) Monitoring of places of compulsory quarantine, on the basis of relevant international standards, in particular through the examination of: (i) The legal framework of quarantine and its application; (ii) The fundamental rights and safeguards applied to those in quarantine; (iii) Living conditions, and accessibility and quality of health care; (iv) The situation of vulnerable groups, including women with young children, persons with disabilities, persons with health problems, older persons, LGBTIQ+ persons, undocumented migrants, ethnic and linguistic minorities, and drug users; (g) Monitoring of social care homes for older persons and persons with disabilities and of children’s homes through social network groups, which also enabled the provision of assistance to caregivers and families; (h) Translation into national languages of the recommendations made by relevant international organizations and bodies, dissemination of the respective documents to the relevant authorities and support in their implementation, and the raising of awareness of the media and the population with regard to the documents; (i) Comments and suggestions on pandemic-related emergency and other legislation pertaining to the deprivation of liberty and prevention of torture; (j) Participation in the elaboration and implementation of health monitoring guides relating to the pandemic; (k) The raising of awareness of the rights of persons deprived of liberty during the health crisis, and the undertaking of initiatives to strengthen relations with civil society organizations on the human rights of persons deprived of liberty; (l) Creation of hotlines for persons deprived of liberty, their relatives, lawyers and prison staff, to complement the monitoring of the situation in places of deprivation of liberty; (m) Establishment by the medical personnel of national preventive mechanisms of communication channels with the representatives of medical centres of places of deprivation of liberty in order to monitor the measures implemented and the difficulties encountered; (n) Follow-up on new and temporary places of detention created during the pandemic to ensure their compatibility with human rights norms and internationally recommended measures; (o) Reinforcement of regional cooperation among national preventive mechanisms, with a view to exchanging experiences on the measures taken in each country and to joining forces to take common actions. III. Concerns regarding the implementation of measures 12. Based on the information received from States parties and national preventive mechanisms, the Subcommittee expresses concern that some of the measures taken in the context of the pandemic have a negative impact on the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 4

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