CAT/C/MDA/CO/2
Committee encourages the State party to apply non-custodial measures as an
alternative to pretrial detention.
Parliamentary advocates and national preventive mechanism
13.
The Committee notes with concern that serious legislative and logistic constraints
impede effective functioning of the national preventive mechanism established under the
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The Committee is particularly concerned about the
lack of clarity as to what constitutes the national preventive mechanism (arts. 2, 11 and 16).
The State party should clarify what constitutes the national preventive mechanism,
and strengthen the independence and capacity of parliamentary advocates and the
national preventive mechanism, including its consultative council, to carry out regular
and unannounced visits to all places of detention. In particular, the State party
should:
(a)
Clarify the legal provisions in relation to the rights of members of the
national preventive mechanism to conduct regular and unannounced visits to all
places of detention, without restriction, and to ensure that all members of the
consultative council enjoy equal status as part of the national preventive mechanism,
to enable it to fulfil its role effectively as a torture-prevention mechanism;
(b)
Provide the national preventive mechanism as a whole, including the
consultative council, with adequate support and resources, including logistic and
secretarial support;
(c)
Provide training and take relevant measures to ensure that all persons
conducting visits under the Optional Protocol to the Convention are able to fulfil their
role in documenting treatment of individuals in detention;
(d)
Ensure that all persons involved in the administration of places of
detention are aware of the rights of all members of the national preventive mechanism
to have unhindered and unaccompanied access to all areas in all places where persons
are deprived of their liberty, without any form of prior notice; these powers should
include the possibility for the national preventive mechanism to examine, on demand,
detention-related registries, including medical registries, taking due account of the
rights of the persons concerned;
(e)
Initiate disciplinary proceedings against officers who interfere with the
free access of all persons conducting visits under the Optional Protocol to the
Convention to all places where people are deprived of their liberty, or otherwise deny
them private and confidential access to detainees, restrict their ability to review and
copy registries and other relevant documents, or otherwise interfere with the
performance of their duties;
(f)
Ensure that, as a rule, and unless there are compelling human rights
reasons to the contrary, the report and recommendations of each individual visit of
the national preventive mechanism are made public and posted on the Internet
website of the Centre for Human Rights of Moldova shortly after the visit, following
measures to ensure rights of personal security of person and privacy for detainees,
and following collegial approval within the national preventive mechanism as a whole;
(g)
Develop other measures to ensure public awareness of torture and other
forms of ill-treatment in detention facilities in the Republic of Moldova.
GE.10-41468
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