CAT/C/CHE/CO/7
also notes with concern reports to the effect that undocumented migrants, in particular
when subject to a Dublin decision, are systematically placed in detention in some
cantons. With regard to conditions of detention, the Committee welcomes the fact that
new, purpose-built facilities are planned but notes that, until now, some migrants in
administrative detention have been accommodated in pretrial detention facilities
where they are subject de facto to the same prison regime as persons awaiting trial
(arts. 11 and 16).
The State party should develop and implement alternatives to administrative
detention and should use detention only as a last resort, particularly where
unaccompanied minors are concerned, and, when detention is necessary and
proportionate, for as short a period as possible. The State should continue its
efforts to provide special facilities in all cantons in order to accommodate
migrants in administrative detention under an appropriate regime.
Unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors
18. The Committee shares the concerns of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
regarding reception conditions for asylum-seeking minors, who are sometimes
accommodated in military bunkers (see CRC/C/CHE/CO/2-4, para. 69 (f)). The
Committee is also concerned at the fact that there are no persons of confidence or
legal advisers present at hearings for unaccompanied minors during the asylum
procedure. Lastly, the Committee notes with concern that 44 asylum procedures for
unaccompanied minors were discontinued in 2014 because the minors disappeared
from their reception centres (arts. 3, 12 and 16).
The Committee invites the State party to:
(a) Ensure that reception conditions for asylum-seeking minors are
appropriate to their status as minors;
(b) Honour its commitment to ensure that persons of confidence and legal
advisers are present at all hearings for unaccompanied minors;
(c) Make thorough inquiries into the disappearance of unaccompanied
minors staying at reception centres, identify them and launch a search for them,
as they could have become victims of trafficking.
Prison conditions
19. The Committee is concerned about overcrowding at Champ -Dollon prison,
which prompted the Federal Tribunal to confirm in 2014 that detention conditions in
that prison could amount to degrading treatment. The Committee also notes with
concern that ethnic tensions between prisoners in the prison led to three days of
clashes in February 2014 that left 26 prisoners and 8 wardens injured. As to pretrial
detention, the Committee notes the State party’s undertaking to apply a less restrictive
prison regime to those awaiting trial. However, it remains concerned that strict
separation between women and men is not yet guaranteed at Champ-Dollon, and that
the same applies to the separation between minors and adults in most regional prisons,
where children are not adequately catered for. As to prisoners ’ access to health care,
while the Committee takes note of the forthcoming Swiss Prison Health Board report,
it urges the State party to resolve the issue of unequal access to health care in the
different cantons, particularly in respect of persons with mental disorders. In this
respect, the Committee agrees with the conclusions of the National Commission for
the Prevention of Torture regarding solitary confinement for persons with mental
disabilities, with no possibility of therapy, in high security facilities. Lastly, the
Committee notes with concern that, according to an evaluation by the Federal Tribunal
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