Annual review
self-isolation in one’s own home. At the same time, however, detention facilities also found innovative ways to compensate for certain restrictive measures such as a ban on visits. For example, outside contact was secured by giving inmates more time to use
telephones or by installing video call terminals. The Commission
intends to monitor the necessity and expediency of restrictive measures in light of human and fundamental rights concerns.
1.2 Thematic focus
When inspection visits resumed in the summer, the Commission
decided to direct its attention to three main areas of focus for the
remainder of the year.
1. Health care provision: the Commission’s final report on the
inspection visits conducted in 2019-2021 will be released in
autumn 2021. In addition to these visits, the Commission’s
working group responsible for assessing health care provision also organised two online meetings with experts and
relevant contact persons to discuss the challenges and ex
periences associated with COVID-19 in Swiss detention
facilities.
2. Indefinite incarceration: the Commission also visited detention facilities to assess conditions of detainees, many of
whom are considered vulnerable due to various factors such
as age and state of health. The Commission’s internal working group studied the files of inmates in Switzerland and
visited several facilities where persons are either already incarcerated or are in pre-trial detention. The Commission
plans to publish a report in the second half of 2021.
3. Federal asylum centres: here the Commission examined not
only living conditions and health care provision, but also supervision and disciplinary measures as well as special measures to protect particularly vulnerable persons such as
women, children and unaccompanied minor asylum seekers
(UMA). During its visits to federal asylum centres, the Commission repeatedly found that conflicts occur routinely. It
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Activity report NCPT 2020