CAT/C/SVN/CO/3
falsification of documents, threats, negligence and others, and is concerned by the lack of
information on cases investigated or complaints submitted under article 265 of the Penal
Code on torture (arts. 12 and 13).
The Committee urges the State party to ensure prompt, impartial and effective
investigation into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment and to prosecute
perpetrators of such acts. It requests the State party to provide the Committee with
data disaggregated by sex, age, ethnicity or origin of the victims, on the number of
complaints, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and sentences imposed under
article 265 of the Penal Code.
Conditions of detention
13.
While welcoming the measures taken by the State party to improve considerably the
conditions of detention, including the construction of new facilities and the renovation of
existing ones, the Committee remains concerned about the problems of overcrowding
especially in major prisons such as the Dob, Ljubljana, Maribor, Koper and Novy Mesto
prisons. The Committee is further concerned about insufficient mechanisms to prevent
suicide in prisons (arts. 11 and 16).
The State party should intensify its efforts to bring the conditions of detention in
places of deprivation of liberty into line with the Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners, as well as other relevant international standards, in particular
by reducing prison overcrowding, expanding non-custodial forms of detention and
providing adequate accommodation and psychosocial support care for detainees who
require psychiatric supervision and treatment. The Committee also recommends that
the State party take all necessary measures to investigate and prevent suicide in places
of detention.
Psychiatric facilities
14.
The Committee appreciates the information provided during the dialogue by the
representatives of the State party, but regrets the lack of information on cases of involuntary
placement in psychiatric institutions when only some and not all criteria established in the
Mental Health Act are met and the lack of information on the number of complaints and
appeals against involuntary placement in psychiatric hospitals. Despite the information
provided during the dialogue, the Committee regrets the lack of information on use of
measures such as electroconvulsive therapy and psychotropic drugs, and on complaints
against such special measures (art. 16).
The Committee recommends that the State party establishes close supervision and
monitoring by the judicial organs of any placements in psychiatric institutions and
ensure that all places where mental-health patients are held for involuntary treatment
are regularly visited by independent monitoring bodies to guarantee the proper
implementation of the existing safeguards. Furthermore, the State party should ensure
the full and timely implementation of the recommendations made by the Ombudsman
and other monitoring bodies in this regard. The Committee also recommends that the
State party undertake a serious review of the application of electroconvulsive
treatment (ECT), and any other treatment which could be in violation of the
Convention.
Violence against women and children, including domestic violence
15.
While noting the legal and administrative measures undertaken by the State party to
combat gender-based violence and violence against children, the Committee remains
concerned about the prevalence of violence against women and girls (see concluding
4