193.At the time of the visit by the Subcommittee, the competent enforcement judge and the Attorney for Human Rights were still seeking compliance with this decision. 194.The Attorney for Human Rights of San Pedro Sula also filed habeas corpus petitions concerning the El Progreso jail (10 April 2007), the Yoro jail (8 May 2008), the Santa Barbara jail (4 April 2008), and the El Carmen reform centre (25 April 2006). Regarding the Yoro jail, the Attorney for Human Rights pointed out that it had 100 places, yet, on the date of the inspection there were 190 inmates, of whom 110 had been convicted and 80 were awaiting trial. Both categories shared the same cells, which constituted a continual threat to the inmates’ individual and collective safety. By way of example, the Attorney for Human Rights mentioned two incidents, one in 2007 and the other in 2008, which resulted in the deaths of three inmates and injuries to several others. 195.In the petition concerning the El Progreso jail, the Attorney for Human Rights stated that the jail had a capacity of 260 but that 396 were held there, of whom 106 had been convicted and 290 were awaiting trial. According to the Attorney for Human Rights, “the immediate consequence is the lack of beds, which obliges some inmates to sleep on the wet floor, and the insufficient number of toilets, which are constantly foul-smelling and full of filth, clearly endangering the health of inmates and degrading their quality of life”. As for the Santa Barbara jail, the Attorney for Human Rights indicated that it had a capacity of 150 but that 361 prisoners were held there. 196. The Subcommittee recommends that effective measures be taken to comply with the decisions handed down by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court with reference to the improvement of living conditions for all persons held in the country’s prisons. C.Observations of the Subcommittee 197.The Subcommittee visited the Marco Aurelio Soto Prison in Tegucigalpa and the San Pedro Sula Prison, although given the size of those facilities they were unable to carry out a complete inspection. In both places, they spoke with a large number of inmates and prison staff, including the wardens and the medical staff. The authorities were always open and cooperative. The Subcommittee has concluded that the existing conditions in both facilities constitute a breach by Honduras of its international obligations. This assertion is substantiated, inter alia, in the paragraphs that follow. Overcrowding 198.The Subcommittee noted with concern that the intense overcrowding of the prison population was a chronic problem in some parts of the two prisons visited. There were 2,600 prisoners in the Marco Aurelio Soto Prison at the time of the visit, although the prison has a capacity of 1,200. The San Pedro Sula Prison has a capacity of 837, yet, at the time of the visit, there were 1,858 persons held there. The Subcommittee also observed that the assessment wing of the Marco Aurelio Soto Prison is a unit designed for 192 persons, and that 550 persons were being held there when the visit was made. In one of the cells in that wing, with a capacity of 40, 128 persons were being held. As a consequence of the overcrowding, most prisoners share a collective space even for sleeping; there are insufficient beds and many prisoners are obliged to sleep on the floor. There are few cells and individual spaces are marked off using sheets and blankets. 199.In San Pedro Sula, the Subcommittee observed that there were six inmates in one very small cell and that, because of the lack of space, they were forced to hang their mattresses in the form of bunk beds. The prison staff reported that those prisoners had “behavioural disorders” and therefore wished to stay apart from the rest of the prison population. This was confirmed by the prisoners. 200.In both prisons visited, the Subcommittee noted the lack of separation between persons convicted and those awaiting trial. 201. The Subcommittee recommends that the Honduran authorities take the necessary measures to resolve the problem of overcrowding in prisons, including reducing the length of pretrial detention, finding alternatives to prison sentences, and improving the infrastructure of the prisons. In particular, the State party should ensure the right of all prisoners to have a separate bed and sufficient bedding. 202. The Subcommittee notes that the lack of separation between convicted prisoners and prisoners awaiting trial constitutes a violation of article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and recommends that the Honduran authorities take measures to ensure that these distinct categories of prisoners are held in separate facilities or in separate sections of the same facility. Record-keeping 203.The Subcommittee checked the record system in the two prisons visited and spoke with prison staff responsible for keeping and maintaining them. Both prisons keep a “duty log,” which consists of a notebook with numbered pages in which the guard shifts are listed, along with any other relevant information concerning the prison staff or the prisoners, and signed by the duty officer. The Subcommittee observed that the record-keeping system is haphazard, rudimentary and unreliable, and does not provide an adequate information and surveillance mechanism, which increases prisoners’ vulnerability. 204. The Subcommittee recommends the establishment of a uniform system for recording admissions, in the form of a bound book with numbered pages, in which the identity of the persons held, the reasons for their arrest and the authority which ordered it, as well as the date and time of admission and release should be clearly indicated. Prison staff should receive instructions on how to use the record books, so that they do not leave blank spaces between entries. The Subcommittee further recommends the establishment of a uniform system for recording disciplinary actions, in which the