Varuh ДЌlovekovih pravic

SEE NPM in Vienna on the situation for detainees

Udeleženci srečanja SEE NPM

On 28 and 29 November 2024, Deputy Ombudsman and Head of the State Preventive Mechanism (SPM) Ivan Šelih attended the SEE NPM Network meeting in Vienna, organised by the Austrian Ombudsman with the financial support of the Council of Europe. The participants of the meeting discussed the situation of detainees.

Representatives of the DPMs, members of the network, presented their observations on material conditions for detainees, health care, prevention of violence and ill-treatment and informed their colleagues about the situation of vulnerable groups such as women, minors or persons with disabilities in detention.

The meeting concluded with the observation that prison authorities in all countries involved in the network are facing problems of overcrowding and understaffing in detention facilities. Despite these challenges, it was stressed that further efforts should be made to improve conditions for detainees in order to ensure their rights as enshrined in law and international standards, in particular in the light of the presumption of innocence. Adequate material conditions of detention are essential to protect the rights and dignity of persons deprived of their liberty and to prevent violations of the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment (ill-treatment).

The competent authorities must take all reasonable measures to ensure the safety of detainees and to prevent any form of violence and/or ill-treatment, in particular for vulnerable groups such as women and minors. Detainees should also be provided with the same medical care as those living at liberty. Detainees should not be treated less favourably than convicted prisoners, not least in order to respect the presumption of innocence.

Overcrowding in prisons should not be a reason to relax basic standards. However, the provision of additional capacity is unlikely to be a lasting solution to the problem of overcrowding unless appropriate policies are adopted at the same time to limit the number of persons sent to detention and to ensure that alternatives to deprivation of liberty are properly implemented. Therefore, DPMs should not only focus on the material conditions of detainees and sufficient staffing, but should also promote alternatives to detention.

At the end of the meeting, the members of the network decided that the chairmanship of the SEE NPM Network will be taken over by the DPM of Slovenia in the coming year.

Print: