Briefing
Prison officers come into contact with prisoners on a daily basis and have almost absolute power over detainees who rely on them for their basic needs. The way prison officers perceive their working conditions how they are treated by managers and colleagues has a significant impact on the atmosphere in detention and the treatment of […]
Languages: English, French, Georgian, Russian, Spanish
Briefing
While they may sometime be a necessary measure to provide security and order in a custodial setting (eg to prevent inter-prisoner violence or escape), instruments of restraint pose a high risk for torture or other ill-treatment due to their highly intrusive nature and the risk of causing injury, pain and/or humiliation. They may even be […]
Languages: English, French, Russian, Spanish
Briefing
Pre-trial detention is a high risk situation for torture and ill-treatment. Pre-trial detention increases the risk of a confession being coerced by torture and confession and exposes detainees – still innocent until proven guilty – to violence and abuse from guards or other prisoners. High rates of pre-trial detention contribute to overcrowding, which in turn […]
Languages: English, French, Georgian, Russian, Spanish
Briefing
While a legitimate security measure under certain circumstances, body searches also represent a high-risk situation for abuse, ill-treatment and even torture; they may also be used to intimidate, harass, retaliate or discriminate. This Factsheet: lists the relevant international standards identifies types and situations of risk provides checklists of questions that monitoring bodies can ask for […]
Languages: English, French, Russian, Spanish
Briefing
CCTV can be important safeguard against torture and ill-treatment in places of deprivation of liberty when used appropriately. However, without policies to regulate it use and proper systems for maintenance and storage, it will not only be ineffective at preventing abuse but can also infringe detainees’ right to privacy and confidentiality. This Factsheet: lists the […]
Languages: English, French, Russian, Spanish
Training
Children in conflict or contact with criminal justice or welfare agencies either as children in need of protection, children at risk, on arrest, during trial, in detention or as victims and witnesses, are often in a vulnerable position, unaware of their rights or unable to enforce them. How these children are treated by the system […]
Languages: Arabic, English, Russian
Report
In many countries, whether driven by political or media pressure for tighter security, a punitive approach to imprisonment, inadequate staff-prisoner ratios or a lack of training on inter-personal skills, de-escalation and mediation, prison management often takes unnecessary or disproportionate recourse to security measures in violation of detainees’ right to dignity. This paper aims to provide […]
Languages: Uzbek, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Tajik
Report
LGBTI persons in detention – or persons perceived as belonging to this group – are in a situation of particular vulnerability, at risk of human rights violations and abuses – including by fellow detainees – throughout the entire criminal justice system. The aim of LGBTI persons deprived of their liberty: a framework for preventive monitoring is […]
Languages: English, French, Russian, Spanish
Report
The Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan permits the use of the death penalty for two types of offence: terrorist offences resulting in fatalities, and especially grave crimes committed in wartime. While a moratorium on the death penalty has been in place since 2004, since 2013, Kazakhstan has been considering a new Criminal Code, the current draft of […]
Languages: English, Russian
Submission
This statement was made to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) during its discussion of the death penalty in October 2013 and focuses in particular on the impact on children when a parent is sentenced to the death penalty.
Languages: English