The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CPT) carried out a visit in Belgium on May 7-9, 2016, in order to look at the consequences implied by the strikes by prison officers on the detention conditions of Belgium detainees.
The CPT’s delegation did not observe any sign of maltreatment to detainees by the staff in charge of the detention. However, the CPT noted that detainees were subjected to inhuman and degrading prison conditions, which is all the more unacceptable as the strike lasted for more than two months in some prison facilities.
This is why the CPT considers that this situation is a "blatant example of the need for establishing minimum services inside prison facilities, which the CPT has been recommending for a long time."
'Minimum services'
What is meant by "minimum services"? The aim is that each detainee must be able to enjoy:
- Meals served at the schedules hours;
- Medical care without limitation (including quick access to urgent care, continuous access to ongoing somatic or psychiatric treatment both inside and outside the facility);
- Access to at least a one-hour walk per day;
- Being able to maintain a good personal hygiene (especially by having regular access to showers and laundry services and a clean cell);
- Having continuous contact with the outside world (including their lawyer) through mails, calls, visits;
- Regular visits from their parents who should be able to see their children in good conditions.
Detainees should be able to enjoy these "minimum services" at any time, including during strikes by prison staff or social movements, or when the prisons are understaffed in general. As highlighted by the CPT, "the physical and psychological integrity of detainees as well as their dignity are at stake. Their guarantee is an obligation for the Belgium state, which it may not evade under any circumstances."
Requests fall on deaf ears
It is now obvious that Belgian authorities have long remained deaf to the repeated requests submitted by the CPT.
In its report, the CPT noted that "nothing in European human rights laws prevents taking actions, including legislative measures, in order to establish minimum services for detainees while respecting the rights and liberties of prison staff. The ability to claim better work conditions, especially in the context of concerted or collective actions, is a right that should be enforced whilst ensuring that minimum services are respected."
The CPT highlights that a distinction must be drawn between, on one hand, the implementation of minimum services inside the prison environment, and on the other hand, the implementation of such services inside some other domains of public services.
It is indeed also very important to take into account the fact that, owing to their total deprivation of liberty, detainees are completely dependent on prison officers, whether it be for food, out-of-cell activities, healthcare access or contact with outside world.
The state has specific obligations in relation to these individuals under the prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatments, which is absolute.
'Without further delay'
Following legal actions taken by incarcerated persons during strikes by prison officers, many courts have issued judgments that referred to this matter and ordered, under penalty of a fine, the implementation of minimum services that are similar to the ones advocated by the CPT.
But these court orders did not have any effect, and the CPT therefore considers that its has no option but to adopt a set text in this area. The Committee "urges Belgian authorities to adopt, without further delay, a normative text that establishes minimum services inside the prisons environment."
The Belgian League of Human Rights is calling on authorities to initiate negotiations with all relevant actors in order to establish a framework of standards that aims to ensure, during strikes or in any situation that is likely to reduce staff, decent work conditions that respect the welfare and the rights of both the prison staff and detainees, including the rights of their families.
