Close monitoring of places of detention or confinement to prevent torture and other ill-treatment is a top priority forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, emphasizes the Commissioner for the Administration and Protection of Human Rights, Maria Stylianou-Lottidis
Close and systematic monitoringof places of detention or confinement, to prevent torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, is a top priority, said on Friday the Commissioner for the Administration and Protection of Human Rights, Maria Stylianou-Lottidis.In her speech at the opening event of the project “Technical support for more effective and resilient National Preventive Mechanisms”, Ms. Lottidi said that “a priority is also the protection of suspects and accused persons, who are often detained, even though they continue to have the presumption of innocence in their favor”. She added that the main objective of the project “beyond the creation of a more effective monitoring framework, which will include the provision of guidance and training, is also to raise the awareness of the State in general, through all forms of authority, especially the judiciary”.As the Commissioner said, “this promotes not only cooperation between Cyprus and Ireland but also other EU Member States, focusing on awareness-raising, capacity-building and the exchange of best practices.”
She stated that “our cooperation with our friends from the Inspectorate of Prisons of Ireland, which is now preparing to proceed with the Ratification of the Convention against Torture and to establish a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), is very important at this time, as the accumulated know-how and expertise they possess have created good practices and tools, the exchange of which will offer the greatest benefit to the implementation of the project”. However, the Commissioner continued, “of crucial importance for the implementation of the project’s objectives and the achievement of the desired result is, both for us and for our partners, the decisive and constructive contribution of all the authorities involved”.She expressed the assessment that “it is now time to implement specific plans and actions, and this is what we look forward to through the work presented”. As Ms. Lottidi said, such actions are “joint working groups, consisting of representatives of all the authorities and bodies involved, in order to jointly develop applicable solutions and common ways of practicing their duties, with regard to the protection of human rights”.In her greeting, the Commissioner noted that “undoubtedly, respect for human rights, and the total prohibition and abstinence from practices that constitute torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment are components of a rule of law”.
She added that “ensuring the avoidance and prevention of incidents of ill-treatment, inhuman or degrading treatment or torture constitutes the institutional axis of the work of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture.”
Ms. Lottidis said that “the action of the National Preventive Mechanism, among other things, aims to eliminate incidents of abuse of persons in detention but, undoubtedly, also to improve detention conditions”.
She stated that the National Preventive Mechanism, in its fifteen years of operation, through its interventions and visits to places of restriction of liberty, has demonstrated significant work, contributing to the strengthening of respect for human dignity and the protection of human rights in conditions of detention or restriction”.
In conclusion, the Commissioner noted that “with the accumulated experience as an ally, the National Preventive Mechanism is ready to respond to the challenges related to the issues of prevention and safeguarding human dignity and human rights in a decisive and constructive manner, but also to further strengthen and cooperation in enhancing its effectiveness.”
