Criminal Justice Sector Reform, Prison Conditions and Torture:

Recent Trends and Challenges in the OSCE Region  

UNDP Regional Office25 June 2012, UNDP Bratislava

Manfred NowakProfessor of International Law and Human Rights, University of ViennaDirector, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Human Rights, ViennaFormer UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (2004 – 2010)

OVERVIEW

1. Maps & Statistics on the Prison Situation 2. Council of Europe – European Court of Human Rights Statistics3. CPT Statistic4. Statistics Regarding the CCPR/Human Rights Committee 5. Death Penalty Statistics6. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture – Fact-Finding Missions7. Guantanamo Bay and Secret Detention8. Conclusions

1. MAPS & STATISTICS on the PRISON SITUATION

Sources:

- World Prison Brief (http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/; retrieved 20/2/2012) 

- UN Population Division,  World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision

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- 10 out of the 25 States with the highest number of prisoners are OSCE States

- 42% of the world prison population from OSCE countries (compared to 18 % of overall world population)

- OSCE States (US, Russia, Georgia, …) among those with the highest prison population rates in the world

- Overcrowding of prisons: only 8 OSCE States have a prison occupancy rate of less than 80% (e.g. Central Asian States)

World Prison Population –10 out of the 25 States with the highest number of prisoners are OSCE States

1 United States of America  2.266.8322 China  1.650.0003 Russian Federation  755.6004 Brazil  513.8025 India  376.9696 Iran  250.0007 Thailand  224.2928 Mexico  222.9479 South Africa  160.54510 Ukraine  157.86611 Indonesia  141.68912 Turkey  127.83113 Ethiopia  112.36114 Vietnam  108.55715 Philippines  104.71016 United Kingdom 97.16417 Colombia  84.44418 Poland  81.38219 Pakistan  75.58620 Japan  74.47621 France  73.14922 Spain  70.41423 Germany  69.69724 Bangladesh  69.65025 Italy  68.047

PRISON SITUATION

* no. indicates position in the world ranking

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Total Prison Population of OSCE Countries 4.251.737 (42% of total world prison population of 10.053.162)

United States of America  (1)* 2.266.832Russian Federation  (3)* 755.600Ukraine (10)* 157.866Turkey  (12)* 127.831United Kingdom (16)* 86.919Poland  81.382France  73.149Spain  70.414Germany  69.697Italy 68.047Kazakhstan  52.464Uzbekistan  42.000Canada  39.099Belarus  36.533Romania  30.810Georgia  24.187Czech Republic  23.435Azerbaijan  20.470Hungary  16.328Netherlands  14.488Portugal  12.918Serbia  12.000Greece  11.364Turkmenistan  10.935Belgium  10.561Slovakia  10.031Kyrgyzstan  9.828Tajikistan  9.317Lithuania  9.139Bulgaria  9.071

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Total Prison Population of OSCE Countries 4.251.737 (42% of total world prison population of 10.053.162) (ctd.)

Austria  8.694Sweden  7.106Latvia  7.055Moldova (Republic of)  6.476Switzerland  6.181Croatia  5.165Albania  4.689Armenia  4.514Ireland, Republic of  4.279Denmark  4.091Norway  3.602Estonia  3.381Finland  3.189Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of)  2.329Bosnia and Herzegovina: Federation  1.671Montenegro  1.438Slovenia  1.311Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska  1.046Cyprus (Republic of)  883Luxembourg  645Malta  580Greenland (Denmark)  194Iceland  149Andorra  61Monaco  23Liechtenstein  7

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PRISON POPULATION RATES per 100.000 inhabitants in the OSCE States

United States of America  730Georgia  539Russian Federation  529Belarus  381Ukraine  347Greenland (Denmark) 340Kazakhstan  323Latvia  314Lithuania  276Estonia  252Azerbaijan  228Montenegro 227Turkmenistan  224Czech Republic  222Poland  213Slovakia  184Moldova (Republic of)  182Kyrgyzstan  181Turkey  171Serbia  164Hungary  163Uzbekistan  c.153Spain  152Albania  147Armenia  146

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PRISON POPULATION RATES per 100.000 inhabitants in the OSCE States (ctd.)

United Kingdom  146Romania  144Malta  141Tajikistan  130Luxembourg  124Portugal  121Bulgaria  120Canada  117Croatia  117Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of)  114Italy  112France  111Cyprus (Republic of)  110Austria  104Greece  101Belgium  97Ireland, Republic of  95Netherlands  87Germany  86Switzerland  79Sweden  78Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska  75Denmark  74Andorra  73Bosnia and Herzegovina: Federation  73Norway  73Monaco  70Slovenia  64Finland  59Iceland  47Liechtenstein  19

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PRISON POPULATION RATES per 100.000 inhabitants in the OSCE States

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PRISON OCCUPANCY RATES Haiti  335.7%Benin  307.1%Philippines  c.300%Iran  294.1%Sudan  255.3%Serbia  157.9%Bulgaria  155.6%Italy  149.1%Croatia  147.5%Cyprus (Republic of)  147.9%Spain  138.0%Hungary  132.4%Greece  129.6%Montenegro  127.3%Belgium  119.6%Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of)  119.3%Slovenia  117.6%Romania  115.5%Uzbekistan  113.5%Czech Republic  113.4%France  113.0%Turkey  110.4%United States of America  110.1%Albania  107.1%Belarus  106.7%Portugal  105.8%Malta  102.9%Armenia  102.7%Georgia  101.8%Sweden  101.5%

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PRISON OCCUPANCY RATES (ctd.) Greenland (Denmark)  101.0%Lithuania  100.0%Finland  99.6%Denmark  99.0%Austria  98.0%Estonia  97.2%Bosnia and Herzegovina: Federation  96.4%Canada  96.4%Ireland, Republic of  94.9%Slovakia  94.5%Poland  94.3%Norway  94.1%Ukraine  92.7%Iceland  92.5%Switzerland  92.5%Russian Federation  91.6%Luxembourg  90.8%United Kingdom 90.4%Germany  88.5%Netherlands  85.3% Turkmenistan  85.0%Moldova (Republic of)  81.2%Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska  78.1%Azerbaijan  77.7%Kyrgyzstan  72.6%Kazakhstan  72.5%Latvia  70.4%Tajikistan  61.5%Andorra  54.4%Liechtenstein  35.0%Monaco  28.4%

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PRISON OCCUPANCY RATES

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PRE-TRIAL DETAINEES/ REMAND PRISONERS (percentage within the prison population)

Mali  88.7%Liberia  c.85%Bolivia  83.6%Togo  c.80%Nigeria  77.6%Malta  64.0%Monaco  60.9%Montenegro  45.8%Andorra  42.6%Turkey  42.6%Cyprus (Republic of)  42.2%Italy  41.8%Switzerland  41.0%Netherlands  40.6%Luxembourg  38.2%Canada  37.0%Belgium 35.0%Denmark  34.0%Albania  33.6%Greece  31.2%Hungary  29.4%United Kingdom 28.8%Liechtenstein  28.6%Latvia  28.3%Kyrgyzstan  27.6%Norway  27.2%Armenia  26.0%Ukraine  24.5%Serbia  24.4%Sweden  24.4%Croatia  22.9%Slovenia  22.7%

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PRE-TRIAL DETAINEES/ REMAND PRISONERS (percentage within the prison population) (ctd.)

Greenland (Denmark)  22.6%France  22.5%Moldova (Republic of) 21.4%Austria  21.2%United States of America  20.8%Estonia  20.3%Portugal  19.3%Bosnia and Herzegovina: Republika Srpska  18.2%Finland  18.1%Belarus  17.7%Romania  16.4%Spain  16.4%Ireland, Republic of  16.0%Russian Federation  15.6%Germany  15.5%Bosnia and Herzegovina: Federation  15.3%Tajikistan  15.0%Slovakia  14.6%Azerbaijan  13.5%Lithuania  13.1%Kazakhstan  12.6%Turkmenistan  12.4%Uzbekistan  11.5%Czech Republic  10.9%Bulgaria  10.4%Poland  10.0%Macedonia (former Yugoslav Republic of)  8.6%Iceland  8.1%Georgia  6.7%Laos  1.0%Tonga  0.6%

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PRE-TRIAL DETAINEES/ REMAND PRISONERS (percentage within the prison population)

2. Council of Europe – European Court of Human Rights

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- Relating only to 47 member States of the Council of Europe (not US, Canada, Belarus, Central Asian States)

- Statistics about relevant cases

- Judgments in 2011 finding violations of Articles 2, 3, 5, 6, 13 ECHR

Source: European Court of Human Rights, Annual Report 2011 and Facts and Figures 2011 (available at http://www.echr.coe.int/ECHR/Homepage_EN)

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CoE - ECtHR

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19

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(174)

(133)

(105)

(73)

ECtHR - Violations Judgments by States in 2011

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ECtHR - Violations by Article and by State in 2011

Right to Life - Deprivation of Life (Art 2 ECHR)Russia  53Turkey 6Romania 3Belgium 2Ukraine 2Bulgaria 1Georgia 1Italy 1Poland 1Total 70

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Right to Life - Lack of Effective Investigation (Art 2 ECHR)Russia 58Romania  8Ukraine 7United Kingdom  5Bulgaria 4Croatia 2Georgia 2Turkey 2France 1Italy 1Total 90

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Prohibition of Torture (Art 3 ECHR) Russia 6Ukraine 3Turkey  2United Kingdom  2Bulgaria  1France 1Total 15

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Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (Art 3 ECHR)Russia 62Turkey 36Romania 20Ukraine 15Greece 10Republic of Moldova 8Belgium 6France 5Poland 5Bulgaria 3Croatia 3Hungary 3Italy 2Slovenia 2Germany  1Lithunia 1Slovakia 1Total 183

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Art 3 - Lack of Effective Investigation Turkey 37Russia 22Ukraine 9Romania  6Republic of Moldova 5Croatia   4Bulgaria 3Lithunia 1Serbia 1Spain 1Total 89

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Right to Liberty and Security (Art 5 ECHR)Russia 68Ukraine 42Turkey 38Latvia 17Poland 16Slovakia  12Bulgaria 10Germany  8Greece 8Republic of Moldova 7Belgium 6Croatia  5Hungary 5Netherlands 4Armenia 3Azerbaijan 2Bosnia Herzegovina  2Italy 2Romania 2Czech Republic 1Estonia 1France 1United Kingdom 1Total 261

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Right to Fair Trial (Art 6 ECHR)Russia 40Turkey 30Ukraine 21Poland 14Czech Republic 13France  11Romania 9Croatia 8Azerbaijan 7Italy 7Republic of Moldova 7Greece 6Hungary 4Serbia  4Spain  4Malta  3Lithunia 3(The FYR of) Macedonia  3United Kingdom 3Albania 2Belgium 2Bulgaria 2Slovakia 2Estonia 1Luxembourg 1Montenegro 1Netherlands 1Portugal  1Slovenia 1Total 211

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Length of Proceedings -(Art 6 ECHR) Ukraine 66Turkey  53Greece 50Bulgaria 21Germany  19Hungary 19Italy 16Poland 15Portugal 13Russia 13Romania 10Slovenia 6Austria 5Lithunia 5Slovakia 5Croatia 3Malta 3Serbia 3Czech Republic 2Ireland 2Finland  2France 2(The FYR of) Macedonia 2Cyprus 1Latvia 1Republic of Moldova 1Montenegro 1Spain 1United Kingdom 1Total 341

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Effective Remedy (Art 13 ECHR)Russia 58Greece 32Bulgaria 26Germany 10Portugal  10Ukraine 9Slovenia 7France 6Turkey 6Republic of Moldova 5Romania 4Albania 3Slovakia 3Belgium  2Austria 1Croatia 1Czech Republic 1Estonia 1Hungary 1Ireland 1Total 187

3. European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)

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- 1990-2011: 315 visits (191 periodic visits + 124 ad hoc visits)

- 264 CPT reports published (Russian Federation: only 1 report published out of 18)

Source: CPT, General Report 2011 (available at http://www.cpt.coe.int/en/annual/rep-21.pdf)

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CPT

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4. Statistics Regarding the CCPR/Human Rights Committee

Views finding violations in relation to CCPR articles

4. Statistics Regarding the CCPR/Human Rights Committee

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Statistics Regarding the CCPR/Human Rights Committee (cont’d)

Views finding violations in relation to States

5. Death Penalty

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- Europe as a death penalty free zone (except Belarus, Abkhazia, Transnistria)

- Central Asia: recent abolition of capital punishment in Uzbekistan (for all crimes, 2008); Kyrgyzstan (for all crimes; 2007); Kazakhstan (for ordinary crimes, 2007); Turkmenistan (for all crimes, 1999); Tajikistan (abolitionist in practice: no execution in the past ten years) 

- USA: retentionist; 5th highest number of executions worldwide in 2010

Source: Amnesty International, Death Sentences and Executions Report 2010 

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DEATH PENALTY

6. UN Special Rapporteur on Torture (2004 – 2010)

- 18 Fact-Finding Missions

- 5 Fact-Finding Missions to OSCE Countries (Georgia, Denmark & Greenland, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Greece)

- Joint UN Reports on Guantanamo Bay and Secret Detention in the Context of Countering Terrorism 

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TogoApril 07

China Nov. 05

MongoliaJune 05

Georgia Feb. 05

NepalSept. 05

IndonesiaNov. 07

Sri LankaOct. 07

Equatorial GuineaNov. 08

Denmark & Greenland

May 08JordanJune 06

NigeriaMarch 07

ParaguayNov. 06

UruguayMarch 09

GuantanamoFeb. 06

KazakhstanMay 09

MoldovaJuly 08

(Cuba)Autumn 10

JamaicaFeb. 10

(Zimbabwe)Oct. 09

(Russia)Oct. 06

SudanOct. 06

Papua New GuineaMay 10

Papua New GuineaMay 10

GreeceOct. 10

FACT-FINDING MISSIONS – OVERVIEW

FACT-FINDING MISSIONS IN OSCE COUNTRIES

- Georgia: February 2005

- Denmark and Greenland: May 2008

- Moldova: July 2008

- Kazakhstan: May 2009

- Greece: October 2010

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GEORGIA (Feb. 2005) FACT-FINDING MISSION

19 – 25 February 2005

Outcome: Routine practice of torture

In particular, in the first 72 hours of police custody to extract confessions. Methods: beatings with fists, butts of guns, use of electric shocks, cigarette burns, broken bones, etc.

Impunity for perpetrators of torture

Not under Government control:Abkhazia: applicability of death penaltySouth Ossetia: very bad conditions of detentions

Government recognizes some of these problems and undertakes certain reforms, e.g.: comprehensive police reform, modernization of prisons and establishment of National Preventive Mechanism (OPCAT); issue of impunity still unresolved, strong increase of prison population, problem of plea bargaining  [Atlas of Torture (EIDHR) - Follow-up Mission April 2011]

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DENMARK and GREENLAND (May 2008) FACT-FINDING MISSION

Herstedvester Institution, Albertslund

2 – 9 May 2008

Outcome: no torture

‣ High standard of conditions of detention

‣ Prison system: “Principle of normalization“, meaning that life behind bars reflects life outside to the greatest possible extent

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MOLDOVA (July 2008)FACT-FINDING MISSION4 – 11 July 2008

Joint Visit with UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women

Outcome: Widespread ill-treatment and isolated torture

Chisinau Police HQ

‣ Conditions of detention do not conform to international standards‣ Restricted access to medical care‣ Poor quality of food

‣ Transnistrian region: ‣ Lack of complaint and monitoring mechanism‣ Torture is not criminalized, death penalty

‣ Follow-up Missions (Sept. 2009; Sept. 2011; Nov./Dec. 2011; Jan/Feb 2012): ‣ Willingness to implement relevant recommendations relating to 

the prevention of torture and improvement of prison conditionsPrison in Chisinau

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KAZAKHSTAN (May 2009)FACT-FINDING MISSION

5 – 13 May 2009

Preparations of detention facilities prior to inspection; contradicts the idea of unannounced visits and independent fact-finding

Overall, physical conditions and food supply is in line with international minimum standards

Outcome: Routine torture and ill- treatment

Astana Investigation Isolator

Almaty UVD 2

Follow-up Mission (Sept./Oct. 2010):

Willingness to implement relevant recommendations relating to the prevention of torture 

GREECE (Oct. 2010)FACT-FINDING MISSION

‣ Prisons and police facilities are overcrowded due to high number of irregular migrants entering via Turkey

‣ Law enforcement officials are overwhelmed

‣ Very bad conditions of police and special migration detention centres

10 - 20 October 2010

Outcome: isolated cases of torture

Venna Migration Detention Centre

Fylakio Migration Detention Centre

GUANTANAMO

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JOINT UN REPORT ON GUANTANAMO BAY (2006)

• International law applicable- Human Rights Law is applicable also during times of emergencies and armed 

conflict- War on Terror does not constitute an armed conflict in terms of international 

humanitarian law

• GITMO: arbitrary detention- Detainees are arbitrarily detained for a prolonged period of time and entitled to 

challenge their deprivation of liberty (ICCPR Art 9)

• Interrogation techniques led to torture- Attempts to “redefine” torture- Confusion re: authorized/unauthorized interrogation techniques- Excessive violence during forced feeding amounting to torture

=> Urging closure of GITMO .

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JOINT UN REPORT ON SECRET DETENTION IN THE CONTEXT OF COUNTERING TERRORISM (2010)

• Black Sites- Secret detention is irreconcilably in violation of international human rights law, 

including during states of emergency and armed conflicts- Geneva Conventions, applicable to all armed conflicts, prohibit secret detention under 

any circumstances- secret detention amounts to an enforced disappearance.

• Rendition Flights- Responsibility of third countries, incl. European States- Corroborates findings of earlier investigations (Council of Europe, European 

Parliament, investigative journalists)

• Detention by Proxy- disregard of the principle of non-refoulement- “outsourcing” of torture

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SECRET DETENTION & TERRORISM

- Prison crisis in the OSCE: disproportionally high number of prisoners, both in absolute and relative terms; overcrowding; in many countries continuing practice of torture and inhuman prison conditions

- Strong reliance on retributive justice and malfunctioning of administration of justice (corruption, being „tough on crime“, excessive length of proceedings) as main reasons for torture and prison crisis

- Undermining of the rule of law in the fight against terrorism (secret detention, torture, illegal rendition flights, unfair trials)

- Significant disparities between best practice (e.g. Denmark) and serious violations of international human rights law 

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CONCLUSIONS

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