CAT/OP/ROU/1
where torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment occur in a place of
detention. The team conducting visits comprises at least one physician and one
representative of a non-governmental organization; the latter is selected by the People’s
Advocate.
16.
The Subcommittee welcomes the cooperation established between the national
preventive mechanism and civil society organizations. It recommends that the State
party encourage the mechanism to engage more directly and independently with civil
society organizations, including, at a minimum, through their increased participation
in visits conducted by the mechanism, in report writing and in dialogue with the
authorities.
17.
The Deputy Ombudsman holds the torture prevention mandate, as head of the
national preventive mechanism, and drafts the annual report of the mechanism, which, as
part of the annual report of the People’s Advocate, is subject to the approval of the People’s
Advocate.3 The need for such approval and the inclusion of the mechanism’s report in the
annual report of the People’s Advocate may compromise the perceived or actual
independence of the mechanism.
18.
During its meetings with authorities and visits to places of deprivation of liberty, the
members of the Subcommittee delegation observed an absence of any coherent policy
regarding post-visit follow-up to national preventive mechanism recommendations. The
national preventive mechanism should be encouraged to develop a strategy for publishing
its visit reports and presenting them to the authorities in order to use them as a platform for
dialogue.4
19.
The State authorities and the national preventive mechanism should enter into
a meaningful process of continuous dialogue, with a view to implementing the
recommendations of the mechanism. The Subcommittee recommends that the State
party publish and widely disseminate the annual reports of the national preventive
mechanism. It also recommends that the State party introduce an institutional forum
for the discussion of and follow-up to annual reports of the mechanism.
20.
The Subcommittee understands that any person in detention has the right to submit a
petition to the Office of the People’s Advocate. The official holding the mandate on the
prevention of torture rules on petitions submitted in relation to alleged acts of torture, cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.5 The Subcommittee was informed that in
2015, the office of the People’s Advocate registered 461 petitions and carried out 36
investigations in places of detention. 6
21.
The Subcommittee is concerned about the national preventive mechanism’s
understanding of the preventive approach as prescribed by the Optional Protocol. The
Subcommittee considers it crucial that the mechanism develop and set out a clear vision of
its approach to torture prevention and have comprehensive strategies to fulfil its preventive
mandate. To avoid possible confusion or duplication of mandates, the People’s Advocate
should make a clear distinction between the mandate of the national preventive mechanism
and the other functions of the People’s Advocate. Individual complaints should be handled
by the People’s Advocate and should not be part of the mandate of the national preventive
mechanism.
22.
The Subcommittee emphasizes that the national preventive mechanism should
complement rather than replace existing systems of oversight in Romania, and its
functioning should take into account effective cooperation and coordination between
preventive mechanisms in the country. The national preventive mechanism, in cooperation
with the People’s Advocate, should clearly separate the mandates of the two bodies so that
each can carry out all aspects of their respective mandates effectively.
3
4
5
6
Emergency ordinance No. 48, art. 2916 (1).
See CAT/OP/1/Rev.1, para. 32 and CAT/OP/12/5, para. 38.
Act No. 35 of 1997, as amended, art. 171 (3).
Summary of the annual report on activities conducted in the area of prevention of torture in places of
detention, published in the annual report of the office of the People’s Advocate, p. 3. Available in the
files of the secretariat.
5