CAT/OP/DEU/1/Add.1
I. Introduction
1.
From 8 to 12 April 2013 a delegation of the United Nations Subcommittee on
Prevention of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
(SPT) paid an advisory visit to Germany. The purpose of this visit was to provide advice
and offer technical assistance to the German national preventive mechanism (in Germany:
the National Agency for the Prevention of Torture in Wiesbaden).
2.
On the occasion of the SPT’s visit, two meetings with representatives of the
Federation and Länder also took place at the Federal Ministry of Justice on 8 and 12 April
2013.
3.
Following this visit, by forwarding letter of 29 July 2013, the SPT sent an initially
confidential report to the Federal Government, which contains a series of recommendations
for improving the performance of the National Agency for the Prevention of Torture.
4.
In its forwarding letter, the SPT requested that the German authorities provide a
response within six months, i.e. by 29 January 2014, on the status of implementation of
these recommendations.
5.
The Federal Government hereby submits that response, which is based on the
structure of the SPT Report and refers to the margin numbers used therein. The individual
answers, however, are grouped according to topic. Each response is preceded by a reference
to the relevant recommendations.
II. Response
6.
With reference to the recommendations of the SPT contained in paragraphs 26, 28,
32, 34, 36, 38, 40 and 49 of the SPT visit report (CAT/OP/DEU/1) as well as raising other
issues, the SPT strongly criticised the resources available to the National Agency for the
Prevention of Torture. The delegation urgently recommended that the Federal Republic of
Germany better equip the National Agency in terms of both funding and personnel (staff
numbers and range of disciplines). The Commission currently does not include experts
from the fields of policing, psychiatry, child/youth welfare services, or care.
7.
On 12 and 13 June 2013, the 84th Conference of German Justice Ministers
(JuMiKo) dealt with the issue of the resources available to the Joint Commission of the
German Länder for the Prevention of Torture.
8.
Starting 1 July 2013, senior civil servant Dr. Helmut Roos (Ministerialdirigent) and
former senior civil servant Mr. Michael Thewalt (Leitender Regierungsdirektor, ret.) were
appointed as new members of the Joint Commission.
9.
Furthermore, the Conference of German Justice Ministers spoke out in favour of
providing the Joint Commission with additional expertise from sectors in which people are
deprived of their liberty that do not fall within the remit of the justice system, and aims to
increase the number of honorary members from four to eight in total. On behalf of the
Conference of German Justice Ministers, Saarland (the Land chairing the Conference at that
time) called upon the Conference of German Interior Ministers (IMK) and the Conference
of German Labour and Social-Affairs Ministers (ASMK) to examine the possibility of
making a financial contribution towards this expansion.
10.
While the ASMK and IMK announced their desire to participate in the selection of
suitable individuals for an enlarged Commission with multidisciplinary competence, they
rejected financial participation for the time being, which means that the Conference of
German Justice Ministers will now have to decide how to proceed.
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