CAT/C/CR/33/1
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(e)
The information supplied by the State party on compliance with the obligations
imposed by the Convention still fails to reflect the situation in the country as a whole, as the
Committee has stated when considering previous reports by the State party. The Committee also
notes with concern that the national register of information from domestic courts on cases of
torture and ill-treatment in the State party has still not been established;
(f)
The reports of arrests and detention of children below the age of criminal
responsibility, most of them “street children” and beggars, in police stations, where they are held
together with adults, as well as on the alleged torture and ill-treatment suffered by such children,
leading to death in some cases;
(g)
Allegations of torture and ill-treatment of certain other vulnerable groups, such as
members of the indigenous communities, sexual minorities and women;
(h)
The overcrowding and poor physical conditions prevailing in the prisons, and
particularly the lack of hygiene, adequate food and appropriate medical care, which may be
tantamount to inhuman and degrading treatment;
(i)
The high number of persons being held in pre-trial detention, which according to
the State party is as high as 78 per cent in the Buenos Aires prison system;
(j)
The failure to apply the principle of separation between convicted prisoners and
remand prisoners in detention centres, and between them and immigrants who have been served
with expulsion orders;
(k)
Alleged reprisals, intimidation and threats received by persons reporting acts of
torture and ill-treatment;
(l)
prisons;
Humiliation and degrading treatment during body searches of persons visiting
(m)
The fact that medical staff in prisons are not independent but are members of the
prison service.
E. Recommendations
7.
The Committee recommends that the State party should take all necessary steps to
prevent acts of torture and ill-treatment in the territory of the State of Argentina, and in particular
that it should:
(a)
Take vigorous steps to eliminate the impunity of the alleged perpetrators of acts
of torture and ill-treatment, carry out prompt, impartial and exhaustive investigations, try and,
where appropriate, convict the perpetrators of torture and ill-treatment, impose appropriate
sentences on them and properly compensate the victims;
(b)
Provide training for judicial officials in order to enhance the efficiency of
investigations and bring judicial decisions into line with the relevant international standards;