CAT/OP/SEN/CNPMRO/1
The Subcommittee recommends that the Observatory recruit its own personnel,
ensuring that its members come from a diversity of backgrounds, do not have any actual
or perceived conflict of interest and enjoy complete independence. It should be
underscored that any recruitment should be carried out through a transparent public
process open to various societal actors, bearing in mind gender equality.
10.
Reply: The Observatory takes note of this recommendation and will ensure that it is
strictly implemented if the process of reform, for which it has taken the steps described above,
is successful. The ability to recruit its own personnel would undoubtedly allow the
Observatory to meet the requirements related to the independence and diversity of its staff.
However, as a necessary precondition, it needs a sufficient budget that would allow it to
freely negotiate the salaries and allowances of future recruits and adequately guarantee
compliance with the rules established in the Labour Code.
The Subcommittee recommends that the Observatory fully discharge its mandate,
which includes gaining access to all places of deprivation of liberty, including all
military premises under the control of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. In the event
of barriers to the conduct of visits to places of deprivation of liberty, the Observatory
should remind the State authorities of the provisions of the Optional Protocol and, if
the problem is not resolved, should inform the Subcommittee of the situation.
11.
Reply: The Director of the Observatory shares the Subcommittee’s concern regarding
the narrow interpretation of article 6 of Act No. 2009-13 of 2 March 2009. She has always
considered that, by law, the Observatory’s mandate extends to disciplinary facilities in the
military barracks and quarters under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces. For that reason, as
soon as she had taken up her duties, she paid a courtesy call to the Minister of the Armed
Forces and had a lengthy discussion with him on the issue, during which she reminded him
of the State’s obligation to comply with its international commitments under article 4 of the
Optional Protocol, which he himself had helped to transpose into article 6 of Act No. 200913.
The Subcommittee is very concerned about the delegation’s observations on the ground
and considers that closed daaras are places of deprivation of liberty within the meaning
of article 4 of the Optional Protocol and, therefore, come under the jurisdiction and
mandate of the national preventive mechanism of Senegal.
Taking into account the allegations of ill-treatment that it has received and those
already in the public domain, the Subcommittee recommends that the Observatory visit
these institutions, in exercise of its preventive mandate and with a view to helping the
State party, through targeted substantive recommendations aimed at preventing all illtreatment, including forced begging.
12.
Reply: The Observatory has taken note of this recommendation and recognizes that
closed daaras fall within its jurisdiction and are covered by its mandate.
The Subcommittee recommends that the Observatory pursue its efforts to raise public
awareness in Senegal, bearing in mind the need to project an image in line with its
mandate and avoid the creation of false expectations, for instance that the Observatory
provides free legal aid or processes complaints from persons deprived of their liberty.
In all its communication efforts, the Observatory should focus on the preventive aspect
of its mandate and the confidential nature of its work.
13.
Reply: Given that the Observatory was established relatively recently, the Director –
convinced that general awareness of the Observatory is necessary for it to be able to play its
full role – has prioritized raising awareness about its mandate and mission among the public
and the authorities. In the press briefings, press releases and radio broadcasts that generally
accompany its work throughout the country, the Observatory has always made it clear that
its mandate is focused exclusively on preventing torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment. That is why it did not respond to a request for financial
and material support that it received from a national non-governmental organization, which
claimed to want to help women detained at the Liberté 6 prison camp to cope with the impact
of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and likewise did not respond to a request
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