2016 REPORT ON NATIONAL PREVENTION OF TORTURE
Introduction
The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (hereinafter referred to as “the Optional Protocol”) adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 2002 has reaffirmed that the protection of
persons deprived of their liberty against mistreatment can be strengthened by regular inspections of places of detention. This way a system has been established to enable regular visits
by representatives of independent international and national bodies to places where people
are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. Following the ratification of the Optional Protocol by the Seimas
on 3 December 2013, the Seimas Ombudsmen have been obligated to conduct the national
prevention of torture at places of detention and pay regular visits to them, while the Seimas
Ombudsmen’s Office has been designated a national preventive mechanism.
problems became one of the key priorities in
commemorating the decade of the Optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention against
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment. On the initiative of the
Seimas Ombudsmen, in 2016 the International
Ombudsman Institute organised international
training in Lithuania for employees of European
ombudsmen institutions with the aim of improving the skills of human rights monitoring at
mental institutions.
The year 2016 has been the third year of the
national prevention of torture by the Seimas
Ombudsmen. Regular visits to places of detention have proved that the activities preventing
torture and other violations of human rights are
important and help to achieve positive results:
the veil of secrecy is lifted from the institutions,
attention is paid to potential problems and
aspects which can determine violations of the
rights of detained persons, and a progressive
and respectful approach is promoted in pursuit
of a long-term objective, in particular to ensure
that the rights of individuals held in places of
detention are not violated.
The following report gives an account of activities
of the Seimas Ombudsmen carrying out the national prevention of torture, the methodology for
performing its functions, the inspections conducted, the critical systemic problems identified, the
recommendations issued, and the information
on the implementation of the recommendations
provided.
The preceding year was important to the Seimas
Ombudsmen’s Office, since in performing the
function of the national prevention of torture,
the Seimas Ombudsmen focused on the defence of the rights of vulnerable social groups.
For example, the solution of mental disability
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