A/HRC/10/44/Add.2 page 2 Summary This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on his mission to Denmark which took place from 2 to 9 May 2008. The Special Rapporteur paid tribute to Denmark’s long-standing leadership in anti-torture efforts worldwide, including within the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, as well as within the European Union. Moreover, he noted the country’s long history of generous support to civil society both at home and abroad, particularly in the area of rehabilitation for victims of torture. A significant focus of the mission was visiting places where persons are deprived of their liberty, such as police stations, prisons, psychiatric institutions, and detention centres for asylum-seekers. The Special Rapporteur reports that no allegations of torture and very few complaints of ill-treatment from detainees were received. Nevertheless he strongly cautioned against complacency, encouraged the Government to ensure that all allegations and suspicions of torture and ill-treatment are meticulously investigated, and that perpetrators are appropriately punished. Noting recent legislative initiatives to add torture as an aggravating circumstance of various criminal offences, which is not subject to the statute of limitations, the Special Rapporteur regretted that a specific crime of torture is still missing in Danish criminal law. The hallmark of the prison system in Denmark, the Special Rapporteur observed, is the “principle of normalization”, meaning that life behind bars reflects life outside to as great an extent as possible. Taken together with an attentive approach to the concerns of detainees by prison staff, the result is generally a high standard of conditions of detention inside Danish prisons, both in terms of infrastructure and day-to-day living standards. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur noted that in Denmark and Greenland a significant proportion of prisons are open institutions. He noted initiatives to accommodate the special needs of children of imprisoned parents through establishing, for example, child-friendly visiting rooms in prisons, as well as initiatives to consider the impact on children of a parent being taken into custody. The Special Rapporteur also noted the mixing of male and female prisoners. While the positive effects of such arrangements have long been accepted in Danish society, in light of international standards which advocate segregation of the sexes, concern must be expressed for the need to rigorously ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. The Special Rapporteur commended the efforts of the Government in carrying out successful awareness-raising campaigns on domestic violence and trafficking of women, which have contributed to the reduction of gender-specific violence, including through successive plans of action. Concerning trafficking, the Special Rapporteur considered that the efforts of the Government are aimed less at the rehabilitation of victims of trafficking in Denmark than on their prepared return to their countries of origin. In Greenland, it is a serious concern that action against domestic violence has so far not received adequate attention, despite the severity of the problem. Notwithstanding the Government’s efforts to restrict the use of solitary confinement, the extensive recourse to this remains a major concern, particularly with respect to pretrial detainees. Solitary confinement has a clearly documented negative impact on mental health, and therefore

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