1. Introduction
The reason for introducing permanent monitoring of places of detention is the
fact that persons staying in such places, which are by definition closed to the
outside world, are more at risk of various malpractices. They can result from,
among others, state criminal policy, lack of funds for the provision of suitable
conditions, inappropriate training of the personnel or the lack of an appropriate
monitoring system. Respecting the rights of detained persons depends fully on the
authorities responsible for places of detention. Social processes taking place in such
places’ structure, as well as behaviour of persons often subject to strong stress and
pressure, generate situations leading to human rights violation. Therefore, the system
of detention places should be as transparent as possible and open to cooperation with
the outside world, owing to which the risk of malpractices is likely to decrease.
Therefore, in 2002 the United Nations General Assembly in New York adopted
an Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, hereinafter referred to as OPCAT.The Protocol
was ratified by the Republic of Poland on 8 July 2005. It constitutes a part of the
Polish legal order and is directly applicable, pursuant to Article 91 of the
Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Moreover, by ratifying the
abovementioned Protocol, Poland has undertaken to designate or establish the
independent National Preventive Mechanism for the prevention of torture at the
domestic level (Article 17 of OPCAT).Therefore, on 18 January 2008 the Human
Rights Defender was officially entrusted with the function of the National
Preventive Mechanism (hereinafter referred to as NPM, Mechanism).The
performance of the tasks of the Mechanism by the Polish Ombudsman guarantees its
functional independence and the independence of its personnel required by the
Protocol.
The present Report is the third report of the National Preventive Mechanism in
Poland, which Poland is obliged to prepare and publish, pursuant to Article 23 of the
OPCAT.
The Report of the Human Rights Defender on the activities of the National
Preventive Mechanism in Poland in 2010 was drawn up in two languages in order to
disseminate it among international institutions and national preventive mechanisms in
other countries.
2. The organisation of the activity of the National Preventive Mechanism
within the Office of the Human Rights Defender
In 2010, as in the previous year, the tasks of the National Preventive
Mechanism were performed mainly by six employees of the Criminal Executive Law
Department, delegated to carry out the tasks of the Mechanism. Others members of the
Department (ten persons, including the Director) participated in the NPM preventive
visits where necessary.
The employees of the Criminal Executive Law Department visited prisons, pretrial detention centres, juvenile detention centres, juvenile shelters, youth care centres
and sociotherapy centres, police emergency centres for children, rooms for detained
persons within the Police organisational units and sobering stations.