CAT/C/MKD/CO/3
(d)
Amendments to the Law on the Police requiring confiscation of weapons
from police officers who have committed a violent offence or have been identified as
perpetrators of domestic violence.
6.
The Committee also welcomes the designation of the Ombudsman’s Office as a
national preventive mechanism under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against
Torture in 2009 and the commencement of its activities, including visits to detention
facilities, beginning in 2011.
7.
The Committee notes the ongoing reform policies and programmes conducted by the
State party, including:
(a)
The strategy on health Care in prisons and correctional facilities and other
national strategies, including on the treatment of prisoners, as outlined by a representative
of the State party;
(b)
The substantial investment in building new places of detention and repairing
existing facilities;
(c)
C.
The establishment of a new intersectoral body on human rights in 2012.
Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
The so-called wiretapping affair and State institutions
8.
The Committee notes with concern the recent allegations that senior officials of the
State party were allegedly involved in a number of apparent human rights abuses, including
election fraud, harassment of civil society and opposition members and interference with
the Public Prosecutor and some members of the judiciary. The allegations arising from this
so-called wiretapping affair have resulted in mass demonstrations, claims that police and
law enforcement officials have used excessive force, and media reports of a loss of
confidence in the integrity of State institutions (arts. 2, 13, 15 and 16).
As a matter of urgency, the State party should take measures to demonstrate respect
for and strengthen the independence of the judiciary and the integrity of public
institutions. It should ensure prompt, independent, thorough and impartial
investigations into all allegations of wrongdoing emerging from the wiretapping affair,
regardless of their source, prosecution when warranted and punishment of anyone
found guilty. The Committee is particularly concerned about allegations of abuse of
force by officials of the State party in response to protests motivated by the revelations
of official misconduct, and expresses concern about the potential for further abuses to
occur unless accountability is ensured, including investigations, prosecutions and
punishments as warranted (arts. 2, 13, 15 and 16).
Absence of requested data
9.
Despite having previously recommended that the State party provide the Committee
with statistical data (see CAT/C/MKD/CO/2, para. 25), and despite the Committee’s
specific requests in the list of issues prior to reporting (CAT/C/MKD/Q/3) for information
on investigations, prosecution and penal or disciplinary sanctions, the Committee regrets
that, in response to many questions, data was provided only on the number of cases
registered, specifically on the questions related to articles 12–16, and that no data was
provided about the results of investigations, prosecution or sanctions. The absence of the
requested data on investigations, prosecutions and convictions in cases of torture and illtreatment, as well as of violence against women and ethnic and religious minorities,
severely hampers the identification of possible patterns of abuse requiring immediate
response (arts. 2 and 12–16).
2