Dutch government responds to anti-torture committee recommendations
A report from the Netherlands government confirms that it will
not comply fully with recommendations made by Council of Europe
anti-torture monitors.
The government’s report, published on 21 August, is a response to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)’s survey of Dutch detention facilities in 2011.
Whilst the government responds favourably to some CPT recommendations, it differs with the anti-torture monitors over their “representation” of the impact on the prison system of a rising number of female convicts and vocational training for certain foreign inmates and rejects a CPT request concerning prison visits.
Female Prisoners
The CPT signalled that it “would like to receive the Dutch authorities’ comments concerning the implications of the increase in the female prison population for the prison system (capacity of the female detention units, female staff resources, etc.).”
The government’s reply makes clear that it “regrets this representation of the facts.” It adds: “In the government’s opinion, there is no factual basis for this. The percentage of female detainees has not doubled over the past ten years. The number of women’s prisons is currently even reduced from five to three as the occupancy rate was too low.
“The misunderstanding could be the result of the fact that the committee (CPT) used the inflow numbers (the total percentage of females in the inflow amounts to 8.7%). The share of women in the population, however, is much smaller (because of the fact that, on average, women serve shorter sentences than men). The percentage of women in the population for 2010, for example, was 6.4%.”
Foreign Inmates
The CPT urged the Dutch authorities to “review the programme of activities available to foreign prisoners with “VRIS” status, in particular in respect of education, vocational training, and resocialization activities, with a view to ensuring that they are not disadvantaged in comparisonwith the general prison population in the Netherlands (paragraph 36).”
The Dutch government reply is adamant that “a difference should be made between foreign prisoners with “VRIS” status, who are detained for a short period of time and those who are detained for a longer period of time.”
The government states that ‘VRIS’ prisoners who are detained for a short period of time (less than four months) are not offered regular work or education, except for occasional educational activities such as literacy training and domestic work.
“The ‘VRIS’ prisoner will not reintegrate into Dutch society and activities aimed at social rehabilitation are therefore deemed to be incompatible with the nature of this particular group of prisoners. However, with regard to ‘VRIS’ prisoners who are detained for a longer period of time (four months or more), the programme of activities is more extensive.”
Prison Visits
A CPT recommendation that “visits around a table (with no partition) should be the rule and visits with partitions the exception, based on an individual risk assessment (paragraph 45), has been rejected by the government.
It states: “The government will not follow this recommendation. In the government’s opinion, this stipulation is necessary in view of drug discouragement. This policy has been approved by Dutch parliament.”
Read the ‘Response of the Government of the Netherlands to the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its visit to the Netherlands’
More information
Information: Report on the visit to the Netherlands carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) – (10 to 21 October 2011)
The government’s report, published on 21 August, is a response to the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)’s survey of Dutch detention facilities in 2011.
Whilst the government responds favourably to some CPT recommendations, it differs with the anti-torture monitors over their “representation” of the impact on the prison system of a rising number of female convicts and vocational training for certain foreign inmates and rejects a CPT request concerning prison visits.
Female Prisoners
The CPT signalled that it “would like to receive the Dutch authorities’ comments concerning the implications of the increase in the female prison population for the prison system (capacity of the female detention units, female staff resources, etc.).”
The government’s reply makes clear that it “regrets this representation of the facts.” It adds: “In the government’s opinion, there is no factual basis for this. The percentage of female detainees has not doubled over the past ten years. The number of women’s prisons is currently even reduced from five to three as the occupancy rate was too low.
“The misunderstanding could be the result of the fact that the committee (CPT) used the inflow numbers (the total percentage of females in the inflow amounts to 8.7%). The share of women in the population, however, is much smaller (because of the fact that, on average, women serve shorter sentences than men). The percentage of women in the population for 2010, for example, was 6.4%.”
Foreign Inmates
The CPT urged the Dutch authorities to “review the programme of activities available to foreign prisoners with “VRIS” status, in particular in respect of education, vocational training, and resocialization activities, with a view to ensuring that they are not disadvantaged in comparisonwith the general prison population in the Netherlands (paragraph 36).”
The Dutch government reply is adamant that “a difference should be made between foreign prisoners with “VRIS” status, who are detained for a short period of time and those who are detained for a longer period of time.”
The government states that ‘VRIS’ prisoners who are detained for a short period of time (less than four months) are not offered regular work or education, except for occasional educational activities such as literacy training and domestic work.
“The ‘VRIS’ prisoner will not reintegrate into Dutch society and activities aimed at social rehabilitation are therefore deemed to be incompatible with the nature of this particular group of prisoners. However, with regard to ‘VRIS’ prisoners who are detained for a longer period of time (four months or more), the programme of activities is more extensive.”
Prison Visits
A CPT recommendation that “visits around a table (with no partition) should be the rule and visits with partitions the exception, based on an individual risk assessment (paragraph 45), has been rejected by the government.
It states: “The government will not follow this recommendation. In the government’s opinion, this stipulation is necessary in view of drug discouragement. This policy has been approved by Dutch parliament.”
Read the ‘Response of the Government of the Netherlands to the report of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) on its visit to the Netherlands’
More information
Information: Report on the visit to the Netherlands carried out by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) – (10 to 21 October 2011)
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