Bolivia: Despite progress, tackling overcrowding in prisons remains pressing

GENEVA – UN torture prevention experts have expressed their concerns regarding the poor living conditions of people deprived of liberty and the serious limitations in access to justice, after visiting the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

“We are grateful for the collaboration provided by the authorities , which enabled us to visit a significant number of places of deprivation of liberty throughout the country,” said Marie Brasholt, who headed the delegation of the UN Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT).

The SPT visited Bolivia for the third time, from 1 to 12 December.

“At the same time, we express our concern about the country’s high numbers of preventive detentions, which result in elevated levels of prison overcrowding,” Brasholt said, adding, “This requires a profound assessment of the measure´s reach in terms of the rule of law and the roles that different relevant stakeholders, including the judiciary, are called to play.”

During the mission, the SPT delegation visited 34 detention centres in six departments, including men’s and women’s prisons, centres for children in conflict with the law, police stations, psychiatric hospitals, drug rehabilitation centres, a children´s home, and a military barracks. Confidential interviews were conducted with detainees and officials without the presence of the authorities. The delegation also met with civil society organizations and State institutions.

“It worries us that some private institutions, for example, those providing services to people with drug dependency problems, are not subjected to rigorous control and supervision by the State,” the head of the delegation said.

The Subcommittee also visited some detention centres together with the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), the country’s monitoring body designated for torture prevention under the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT).

“The delegation is pleased by the work of the NPM. In the light of pressing challenges in places of deprivation of liberty, the mechanism must be strengthened and also utilized by the State in fulfilling its obligations under the provisions of the OPCAT,” said Brasholt.

The SPT will share its report, including findings and recommendations, with the Plurinational State of Bolivia in due course. As always, the delegation encourages the State to publish the visit report, which will be sent in the coming months. The SPT believes that its reports provide input that will benefit all parties, directly or indirectly, in the search for solutions for the immediate future. In addition, the Subcommittee will prepare a separate and confidential report to the NPM.

Bolivia ratified the OPCAT in 2006; the SPT previously visited the country in 2010 and 2017.

The SPT delegation was composed of the following members: Marie Brasholt, head of the delegation (Denmark), Massimiliano Bagaglini (Italy), Maria Andrea Casamento (Argentina), and Marco Feolo Villalobos (Costa Rica), together with two members of the SPT Secretariat and two UN security officials.