National Preventive Mechanism
in Poland
Setting - up
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8. 07. 2005 – OPCAT Ratification
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18. 01. 2008 – Human Rights Defender as
NPM
Why Human Rights Defender?
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Not to assign the same competences to
several institutions
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Cost saving
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Independence of HRD
Difficulties
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Lack of financial independence
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multi – faceted character of HRD activity
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Complaints concering NPM’s activity
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1800 establishments to visit – 8 people
Organization
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1 team
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8 people
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Support team
Methodology of the visit
Reasons for unannounced visits to
places of detention
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are more effective,
allow to detect actual problems of the visited
establishment,
express the actual state of observance of
rights of persons deprived of liberty.
Preparing the visit
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Establishing the composition of the visiting team
- interdisciplinarity requirement
- gender balance
- nominating the coordinator of the team - the division of
tasks
Gathering information on the establishment
- reports from previous visits
- reports of international (e.g. Committee for the
Prevention of Torture), national (e.g. Supreme Control
Chamber) and non-government organisations
- generally available information, e.g. official websites
- the number of complaints or lack of complaints
The visit
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Preliminary talk with the director
Viewing the establishment and the facilities
Group and individual interviews with the
detainees
Interviews with the staff of the establishment
(tutor, psychologist)
Documentation analysis
Summing-up conversation with the director
Preliminary talk with the director
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Presenting the schedule of the visit and the
methodology to be employed, deciding on
the place where the team will meet during the
visit
Getting preliminary information, e.g. on
extraordinary incidents, cases of selfaggression, as well as disciplinary and court
proceedings against the officers
Signalling the summing-up conversation
Viewing the establishment
and the facilities
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compliance with the binding norms of
national and international law
premises – dormitories, transition wards,
common rooms, walking grounds and sport
grounds, rooms where personal control is
carried out, visiting facilities, bathrooms, sick
rooms, isolation wards, kitchens, etc.
Group and individual
interviews with the detainees
Individual interviews
Random selection
 Avoiding making interviews solely with
 Kliknij, aby edytować format tekstu
persons volunteering to be interviewed
konspektu
 Choice of location – neutrality
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Drugi poziom konspektu
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Trzeci poziom konspektu
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Czwarty poziom konspektu
Group and individual
interviews with the detainees
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earning trust
highlighting the confidential and voluntary
nature of the interview
check-list – a useful interview tool
open questions, e.g. describe your daily
routine in the establishment
Group and individual
interviews with the detainees
Group interviews
spontaneous talks during the inspection of
the living wards
 the way of selecting the respondent
 Kliknij, aby edytować format tekstu
 helpful in defining common problems,
konspektu
in getting to know the specific character of
 Drugi poziom konspektu
the place
 Trzeci poziom konspektu
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Czwarty poziom konspektu
Interviews
with the staff of the establishment
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tutors, psychologists, security officers
opportunity to verify certain information
obtained from the detainees
learning the point of view of the staff
Documentation analysis
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Documentation made available on the site
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register of disciplinary punishment,
register of complaints made by persons deprived
of liberty
register of the use of direct coercive measures
Documentation made available for post-visit
analysis:
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internal rules and regulations
procedures followed in case of revolt,
reports carried out by other authorities
Summing-up conversation
with the director
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preparing for the conversation
- meeting of the visiting team
- exchanging information
- formulating major observations
launching a dialogue with the management
of the establishment – reporting the initial
findings
informing about the post-visit report
Post-visit reports
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composition of the team, date of the visit
general description of the establishment
detailed themes of the visit (living conditions, food,
medical care, treatment of the detainees,
penitentiary work, employment, cultural and
educational activity, correspondence, visits, religious
services)
documentation analysis
conclusions and recommendations
Post-visit reports
Recommendations
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suggesting solutions to the existing problems, e.g.
ensuring that persons who have direct contact with
the detainees, especially ward supervisors, get
adequate training and support, to eliminate cases of
Kliknij, abyofedytować
ill-treatment
detainees format tekstu
konspektu
ordering
the recommendations depending on the
weight and significance of the identified problem
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Drugi poziom konspektu
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Trzeci poziom konspektu
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Czwarty poziom konspektu
Post-visit reports
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Addressees:
- management of the establishment
- supervisory bodies
- judge supervising the unit
- chief chaplain
- non-government organisations (Agreement
on the Implementation of OPCAT, Helsinki
Foundation for Human Rights)
Verifying how the recommendations are
implemented
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Awaiting the reply from the addressees of
recommendations (about one month)
Exchange of correspondence with the
management of the establishment (and with
its supervisory bodies, if necessary)
Ad-hoc visits
Examples of violations
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Sobering station – behaviour of the staff
Rooms with transparent walls in psychiatric
hospital
Youth sociotherapy center – punishment
Overpopulation in penal institution
Outcome of NPM activity
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Rasied human rights awarness of the society
Conferences invitation
Dialogue with persons in charge of places of
detention
Motions to State bodies and Constitutional
Tribunal
Thank you for your attention
Sources:
Report of the Human Rights Defender on the Activities of the National Preventive
Mechanism in Poland in 2009, Human Rights Defender Office, Warsaw 2010
Monitoring Places of Detention: a practical guide, APT Geneva 2004
Photographs used in the presentation come from www.google.pl