The lack of a special room, building or cells designated for women prisoners constitutes a violation by Belarus of its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, independent experts said. UN experts: two Belarusian citizens became victims of ill-treatment in detention centers Human Rights
The constant monitoring of two female prisoners by video cameras in a Belarusian prison constituted ill-treatment, a violation of privacy and an attack on their dignity and rights. This is the conclusion reached by the UN Women’s Rights Committee.
The Committee’s decision was published on Thursday following the consideration of a complaint from two Belarusian citizens held in detention centers. In 2017, the women, who were 29 years old and 33 years old at the time, were sentenced to administrative arrest for up to 14 days for participating in mass gatherings.
In the cells of prisoners in The detention center in Minsk was installed with video surveillance, which was carried out under the supervision of male guards. They could watch women around the clock, including when they were changing clothes, bathing and using the toilet.
The prisoners were later transferred to a temporary detention center in the city of Zhodino, where conditions were also deplorable as they were deprived of basic hygiene and essentials such as soap and toilet paper. The sanitary facilities in the cells had no walls or partitions. And after one of the women went on a hunger strike in protest, she was ordered to undress and do squats.
After their release, the victims filed several complaints about humiliating conditions of detention and gender discrimination to local courts, but all their requests were rejected. As a result, the women decided to appeal to the UN Committee on the Rights of Women.
The committee’s experts concluded that both victims were kept in poor, unsanitary and degrading conditions in detention facilities .
“Their needs as women, including physiological and medical needs, were not taken into account, which constitutes gender discrimination,” said committee member Elgun Safarov.
“The absence of a special room, building or cells designed to adequately accommodate women prisoners, and the failure of the State party [to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women] to protect their dignity, privacy, and physical and psychological safety in these institutions constitute a violation by Belarus of its obligations under the Convention,” he added.
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The Committee recalled that, in accordance with the Convention and paragraph 81 of the Nelson Mandela Rules, female prisoners must be under the supervision of female guards. Experts stressed that keeping women in facilities that do not meet their specific needs constitutes discrimination.
“Prison staff must respect the privacy of women prisoners, their dignity and their needs for medical care. The Committee considers that ill-treatment by male prison officers, including unjustified interference with the privacy of women, constitutes discrimination,” Safarov said.
The Committee called on Belarus to provide women victims receive adequate compensation, as well as access to necessary medical care to help them cope with the negative consequences of the incident on their physical and mental health.