BOLIVIA-SOGI-TBs-CAT

Concluding Observations on Report 3 (2021) (Link)

Detention conditions in prisons and excessive use of pretrial detention

34. The Committee regrets that overcrowding is still a major problem in the prison system. It therefore welcomes the efforts made by the State party to improve material conditions in places of detention and reduce overcrowding, such as the organization of workshops on easing the burden on the legal system, the holding of virtual hearings, the increases in capacity at the prisons in Cochabamba and Tarija, the construction of new prisons and the extensions to existing facilities in Riberalta, Beni, San Pablo, La Paz and Palmasola, inter alia, and the granting of amnesties and pardons following the measures adopted in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. However, it is concerned about:

(a) The increase in the prison population from 10,150 people in 2007 to 18,630 in 2021, as well as the 264 per cent occupancy rate documented by the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture, although, according to information provided by the State party’s delegation, the current occupancy rate is 176 per cent. In this regard, the Committee regrets that the State party has not provided disaggregated information on the quota systems established in the prison system to decrease overcrowding or indicated in which prisons such systems have been set up, although it notes that 10,006 persons deprived of liberty were reportedly granted pardons or amnesties between 2012 and 2021;

(b) The excessive and generalized use of pretrial detention, with persons in pretrial detention representing 64.10 per cent of all persons in detention;

(c) The reduction in the budget allocated to the prison system;

(d) The insufficient information provided on measures and/or protocols adopted to address the specific needs of women, minors, indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, older persons and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons deprived of their liberty (arts. 2, 11 and 16).

35. The State party should:

(a) Step up efforts to reduce overcrowding in detention centres, in particular through recourse to non-custodial measures, and continue to improve existing prison facilities and the general living conditions in prisons. The State must also ensure that the specific needs of the aforementioned vulnerable groups are met and develop protocols to that end. In that regard, the Committee draws the State party’s attention to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules);

(b) Ensure that pretrial detention is used only on an exceptional basis and for the shortest possible time, and hold pretrial detainees separately from convicted prisoners in all detention

(c) Ensure that the prison system has the necessary human and material resources to operate effectively.

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Concluding Observations on Report 2 (2013) (Link)

[no mention]

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Concluding Observations on Report 1 (2001) (Link)

[no mention]

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