publications

<<previous  |  index  |  next>>

Georgia’s International Obligations

Georgia is a member of the Council of Europe and a party to its core regional human rights treaties as well as core international human rights treaties. These include the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR),39 the European Convention on the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (ECPT),40 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),41 the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Convention against Torture),42 and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).43 These treaties provide for the protection of basic civil and political rights and also specific guarantees relating to treatment and conditions in custody for those, including juveniles, deprived of their liberty. They are also supplemented by instruments specific to treatment of those in detention, discussed below.

In relation to the protection of human rights of prisoners and other detained persons, it is important to note that prisoners continue to enjoy all the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under human rights law, except the right to liberty.44 A prisoner does not forfeit his or her rights merely because of his or her status as a person detained following conviction. As the Council of Europe’s European Prison Rules make clear, imprisonment is a punishment in itself. The conditions of imprisonment and the prison regimes shall not, therefore, aggravate the suffering inherent in this, except as incidental to justifiable segregation or the maintenance of discipline.45 Any restrictions on prisoners’ rights that are a consequence of their imprisonment must be justified, for example, on well founded considerations related to security.

The most fundamental of protections for prisoners is the absolute prohibition on torture. As well as being a well established norm of international law by which Georgia is bound, the prohibition is also reflected in the Georgian constitution, and in several of the human rights treaties to which Georgia is a party. 46 The ICCPR and the Convention against Torture both prohibit torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, without exception or derogation. Article 10 of the ICCPR, in addition, mandates that “[a]ll persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”47 Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) also prohibits torture, in absolute terms.48 The European Court of Human Rights has held that detaining persons in sub-standard conditions of detention as well as ill-treatment of prisoners will violate the prohibition on inhuman or degrading treatment.49

As mentioned above, numerous international instruments provide further guidance on the protection and respect for the human rights of persons deprived of liberty. The most comprehensive such guidelines are the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (known as the Standard Minimum Rules). Other instruments relevant to an evaluation of prison conditions include the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, and, with regard to juvenile prisoners, the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice.50  The Council of Europe formulated the European Prison Rules to establish the basic requirements for prison conditions and treatment of prisoners in its member states.51  The CPT has also established norms regarding conditions of detention and the treatment of prisoners, as described in its annual reports.52 

The Georgian Government’s Response to Abuses in the Penitentiary System

The Georgian government has admitted for many years that conditions in the penitentiary system fall below international standards and that there are many structural inadequacies.53  Most recently, as part of its Action Plan of the Implementation of the Strategy on Criminal Justice Reforms in Georgia, issued on June 12, 2006, the government has outlined numerous reforms to be undertaken in the Penitentiary Department in the next two years, including decentralization, management training, computerization, public monitoring, building of new facilities, improvement of food for prisoners, training for penitentiary system employees, employment and education programs for prisoners, and legislative reforms, including a new Penitentiary Code.54 The budget will be supported both by the state and international donors, although at the date of the plan’s publication, not all of the budget needs had been met.55   The government established a working group consisting of government officials and a few representatives from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that will draft the new Penitentiary Code.56  Many of the NGO participants were dissatisfied with the procedure for drafting the amendments, and with the amendments themselves, and are working separately to produce alternative amendments.57

The Georgian government repeatedly emphasizes that the construction of new facilities will be the main solution to the longstanding problems.58 International experts, however, do not consider the building of new facilities by itself to be an effective remedy to resolve overcrowding.59  Deputy Minister of Justice Givi Mikanadze described to Human Rights Watch the government’s commitment to building new prisons, including a new facility with a capacity of 3,000 detainees in Guldani, in the suburbs of Tbilisi, to replace Prisons No. 5, No. 1, and the Republican Prison Hospital. The Action Plan of the Implementation of the Strategy on Criminal Justice Reforms in Georgia also demonstrates the government’s commitment to new facilities, and envisions the construction of new prisons in Batumi, Zugdidi, Khakheti, as well as two open-type facilities, one in western and one in eastern Georgia, and the renovation of six current facilities, all by 2008. The cost of these projects is 78 million lari (U.S.$36 million), more than 50 percent of the total budget for reforms in the Penitentiary Department for 2006-2008.60   While Human Rights Watch recognizes that new facilities will help improve the material conditions for detainees and may help alleviate some overcrowding, we have documented numerous ongoing rights violations in both new and old prisons that can be remedied immediately or in the medium term, and without great financial expenditure.



39 European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 213 U.N.T.S. 222, entered into force Sept. 3, 1953, as amended by Protocols Nos. 3, 5, 8, and 11 which entered into force on September 21, 1970, December 20, 1971, January 1, 1990, and November 1, 1998 respectively, ratified by Georgia on May 20, 1999.

40European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, E.T.S. 126, entered into force February 1, 1989, ratified by Georgia on June 20, 2000.

41 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted December 16, 1966, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), 999 U.N.T.S. 171 (entered into force March 23, 1976), ratified by Georgia on August 3, 1994.

42 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession by G.A. Res. 39/46 (entered into force June 26, 1987), ratified by Georgia on October 26, 1994.

43 Convention on the Rights of the Child, G.A. res. 44/25, annex, 44 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 167, UN Doc. A/44/49 (1989), entered into force September 2, 1990, ratified by Georgia on June 2, 1994.

44 See, for example, Hirst v. United Kingdom (no. 2), no. 74025/01, judgment of October 6, 2005.

45 European Prison Rules (Recommendation No. R (87)3 Council of Europe), rule 64. See also, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Standard Minimum Rules), adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva in 1955, and approved by the Economic and Social Council by its resolution 663 C (XXIV) of July 31, 1957, and 2076 (LXII) of May 13, 1977, paras. 57-58.

46 Constitution of Georgia, adopted August 24, 1995, art. 17 (2), “Torture, inhuman, cruel treatment or punishment or treatment and punishment infringing upon honor and dignity shall be impermissible.”

47 ICCPR, art. 10.

48 “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), art. 3.

49 See, for example, Kalashnikov v. Russia, no. 47095/99, judgment of July 15, 2002, para. 14, “…the applicant alleged that he had been kept in a cell measuring 17 square meters (“m²”) where there were 8 bunk beds. However, it nearly always held 24 inmates; only rarely did the number fall to 18. As there were three men to every bunk, the inmates slept taking turns”; and para. 92, “The applicant referred in particular to the overcrowding and insanitary [sic] conditions in his cell, as well as the length of the period during which he was detained in such conditions, which had an adverse effect on his physical health and caused humiliation and suffering.” See also, inter alia, Peers v. Greece, no.28524/95, judgment of  April 19, 2001; Dougoz v. Greece, no. 40907/98,judgment of March 6, 2001; Melnik v. Ukraine, no. 72286/01, judgment of March 28, 2006; Nevemerzhitsky v. Ukraine, no. 54825/00, judgment of April 5, 2005; Khokhlich v. Ukraine, no. 41707/98, judgment of April 29, 2003; and Mathew v. the Netherlands, no. 24919/03, judgment of 29 September 2005.

50 Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, G.A. Res. 43/173, annex, 43 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 49), UN Doc. A/43/49 (1988), Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, G.A. Res. 45/111, annex, 45 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 49A), UN Doc. A/45/49 (1990). United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (“The Beijing Rules”), G.A. Res. 40/33, annex, 40 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 53), UN Doc. A/40/53 (1985).

51 Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, Recommendation (2006) 2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the European Prison Rules (adopted by the Committee of Ministers on January 11, 2006 at the 952nd meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies).

52 See especially, CPT, “The CPT Standards, Substantive Sections of the CPT’s General Reports”; CPT, “11th General Report on the CPT’s Activities covering the period of 1 January - 31 December 31, 2000,” CPT/Inf (2001) 16; and CPT, “2nd General Report on the CPT’s Activities covering the period of 1 January to 31 December 1991,” CPT/Inf (92) 3.

53 The Council of Europe, the European Commission, and numerous international donors have been actively supporting these reforms through various funding mechanisms, training programs, technical assistance projects, etc.

54 In November 2005 the government established a training center for penitentiary and probation staff under the Ministry of Justice. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) has planned €800,000 (U.S.$1,030,000) to support the center. All new employees must pass a fundamental training course within six months of being hired; employees hired before June 2006 have until January 2008 to pass the training course. Trainings have been provided so far for the staff of Kutaisi Prison No. 2, Rustavi Prison No. 6, Batumi Prison, Zugdidi Prison, and the Penitentiary Department staff working with women and juveniles, with financial support from the OSCE, the Norwegian Rule of Law Mission to Georgia (NORLAG), and others. Human Rights Watch interviews with Givi Mikanadze, deputy minister of justice, Tbilisi, May 18, 2006 and Mary Murphy, Penal Reform International, Tbilisi, May 19, 2006. Prior to this, no state institution was involved in training of prison staff; international and local nongovernmental organizations, including the OSCE, provided some trainings. Human Rights Watch interview with George Tugushi, OSCE, May 17, 2006. “There is arguably no better guarantee against the ill-treatment of a person deprived of his liberty than a properly trained police or prison officer.” CPT, “2nd General Report on the CPT’s Activities covering the period of 1 January to 31 December 1991.”

55 “Action Plan of the Implementation of the Strategy on Criminal Justice Reforms in Georgia,” June 12, 2006, on file with Human Rights Watch.

56 The process for drafting and adopting a new Penitentiary Code scheduled to be submitted to parliament in November 2006 was parallel to the adoption of amendments to the Law on Imprisonment that went into effect on June 1, 2006, many of which are cited in this report.

57 For example, the transitional amendments to the Law on Imprisonment introduced on June 1, 2006, which significantly reduced the number and length of family visits for prisoners were not discussed with the NGO participants. See below, “Lack of Access to Family Visits and Correspondence.”

58 For example, in 2001, in response to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Monitoring Committee’s report on Georgia in September 2001, Georgian authorities stated that they “regretted the overcrowding in pre-trial detention centres and said that US$ 2 million would be enough to complete a building for pre-trial detention which would solve this problem.” PACE, “Honouring of obligations and commitments by Georgia,” Doc. 9191, September 13, 2001, para. 108, http://assembly.coe.int//main.asp?link=http://assembly.coe.int/Documents/WorkingDocs/doc01/EDOC9191.htm (accessed June 5, 2006).

59 “To address the problem of overcrowding, some countries have taken the route of increasing the number of prison places. For its part, the CPT is far from convinced that providing additional accommodation will alone offer a lasting solution. Indeed, a number of European States have embarked on extensive programs of prison building, only to find their prison populations rising in tandem with the increased capacity acquired by their prison estates. By contrast, the existence of policies to limit or modulate the number of persons being sent to prison has in certain States made an important contribution to maintaining the prison population at a manageable level.” CPT, “The CPT Standards, Substantive Sections of the CPT’s General Reports,” p. 21, para. 14.

60 “Action Plan of the Implementation of the Strategy on Criminal Justice Reforms in Georgia,” June 12, 2006.


September 2006

<<previous  |  index  |  next>>