The protection of the rights of persons deprived of their liberty has remained one of the primary concerns of ICHR. ICHR visits all places of deprivation including detention centers, prisons, shelters and protection centers to monitor the treatment of their inmates, ensure the integrity of legal procedures, physical safety, living and health conditions, and prepare reports on these visits.
Focus has always been on safeguarding their dignity in decent and acceptable conditions as well as the humane treatment of these inmates in line with relevant international customs and laws.
ICHR’s field researchers conduct around 1200 annual regular and special (emergency) visits to places of liberty deprivation in the West Bank Governorates. Through its visits, ICHR monitors the treatment of the detained persons, enjoyment of their rights set by law, and the validity of their arrest procedures. Furthermore, ICHR monitors the detention conditions in terms of respect for their dignity, security, and good health, with adequate sleeping, living, and sanitary conditions. All of this is recorded and documented in special forms and reports. Based on which, various correspondences and reports are developed including ICHR’s recommendations to enhance the living conditions in the temporary detention centers.
For the first time in Palestine, ICHR succeeded in 2018 in evaluating the compliance of the rehabilitation centers to relevant international standards. All the rehabilitation centers in WB & GS were visited and evaluated through a national team that included ICHR staff, rehabilitation center staff, and Ministry of Interior staff. The evaluation data served as the baseline data for the coming years. Rehabilitation centers' compliance to the international standards recorded 54.3% in WB & 65.1% in GS in 2018.
During 2019, rehabilitation centers' compliance with international standards decreased by 8.9% due to the inclusion of evaluation criteria related to compliance to PWD right. Almost all rehabilitation centers, in WB & GS, lack the essential policies, procedures, and infrastructure required for PWD (as detainees, employees, and visitors).
