“A cruel reminder of the need for independent monitoring of treatment and conditions in all places of detention,” laments the international Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), in the wake of the deadly prison fire in Honduras which killed more than 350 inmates last Tuesday.

By Geraldine Coughlan, The Hague

This comes amid renewed calls for immediate action by Central and Latin American governments to reduce overcrowding in prisons and establish clear security protocols for emergency and evacuation. But they come too late for the victims of La Granja Penal de Comayagua.

State obligation
The UN blames “overcrowding, a lack of access to basic services, judicial delays and excessive pre-trial detention” as among the causes which have worsened conditions in detention facilities. The UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has urged the Honduran government to investigate the causes of the fire and whether conditions at the prison contributed to the loss of lives. “States have an obligation to ensure that conditions of detention are compatible with the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” said Rupert Colville, OHCHR spokesperson.

OPCAT guarantees
The blame for such disasters is pointed at those national governments which have signed up to the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), which entered into force in 2006. It is the first international treaty that seeks to prevent torture and ill-treatment through a system of visits to places of detention by independent international and national bodies, including NGOs. They provide recommendations for authorities so they can comply with international human rights standards by establishing impartial mechanisms for inspecting and visiting prisons.

At the international level, the OPCAT has created a new international preventive body, the UN Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture. At the national level, States Parties have to create or designate impartial National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) within one year of ratification of the treaty, to ensure that international standards are put in place at the local level. These include effective measures to improve conditions of detention for all prisoners, including guarantees of health and safety.

Honduras alert
There are currently 62 States Parties to the OPCAT, of which 38 States have designated their NPMs. In Central America, these include Mexico, Costa Rica – and surprisingly, Honduras, the latest in a series of tragedies across Latin America, blamed on poor prison conditions.

All other Central American countries have signed and ratified the treaty, apart from Guatemala, which still has to ratify, and Belize and El Salvador, which have not signed up. However, there are no penalties for states that delay in actually putting their NPMs into action. 

UN reports have repeatedly criticised countries in the region for not fully establishing NPMs. The OHCHR says putting them into practice is a matter of urgency. “We urge the governments of the region to act on these recommendations, to prevent further tragedies from occurring,” Colville said.

The APT issued a stern warning to the Honduran authorities that, “severe overcrowding is a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment,” urging the State to provide adequate resources to the National Committee for the Prevention of Torture so that it can fulfill its role under the OPCAT. The Association also urges the Honduran National Congress to speed up the adoption of the draft Prisons Act, which after several years, has still not been processed.