CELPL - Annual report - 2020

In 2020, CELPL’s activities were profoundly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit people deprived of their liberty—who are particularly vulnerable in this context—especially hard. Despite the cancellation of the symposium planned to mark the mechanism’s 10th anniversary, the unit continued to carry out all of its missions: on-site visits to prisons, psychiatric hospitals, detention centers, and police stations; monitoring of the health protocols put in place; 24/7 on-call duty; and interventions following two deaths (at the CPL and in a sobering-up cell). The report highlights the need for a constant balance between public health measures and respect for fundamental rights, as well as the importance of a regular human presence in these facilities, particularly at the CPL, where restrictions have significantly impacted detainees. At the same time, the CELPL continues to pursue its goal of expanding its mandate to include de facto places of deprivation of liberty, such as nursing homes and specialized residential facilities.
 
The year 2020 was also marked by the publication of the report on narcotics in prisons, a monitoring mission to the detention center, and the preparation of an initial general recommendation on post-psychiatric hospitalization care. The report highlights several key issues: finalizing Grand Ducal regulations governing searches and inspections; improving coordination between medical services and the prison administration; strengthening tools for drug detection and prevention; and better referring inmates to health and social services outside the prison system. Finally, the CELPL is preparing legislative proposals for 2021, notably the introduction of penalties for obstructing its missions and the official expansion of its scope of action, in order to strengthen the effectiveness of the national prevention mechanism and the protection of human rights in all places where liberty is restricted.