CELPL - Annual report - 2022

In 2022, the CELPL focused its efforts on several major initiatives, including the publication of a special report on UNISEC, conducted jointly with OKaJu, following structural issues and serious incidents that occurred in January 2022. The agency also conducted an in-depth assessment of child and adolescent psychiatric units (CHL, HRS, CHNP, Putscheid) to evaluate the compliance of practices and the legal framework with international standards. At the same time, the CELPL actively contributed to ongoing legislative work, notably on the reform of the 2009 law on involuntary hospitalization, on Bill 7994 (assistance, support, and protection for minors and families), and on Bill 7991 introducing a juvenile criminal code. It emphasized essential safeguards: the minor’s participation, a more robust framework for emergency procedures, consistency in parental authority, and the principle of subsidiarity regarding deprivation of liberty.
 
The year was also marked by sustained activity on the part of the on-call service: fire response calls at the CPL, two deaths (CHNP and CPL), a riot at UNISEC on December 24, and the cessation—following intervention by the CELPL—of forced COVID testing of certain detainees at the detention center. The report notes a decrease in the total number of instances of mechanical restraint but a notable increase in their average duration. At the institutional level, efforts to strengthen the team have begun, and the CELPL reaffirms its commitment to expanding its mandate to include de facto places of deprivation of liberty (nursing homes, residential facilities for people with disabilities, and educational institutions). Finally, key actions are planned for 2023: continued legislative developments, a mission to the new CPU, and discussions with the CPT during its scheduled visit to Luxembourg.