Latest news with #SPT
Scoop
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Peru: UN Experts Raise Concern Over Juvenile Detention In Adult Prisons
GENEVA (26 June 2025) – UN torture prevention experts, at the close of a week-long visit to Peru, have expressed concern over severe prison overcrowding, the widespread use of pretrial detention, and a new law treating 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in the penal system. The visit, carried out from 15 to 21 June, marked the Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT)'s return to Peru more than a decade after its first mission in 2013. During their stay, the experts visited a range of detention and other facilities and held meetings with Government authorities, civil society actors, and the country's independent monitoring body, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). 'We are grateful for the collaboration provided by the authorities before and during the visit,' said Marie Brasholt, head of the SPT delegation. 'Unfortunately, we observed a punitive focus, which includes lengthy sentences and the extensive use of preventive detention, despite the grave overcrowding in Peru's penitentiary system. After all, building more or mega prisons is not the solution for overcrowding, or to public security in general.' During the mission, the SPT delegation visited men and women's prisons, juvenile detention centres, police stations, judicial holding cells, and a religious educational institution. The experts conducted confidential interviews with detainees and personnel. In addition, the Subcommittee visited a detention center together with the NPM. 'We also want to express our special concern regarding the new law that incorporates adolescents ages 16 and 17 as punishable in the adult penal system, which, again, demonstrates a punitive focus in the administration of justice,' said Brasholt. 'The delegation welcomes the creation and functioning of the NPM, which conducts important work. However, it is essential that the mechanism be strengthened to ensure that it has the necessary resources to effectively carry out its functions throughout the entire territory of Peru, in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT),' she added. The SPT will share its report, including findings and recommendations, with Peru in due course. As always, the delegation urges the State to publish the visit report in order to enhance its obligations. The SPT considers that its reports provide useful guidance to all those engaged, directly or indirectly, in finding practical solutions. Additionally, the Subcommittee will prepare a separate and confidential report to share with the NPM. Peru ratified the OPCAT in 2006 and established its NPM by law in 2015. The delegation was composed of the following members: Marie Brasholt, head of the delegation (Denmark), Barbara Bernath (Switzerland), Luciano Mariz Maia (Brazil), and Maria Luisa Romero (Panama), together with two members of the Secretariat of the SPT and two UN security officials.
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Plans to promote sustainable travel in Glasgow given funding
This cash injection will be used to improve active travel infrastructure and make public spaces safer and more accessible for pedestrians. It will also support initiatives that encourage walking, wheeling, and cycling, especially for school commutes, and provide upgrades to bus stops and employer schemes to create cycle-friendly workplaces. It will also support initiatives that encourage walking, wheeling, and cycling (Image: Supplied) The fund draws from four Scottish Government-backed schemes through Transport Scotland - the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF), the People and Place Programme (PPP), Local Authority Direct Award (LADA), and SPT's Capital Grant Fund. Councillor Angus Millar, city convener for transport, said: "These funding awards are really great news for active travel in Glasgow. Read more: Plans for one of UK's biggest green AI data centres in Ravenscraig revealed Man dies after police rush to Glasgow property amid incident "We want to create a roads network that encourages walking, wheeling and cycling across the city and it's great to see our vision being backed by the Scottish Government in this way. "Some of these funding streams focus on construction-ready projects and I am delighted that the efforts we have made to develop designs for potential new infrastructure are being recognised. "The funding will also enable us to invest further in organisations and activities that give people the knowledge, skills and confidence to use our growing infrastructure network, supporting them to walk, wheel and cycle more often. "Major infrastructure projects such as Connecting Woodside, the East City Way and Dumbreck Road Active Travel Link will all make vital connections to other routes that make it easier to move around the city by bike. "We know that as more and more safe, segregated routes begin to knit together across Glasgow, people will be more minded to choose active travel instead of having to depend on the car for local journeys." Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, said: 'I'm pleased that this £10.6 million award from the Scottish Government to Glasgow City Council will help realise their ambitions for better walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure, alongside projects which encourage more active travel. "Through this investment we will make it easier for more people to choose sustainable transport. 'To support the continued ambitions of our local authorities – and to keep making walking, wheeling and cycling easier for shorter everyday journeys – in 2025-26 the Scottish Government will invest over £188 million in active and sustainable transport.'
Scoop
2 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Serbia Needs To Strengthen Effective Torture Prevention Measures, UN Torture Prevention Body Says
Geneva, 24 June 2025 Serbia must take further action to protect people deprived of their liberty from torture and ill-treatment and ensure its national preventive mechanism (NPM) plays an effective and crucial role, experts from the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) said after their first visit to the country. During the mission to Serbia from 15 to 21 June, the SPT delegation conducted unannounced visits to prisons, remand centres, police cells, as well as care homes for the elderly and children. 'While we acknowledge that steps are being taken to improve the rights of people deprived of their liberty, shortcomings must be addressed, specifically in the areas of criminal justice and social care,' said Massimiliano Bagaglini, head of the SPT delegation. 'The national preventive body has an important role to play in this process; therefore, it is vital that the mechanism is independent, well-resourced and effective.' The SPT delegation conducted private and confidential interviews with those detained or deprived of their liberty and officials working in various facilities. The delegation also met with Government officials, the Protector of Citizens (Ombudsperson) and its NPM unit, civil society representatives and UN agencies. The SPT delegation also carried out joint visits with the Serbian NPM to support their work. 'We observed that many individuals, including children, spend extended periods in pretrial detention under restrictive conditions, which may increase the risk of ill-treatment,' Bagaglini added. 'Institutions for people with disabilities were also a concern for the delegation, and more measures are needed to protect these people from ill-treatment.' The Subcommittee will submit a confidential report to the Government of Serbia with its observations and recommendations on preventing torture and ill-treatment of people deprived of their liberty. As with all other States, it encourages Serbia to make this report public following the visit. The SPT delegation was composed of the following members of the Subcommittee: Massimiliano Bagaglini, Head of Delegation (Italy), Vasiliki Artinopoulou (Greece), Kalliopi Kambanella (Cyprus), Nika Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), as well as two Human Rights Officers from the SPT Secretariat.
Glasgow Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
MSP calls for publicly owned bus company in Glasgow
SPT has recently consulted on a plan to introduce a franchising system for buses in the city region. It would involve the authority setting expectations for routes, timetables and fares, which bus operators would then bid to deliver. Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow, writing for the Glasgow Times, sets out his position, which would see the city go even further and set up a publicly owned bus firm. Patrick Harvie said: "Glasgow deserves world class public transport, but everyone who uses it can see that it's confusing, expensive and unreliable. "I rely on bike, bus and train to get around, and I see the problems every day. On a recent trip to a Glasgow hospital, figuring out the bus journey was far more stressful than the medical procedure I was there for! "Public transport is vital to connect people with opportunities, jobs and services, friends, family and basic essentials. Yet all too often people in Glasgow simply can't rely on it, making our lives harder and inequality deeper. READ NEXT:Glasgow's new ship hall opened in honour of woman shipbuilding pioneer "People on the sharp end of the cost of living crisis are the most reliant on buses, yet a First Bus local day ticket is now nearly £6 - and that's if they haven't already cut your bus route. "It doesn't have to be this way! We can have bus services that serve passengers instead of profit. Campaigners like Get Glasgow Moving and the STUC have been building the case for change, and that's why I'm bringing a debate on the future of Glasgow's buses to Holyrood. "The Scottish Greens have always made the case for cheaper and better transport, winning free bus travel for under 22s and scrapping peak rail fares, as well as investing to make it safer and easier to walk and cycle. "Free bus travel has had an incredibly positive impact on young people's lives; 94,000 young people in Glasgow have taken just shy of 30 million free bus journeys since it was introduced in 2022. "But bus fares should be cheap or free for everyone, all the time. But without reliable, accessible and integrated buses even free travel won't get you very far. READ NEXT:Susan Aitken says new wave of youth violence needs re-energised response "If we had publicly owned bus companies we'd deliver great results for communities. You just have to look at Lothian buses in Edinburgh - over the last decade, they've paid back a £36 million dividend to the Council that runs them. That's the norm in many parts of Europe, and cities like Manchester have made great progress in recent years too. "So why can't we run our buses ourselves here in Glasgow too? "SPT is already looking at how Glasgow could either commission or run bus services. But the Scottish Government must back this plan if it's going to work. "First, we need to give councils the power to plan the routes they need and cap fares. But that's only the first step - from there we need to properly support new publicly owned bus operators. "If we get this right, Glasgow and the wider region can achieve better buses for everyone - cheaper, more reliable, and greener. Glasgow deserves nothing less."
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Huge funding boost for sustainable travel routes across Glasgow
The cash boost draws on four separate funding schemes backed by the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland - the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF), the People and Place Programme (PPP), Local Authority Direct Award (LADA) and SPT's Capital Grant Fund. Funding of £3.8m will be used to deliver four major active travel infrastructure projects – Connecting Woodside (St George's Road), Connecting Yorkhill and Kelvingrove (Phase 1), Flourishing Molendinar (Phase 1) and Dumbreck Road Active Travel Link. Work will start in the coming months to construct these new routes. Funding of £4.9m from ATIF Tier 1 will also be used on a range of smaller-scale projects that increase the appeal of active travel, including Phase 5 of the East City Way which will now advance to construction. Pedestrian crossings will be upgraded (Image: GCC) Design work to support the delivery of Connecting Greater Govan and future phases of Flourishing Molendinar and the East City Way, will also now be moved forward. High visibility cycle counters and the continued roll out of Glasgow City Council's school cycle shelters programme will now move forward, as will the delivery of upgraded traffic signals and pedestrian infrastructure at various locations across the city. PPP funding of over £1m, administered by SPT, will support a wide range of initiatives to be delivered by third sector organisations including Women on Wheels and Bike for Good. Projects include those that reduce barriers to active travel such as learn-to-ride group cycling sessions, subsidised bike access for people on low-incomes, and support for employers keen to encourage their staff to commute by bike. An SPT Capital Grant Fund award of £435,000 will encourage greater use of public transport through bus route priority upgrades, improved access to bus and Subway stations, and enhancements to the Paisley Road West bus corridor. While projects progressed through £341,958 of LADA award funding will include our Staff Travel Plan, road safety initiatives which encourage travelling actively to school, and winter gritting of cycling routes. Routes will be upgraded across the city (Image: GCC) Councillor Angus Millar, City Convener for Transport, welcomed the multiple funding awards as a vote of confidence in Glasgow's efforts to support walking, wheeling and cycling across the city. Cllr Angus Millar said: "These funding awards are really great news for active travel in Glasgow. "We want to create a roads network that encourages walking, wheeling and cycling across the city and it's great to see our vision being backed by the Scottish Government in this way. Some of these funding streams focus on construction-ready projects and I am delighted that the efforts we have made to develop designs for potential new infrastructure are being recognised. 'The funding will also enable us to invest further in organisations and activities that give people the knowledge, skills and confidence to use our growing infrastructure network, supporting them to walk, wheel and cycle more often. We'll also be delivering high-quality upgrades to pedestrian infrastructure across the city such as safer, step-free crossings, tactile paving, dropped kerbs, and wider pavements. "Major infrastructure projects such as Connecting Woodside, the East City Way and Dumbreck Road Active Travel Link will all make vital connections to other routes that make it easier to move around the city by bike. We know that as more and more safe, segregated routes begin to knit together across Glasgow, people will be more minded to choose active travel instead of having to depend on the car for local journeys.' READ MORE: I'm scared of cycling Edinburgh's city centre. Here's what happened when I did Emergency city centre road closure after sinkhole discovered 'Another significant step forward' for city centre transformation Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop added: 'I'm pleased that this £10.6 million award from the Scottish Government to Glasgow City Council will help realise their ambitions for better walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure, alongside projects which encourage more active travel. 'Through this investment we will make it easier for more people to choose sustainable transport. 'To support the continued ambitions of our local authorities – and to keep making walking, wheeling and cycling easier for shorter everyday journeys – in 2025-26 the Scottish Government will invest over £188 million in active and sustainable transport.'
