African Commission on
Human and Peoples’ Rights
d.
There shall be thorough, prompt and impartial investigations of all complaints and, where they are
well-founded, appropriate remedial action shall be taken without delay.
38. Remedies
All persons who are victims of illegal or arbitrary arrest and detention, or torture and ill-treatment during police
custody or pre-trial detention have the right to seek and obtain effective remedies for the violation of their rights.
This right extends to immediate family or dependents of the direct victim. Remedies include, but are not limited to:
a.
Restitution to restore the victim to the situation that would have existed had the violation of their right
not happened.
b.
Compensation, including any quantifiable damages resulting from the right violation and any physical or
mental harm (such as physical or mental harm, pain, suffering and emotional distress, lost opportunities
including education, material damage and loss of actual or potential earnings, harm to reputation or
dignity, and costs required for legal services or expert assistance, medicines, medical services, and
psychological and social services).
c.
Rehabilitation, including medical and psychological care as well as legal and social services.
d.
Satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition.
39. Data collection
States shall establish processes for the systematic collection of disaggregated data on the use of arrest, police
custody and pre-trial detention to identify and address the over-use or inadequate conditions of police custody
and pre-trial detention.
40. Access to information
States shall establish, and make known, systems and processes to guarantee the right of access to information
for persons in police custody and pre-trial detention, their families, lawyers and other legal service providers, in
accordance with the principles set out in the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights’ Model Law on
Access to Information.
41. Oversight mechanisms
States shall establish, and make known, oversight mechanisms for authorities responsible for arrest and detention.
These mechanisms shall be provided with the necessary legal mandate, independence, resources and safeguards
to ensure transparency and reporting, to ensure the thorough, prompt, impartial and fair exercise of their mandate.
42. Monitoring mechanisms
a.
States shall ensure access to detainees and places of detention for independent monitoring bodies or
other neutral independent humanitarian organisations authorised to visit them.
b.
A detained person shall have the right to communicate freely and in full confidentiality with the persons
who visit the places of detention or imprisonment in accordance with the above principle, subject to
reasonable conditions to ensure security and good order.
c.
Access to places of detention shall also be provided to lawyers and other legal service providers, and
other authorities such as judicial authorities and National Human Rights Institutions, subject to reasonable
conditions to ensure security and good order.
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