The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) called on Luxembourg authorities on Thursday to end the detention of children in a Luxembourg penitentiary, condemning the “unacceptable and inadequate” conditions, AFP reported.

In a report drawn up following a spring visit to prisons in Luxembourg, the Committee highlights the living conditions of juveniles who are “often left to fend for themselves” in the capital’s penitentiary center, where juveniles are monitored “mainly with the help of a camera.”

The committee notes that the socio-pedagogical staff supervising children is “inadequate” and that “psycho-social” support is “practically absent”.

He also noted that several zones in the prison allow communication between adults and juvenile prisoners. “If, in exceptional cases, children are kept in a prison section for adults, they should be kept strictly separate,” the authors of the report note.

At another facility, the Security Unit (Unisec), located in Dryborne, the commission found the building “unsuitable for children and their special needs” and found “security concerns”.

He called on the Luxembourg authorities to “immediately take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the facility and significantly improve the living conditions of the children.”

The commission also visited several police stations and court chambers. It reported “allegations of physical ill-treatment” by police officers against those arrested, including “hits with batons and hands”, threats of violence and excessive use of force.

The report recommends “strengthening actions to effectively prevent and combat police brutality,” including through “regular professional training” and “systematic electronic recording of high-risk arrests.”

Luxembourg Justice Minister Sam Tanson told AFP that a bill has been submitted to ban the detention of minors in Luxembourg penitentiaries.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs said the bill would build a juvenile prison in Drybourne, “with a larger capacity than Unisec”.

The Council of Europe with its headquarters in Strasbourg is an international organization that unites 46 states that have signed the European Convention on the Protection of Human Rights. Several thematic committees, including the Committee against Torture, monitor compliance with this convention.