CCPR/C/LVA/CO/3 (c) Ensure that decisions on expulsion, return or extradition are dealt with expeditiously, in accordance with the due process of the law, including the suspensive effect of appeals against decisions concerning asylum; (d) Ensure that the detention of asylum seekers is used only as a measure of last resort, for the shortest possible period, and that such detention is necessary and proportionate in the light of individual circumstances, and avoid detaining minors; (e) Ensure that living conditions and treatment in all immigration detention centres are in conformity with international standards; (f) Guarantee access to standardized asylum procedures and establish a referral procedure between the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs and the State Border Guard at all border points, in compliance with international norms and standards. Conditions in police, remand and prison facilities 15. While acknowledging improvements in certain areas, the Committee is concerned at the substantial number of complaints about poor material conditions in many police, remand and prison facilities, and that a number of deficiencies remain, in particular concerning the insufficient partition of hygienic areas in prison multi-occupancy cells, the prevalence of violence among prisoners and the excessive use of special measures, such as the hand-cuffing of prisoners serving life sentences, without an assessment of their individual circumstances (art. 10). The State party should: (a) Covenant; Guarantee safeguards to inmates in accordance with article 10 of the (b) Take additional steps to improve material conditions, including space, in police, remand and prison facilities; (c) Provide adequate numbers of supervisory staff to prevent violence among prisoners. Psychoneurological hospitals and State-run social care centres 16. The Committee is concerned at the lack of State regulation of the application of compulsory medical treatment, physical restraints and restrictions of the right to privacy in psychoneurological hospitals. The Committee is also concerned at shortcomings in Staterun social care centres for adults with mental disabilities, such as the lack of accommodation alternatives and inappropriate activities, and in particular at the application of forced medication in high dosages and the use of isolation wards (arts. 2, 7, 9, 10, 17 and 26). The State party should: (a) Review its policy and devise a proper regulatory framework for mental health and social care institutions in order to ensure that any decision to use restraints and coercive force in such institutions be made after a thorough and professional medical assessment that determines the amount of restraint or coercive force to be applied, and that any restrictions be legal, necessary and proportionate to the individual circumstances and include guarantees of an effective remedy; (b) Ensure that non-consensual use of psychiatric medication, electroconvulsive therapy and other restrictive and coercive practices in mental health services is generally prohibited. Non-consensual psychiatric treatment may only be 6

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