A/HRC/32/39 97. In a recent incident in the United Kingdom, at a juvenile detention centre managed by G4S, private security personnel improperly used force on several of the young inmates. 33 Undercover film footage appears to show that the guards tried to conceal their behaviour by ensuring that the incidents took place in areas where the surveillance equipment in the detention centre could not film them. That raises concerns about potential undocumented and underreported abuses of the same nature. Following the incident, the Chief Inspector of Prisons of the United Kingdom announced that all prison officers dealing with children should wear cameras in order to monitor behaviour. 34 98. In 2015, in Australia a bill was tabled before Parliament giving Serco, a private security company contracted by the Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection to run the country’s immigration detention facilities, greater discretion and power to use force in the management of the facilities. The Australian Human Rights Commission raised concerns, citing several incidents about which it had received complaints in relation to the conduct of private security providers in the management of detention centres.35 As part of their responses to the significantly higher flow of refugees into Europe over the previous year, several European States have also been making use of public-private partnerships to manage temporary asylum facilities. In September 2014, the German press published images exposing abuse in one such facility, raising questions about how staff had been recruited and trained.36 99. In the context of detention it is worth re-emphasizing that any serious injury or death that occurs in custody merits a full investigation. When the State deprives an individual of liberty, its control of the situation, directly or indirectly, yields a heightened level of responsibility to protect that individual’s rights. That includes a positive obligation to protect all detained persons from violence, as well as to provide food, water, adequate ventilation, an environment free from disease, and adequate health care.37 Where a person dies or suffers serious injury in custody, there is a presumption of State responsibility, and the burden of proof rests upon the State to prove otherwise through a prompt, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation carried out by an independent body. 38 33 34 35 36 37 38 16 See BBC News, “G4S Medway young offenders centre staff suspended over abuse claims”, 8 January 2016. Available from www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-kent-35260927. See D. Barrett, “All child jailers should have body-worn cameras after G4S Medway scandal, says watchdog”, Telegraph, 26 January 2016. Available from www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/lawand-order/12121948/All-child-jailers-should-have-body-worn-cameras-after-G4S-Medway-scandalsays-watchdog.html. See Australian Human Rights Commission, “Use of force in immigration detention facilities”, August 2015. Available from www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/asylum-seekers-andrefugees/publications/use-force-immigration-detention-facilities. See “Asylum seekers abused in German shelter by security contractors”, Deutsche Welle, 28 September 2014. Available from www.dw.com/en/asylum-seekers-abused-in-german-shelter-bysecurity-contractors/a-17960732. See also “Systemic shame”, Der Spiegel, 6 October 2014. Available from www.spiegel.de/international/germany/abuse-case-reveals-terrible-state-of-refugee-homes-ingermany-a-995537.html. See African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, “General comment No. 3 on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights: the right to life (article 4)”, 2015, para. 36. See African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, “General comment No. 3”, para. 37. See also the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), rule 71, and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-Trial Detention in Africa (the Luanda Guidelines), paras. 20-21.